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Antique Musical Instruments/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Beaufort American Tuba | 2/7/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: My father in law purchased a Beaufort American Tuba from a garage sale, its pretty dirty but I was ... A: I think it looks like tarnished silver. Take some brasso and polish a little spot and if it shines ... | ||
| violine | 2/6/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: Good morning mister Glenn I am from Innsbruck. An older lady asked me to sell her violine. The ... A: Here's the good: From what I can tell this is one of the earliest models, made when the ... | ||
| Wurlitzer piano | 2/6/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: I would like to know how much my piano is worth. It was given to me by a family member, so I don't ... A: Wow this was some work. I know Wurlitzer's can be worth a lot, and some aren't. I don't want to ... | ||
| Beaufort American Tuba | 2/5/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: My father in law purchased a Beaufort American Tuba from a garage sale, its pretty dirty but I was ... A: Let me first say wow!!! I was so elated that you asked me! I am a Tuba player and this absolutely ... | ||
| martin trumpet | 2/5/2012 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: ANSWER: For some instrument makers, yes. Others, no. For Martin, it is yes. Here is a WEB page. ... A: In 1961, Martin, Blessing, and Reynolds were merged into a company called Richards Music ... | ||
| 1970(?) NORMA Guitar | 2/4/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: Glenn, I asked a question of Bill Rux back in August 2006 trying to figure out what and where a ... A: First let me say wow! What a challenge! I talked with every guitar person I could all morning and ... | ||
| robert f. flemming jr | 1/31/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: i am looking for information on a robert fleming jr. if you know of a way for me to find this please ... A: From what I have found, Robert Flemming Jr. was born in Mississippi the year 1857. He invented the ... | ||
| Old Trumpet | 1/25/2012 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have an old J.W. York & Sons trumpet with a serial number of 43684. I believe it was made in 1915 ... A: I would also estimate it at 1915. I suspect that it may be a cornet. I think you will probably do ... | ||
| Frank Horton Bugle | 1/25/2012 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: greetings, I have recently come into possession of a bugle and am trying get at least an ... A: Try with Holton rather than Horton. I believe you will find quite a bit of information on ... | ||
| vintage mandolin | 1/25/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: We have a vintage montgomery ward mandolin from the late 1800's to early 1900's, we aren't sure. It ... A: Someone more familiar with old Mandolins will know more, but my knowledge of them is basic, I played ... | ||
| mandolin | 1/23/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: I have my great grandfathers mandolin. Inside its marked "monarch" Its at least 75 years old, It ... A: I think a ball parked price for a store would be $500, a person $300, a collector $700+. These are ... | ||
| value | 1/22/2012 | Glenn Blake |
| Q: I have an old clarinet made my Windsor of Elkhart Ind. It is in need of much repair. The serial ... A: If I am correct this is a Clarinet made by Buescher, under the name windsor. I can't find anything ... | ||
| French Horn - Single in F | 1/11/2012 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have a single French Horn with no manufacturer marking that I am able to find. Close to the ... A: It is only speculation that FA Buescher formed a new company after he left the Buescher Company with ... | ||
| Baronet brand | 1/1/2012 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I own both a Baronet (Elkhart, IN) baritione horn SN 30249 and a trumpet (silver and heavier then my ... A: Blessing, Buescher, Conn (Pan American, Cavalier), Gronert, Pedler, and Osgood are the makers ... | ||
| J W Pepper & Son Slide Trombone | 12/30/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have a silver slide trombone. The engraving is: J W Pepper & Son Standard Philadelphia 56500 ... A: This horn dates to after Pepper discontinued their own manufacturing. Consequently, it is an ... | ||
| Royal trumpet | 12/29/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I do not know if you got my previous Question So please excuse me if I am repeating myself. I have ... A: I did think I answered this question, but maybe it got lost somewhere. Metropolitan Music Company ... | ||
| USS Leviathan trombone | 12/26/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have a Conn trombone that has been engraved with “Carl Fischers New York American Model” serial ... A: I think you are talking about a counter-weight. For a while, they were sold as an after market ... | ||
| Have an old coronet I played in school | 12/20/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have an old coronet I played as a 6yr old in West Chester, Pennsylvania around 1973 (30 min ... A: Ben Henton and Al Kneck were former saxophone players for Sousa who opened a store in Philadelphia ... | ||
| Buescher valve trombone question | 12/18/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: My son is a senior in high school and has been playing trombone since 5th grade. He is now in about ... A: That horn was made around 1920. I have a Buescher valve trombone that is a bit older than the one ... | ||
| King Liberty Trumpet | 12/17/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: It's serial # is 59xxx so I know it was made between 1915-1925. I just want to know if it's ... A: That is like asking if a 74 Lincoln is better than a 89 Chevy. The Liberty was a better ... | ||
| Brass instruments from the former GDR | 12/14/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have spent many hours browsing the English language internet without much success. The pre-WW2 ... A: First a comment on serial number lists: Most serial number lists that are available are ... | ||
| Our Own Make Salvation Army cornet | 12/13/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: We have a silver cornet with "Our Own Make" with the old Salvation Army crest (2 swords, cross, ... A: Salvation Army brought out the Our Own Make models in 1893. They were first at Clerkenwell Rd, ... | ||
| Holton Euphonium circ 1945 | 12/5/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: My father bought a rebuilt double bell Frank Holton (Elkhorn, Wis) Bb Euphonium the summer of 1945. ... A: It is a bore size. Unlike some companies, like Conn, Holton does not seem to have used a numbering ... | ||
| 18H Director Trombone | 11/30/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I just bought a Conn Director Trombone Serial number 18H 314376. I just want to know what year it ... A: Good point, that hadn't occurred to me. So, the next possibility that occurs to me is that your ... | ||
| 18H Director Trombone | 11/29/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I just bought a Conn Director Trombone Serial number 18H 314376. I just want to know what year it ... A: Just to confirm, I'm assuming you are talking about the 18H with the Coprion bell. You can look ... | ||
| Sherman Clay & Co Holton Cornet | 11/20/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have purchased (for a steal) a Holton Cornet from ebay. The serial number is 22672. The bell is ... A: That is interesting. Most serial number lists are created after the fact and usually by fans and ... | ||
| Carl Fischer Reliable New York cornet | 11/13/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have my great grandfather's cornet (?- shorter than the student trumpet my husband has)- silver ... A: The part between the horn and mouthpiece is sometimes called a bit, and they were common on cornets ... | ||
| Hawkes & Son Trombone | 11/9/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have a silver coloured Trombone with quite alot of engraving on it (flowers etc) It also says on ... A: Bev, I concur with your speculation that it probably dates to the 1930-ish period. I've not seen ... | ||
| Old C.G. Conn Trombone | 11/3/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I recently inherited an old trombone from my late grandfather and was hoping you could help identify ... A: Conn re-used some of his model numbers. So, you can have very different instruments sporting the ... | ||
| Higham cornet | 10/16/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have been given old cornet made by this istrument maker, but it appears to be incomplete. There ... A: It seems like the bits for these old cornets disappear faster than the horns themselves. Since that ... | ||
| Question about a trumpet and a cello | 9/30/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have a couple questions about the quailty of instruments. The two in mind are a trumpet and a ... A: The Couesnon trumpet circa 1927 should at least originally have been a good player. The Kay ... | ||
| A Lorenzo Sansone horn | 9/28/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I've bid on this horn on e-bay for $395 but they say it needs a valve job... (has only 10% ... A: Well, of course many things are possible. But going from the most probably, I would suspect that ... | ||
| A Lorenzo Sansone horn | 9/28/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I've bid on this horn on e-bay for $395 but they say it needs a valve job... (has only 10% ... A: It is hard to make much sense out of this description. If the valves don't work properly, they would ... | ||
| Carl Fischer Trombone | 9/23/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I traded an old banjo for this trombone. There is an ornate engraving on it, says "Carl Fischer ... A: Artist was one of the many model names that Fischer used on the instruments sold by the company. ... | ||
| Trouble finding right mouthpiece for antique mellophone | 9/21/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I am having trouble finding a mouthpiece for an antique mellophone. The local music store does not ... A: Glenn, That is going to be a tough one. Distin, effectively, used a vintage short shank trumpet ... | ||
| Baritone Bugle | 9/17/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I was in a Marine Drum & Bugle Corps in Danang, South Vietnam/ 1966-'68. Played baritone bugle. I ... A: Gretsch, Olds, Slingerland, Getzen, Ludwig, Conn would be the most likely choices. I remember D&B ... | ||
| Lyons Emperor Sousaphone | 9/15/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: Greetings, Recently acquired a cosmetically challenged but playable EEb Sousaphone with "Lyons ... A: It appears that it is likely that Lyons purchased from a variety of makers. But you might be able ... | ||
| Frank Holton Sousaphone | 9/12/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I have a Frank holton sousaphone serial number indicates that it was made it 1950 ive been trying to ... A: OK, the key is important. Most sousaphones made were either in BBb or Eb. But the use of Eb ... | ||
| bore size -Holton Revelation | 9/4/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: one of my older horns a Holton Revelation/#48 from the mid 1920's has a bore marking/the numeral "1" ... A: I'll post some inquiries and see if anything comes up. Here is one response: Holton does not seemed ... | ||
| W. Frank Co. Bugle | 8/31/2011 | Kenton Scott |
| Q: I just aquired a single valve bugle to add to a turn of the 19th/20th century Indian War/Spanish ... A: Is this the Frank bugle with the #1 on the bell or the one with the #34 on the valve casing? We ... | ||
Antique Musical Instruments
Answers by Expert:
Kenton Scott
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Please note: My area is BRASS instruments, not other wind, string or percussion instruments. I will provide information on antique, obscure and out of production BRASS instruments. 1) Please don't ask for evaluations, I'll not provide them on this site. 2) I am often asked very similar questions, so I'd invite you to first check on Horn-u-Copia.net. Much of the information I have garnered about this topic, I have posted on this WEB site.
Experience
I perform in several historical bands, have informally researched the area, repair brass instruments, and operate a Forum dedicated to the topic at http://horn-u-copia.net
Education/Credentials
B.S. Ed, M.S.
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