AboutMike Pawul Expertise I am familiar with most trumpets, cornets, and flugelhorns. I can answer most questions about playing and musicality. Best of all, if I can't answer it directly I play regularly in five bands and have several "old timers" that are familiar with most things that I am not. I collect, repair, and refinish old horns and have sold over 350 with more than 230 on ebay
Experience I have played since 1965 and studied with many directors and trumpeters. I have been collecting since 2002 and have over 150 horns in my personal collection. I have done repair and refinsh since 2003 and have done over 500 horns.
Organizations Kosair Shrine Brass Band and Dance Band, The Notables, The Mello Tones, Bourbon City Brass Band,
River Cities Concert Band,
University of Louisville Community Band,
Member of Trumpet Players International Network (TPIN),
Bugles Across America (BAA),
Education/Credentials I played at Brunswick High School. I played through college and have a BS in Business Administration from Trinity College.
Awards and Honors Without being vain, numerous awards and have played in several honor bands.
Question Hi, I have a horn which I think is a bugle, it looks like a trumpet but has one valve and one lever. I am obviously not a musician. My problem is this horn is frozen up and the mouth piece is stuck on. What is involved with repair? Is it valueble enough to repair? I would like to know if worth restoring?
Answer Lisa, Sorry for the delay but I had to work 11 days at 12 hours a day and today is my first day off. The Titleist is a bugle and the valve regulates which key it plays in. The horn is from about 1973 from the Getzen factory in Elkhorn Wisconsin. It would still play fine if the valve is stuck but only in one key. A normal repair shop would charge only a few dollars to remove the mouthpiece. Most likely it has a stuck valve from sitting without use. In that case it would be a minor repair and could be done very inexpensively. The real question is what do you intend to do with it? If you just want to play around with it I wouldn't spend much more than the mouthpiece and freeing the stuck valve. However, if you want to keep it for a collection I would have it cleaned and repaired. The value on it in top shape is around $100, so it wouldn't be practical to spend money on it just to sell it.
