Think I can make this work?

I got this on Ebay. I'm gonna try my hand at fixing this thing and seeing if it'll play. If it plays in tune, thats a bonus!

What is it?

looks like a trumpet, Indo

I'm no trumpetist, but it looks like the only problem is the bent tubing at the mouthpiece. Fix that and re-oil the valves and slides, and it should be good, I think

good luck!

Actually, one of my Connstellations has a bent leadpipe (not that bad, though), and I haven't even bothered to fix it. As long as there's no kink in the metal, it shouldn't make a difference, playing-wise.... sure it'll LOOK funny, but that'll be it's defining feature

edit: actually, looking at it again, it might affect the playability. That's a pretty major bend...

There were more pictures in the auction. The mouthpipe is really torn up, some slides don't move at all, the mouthpiece is locked in place, and there have been some really bad solder jobs. The valves supposedly work, which is why I plan to use this as a fixer-upper, but they have a lot of wear (which was evident in the pictures).

This one is a 1927 Buescher, BTW.

There's a mouthpiece puller that I've seen used in the past. Goodluck bringing it back to life.

I've used small ones and big, vice-mounted models. I'm sure I'll find a way to get that piece outta there!

Just use a wrench. You don't need that mouthpiece anyways...

Depending on how far gone the tuning slide and lead pipe are, I've considered trying to bastardize a replacement leadpipe onto it. We'll see when I get it.

so what's the update on this thing?

It arrived...at home.

And I get home tomorrow.

So, no updates yet.

OK, I got a good look at it today.

First, its actually not in too bad a shape. A lot of dings and dents, but I think most of them can be worked out.

Only the tuning slide is stuck. That one may be difficult to free. The other three slides move, though they tend to be sluggish. The valves move and look somewhat like old Benge valves. I did some wiping on the bell, and the silver is actually in pretty good shape. It'll take some work, but I think I can get it used-horn shiny, though not new horn shiny.

Blowing on the mouthpiece does make a sound, but at some point there is a blockage and only two really thin sounds come out and neither are very good.

On the bell it is marked Beuscher, made in Elkhart Indiana. The leadpipe is in pretty poor shape, and there is a lot of deformation right around the mouthpiece reciever. The 2nd valve slide is also pretty beat.

I'll get some photos up when I get the chance.

Gave it a bath last night.

There is some nice silver left on this horn. Most of the black has been coming off. I think there may even be some gold accents on the bell!

The valves are a very neat design. Rather than having a 2-prong valve guide, they have 3-prong guides. I fiddled with it a bit and got it blowing. Almost impossible to play, but the notes are there. I think the battered leadpipe may be at fault for making it so hard to play. I picked up my Kanstul afterwards and was amazed at just how easy to play it is after this old Buescher! Supposedly, these horns were narrow-bore "peashooter" type, with a real bright sound. So far, thats a pretty accurate description.

The corks on the valves were all worn out, and it looks like the water key corks could be replaced too. Lots of really bad soldering on the braces as well; I'll have to take some time to clean that up.

Afterjob pics ?

I couldn't tell that it was a silver horn from the initial pictures.

Coming soon!

So is there a kink in the lead pipe, or will you be able to bend it back without a problem?

Also, how do you put a trumpet back in tune ?

The leadpipe is not just bent; there is a lot of crinkling and distortion on it as well. There are some very poor re-solders on spots as well that I should clean up. I'll be able to try a mouthpiece puller tomorrow, and from there I might be able to find something to bend it back with. Oddly, the mouthpiece seems to be in the best shape of the whole horn!

As to how to get it to play in tune again, well I have no clue off-hand how to answer that one! If worse comes to worse, I may try sticking an old Conn leadpipe on it, and tossing the current one. Conns of that era were pretty similar in bore size, and that may work.

The saxophones were fairly similar as well. Buescher actually sat on the board at Conn before he left to start his own company, so the designs are really really similar (though I've never tried actually putting the two together).

wtf knows:freak:

All those horns, Conns, Bueschers, Kings, Olds, everything was made at the same factory in Elkhart on the same machines. I'm sure they're all interchangeable (the similar models, anyways).

But damn, man, that horn sounds ed up