Conn 8D
J Robert Lee
Where is a good place to look? My son starts college this year and has
decided that his Holton breaks up in the upper register. The 20 year
old 8D that he has borrowed works nicely, but the owner will not sell it.
Any ideas? He won't use my old King either.
--
J. Robert Lee, Ph.D.
j...@gulbransen.com
Susan Plummer
: Mark & anyone else on the net:
: Have you tried Lawson's "Fourier Series" double horn? It is
: fantastic! One of his sons got a doctorate in physics and has come
: home to work the factory. It was his idea that got me corrected about
: the impedance mismatch between the leadpipe of my H-180 Holton and the
: Giardinelli C! mouthpiece I had been using for years. Well, I
: selected one of their mouthpieces that matched the leadpipe and ,
: voile! the a'' above the staff came down to proper pitch on the 12
: valve combination. Anyway, not to diverge from the subject at hand --
: never liked the classic 8Ds! Don't know why but I just didn't fill
: them out. Kudos to Conn ad kudos to Lawson for selling me a
: mouthpiece that solved my problem instead of a $5,500 Horn!
: ken crawley
: Holton H-180
You should try Lawson's new Classical Model. It's even better than the
Fourier.
susan
Phil Narini
> home to work the factory. It was his idea that got me corrected about
> the impedance mismatch between the leadpipe of my H-180 Holton and the
> Giardinelli C! mouthpiece I had been using for years. Well, I
> selected one of their mouthpieces that matched the leadpipe and ,
> voile! the a'' above the staff came down to proper pitch on the 12
(John Kowalchuk using narini's computer)
I'd like to hear a bit more about this. I've been playing a H-179 for
over twenty years using a Giardinelli F-16 with relative success.
BTW what is Lawson's address? I've lately been interested in getting a
new leadpipe and would like to check him out.
> never liked the classic 8Ds! Don't know why but I just didn't fill
> them out.
I'll go along with that. Some years ago I was having my valves replaced
and the job took much longer than promised. I wound up playing a two
week run of a show on an 8-D. It was all I could do to try and fill the
thing up!
Reply here 'til Sun. or to john.ko...@cdn.org after that.
MarkT70160
same tool and dye that they did in the 60's. This 8D is supposed to be as
good as the old ones were.. They went through all of the $$$ trouble and
made some crap for a while.. They also have a 10D supposed to be coming
out soon as well. Try to get ahold of a new 8D and see what he thinks...
Other than that, most of us hold dearly to the old 8D's..
ccchas@showme.missouri.edu@missouri.edu
:>Conn recently within the past year or so started producing the 8D with the
I think I saw a 10D (Geyer-type wrap) at the IHS workshop last summer in KC.
I also saw a prototype descant double, which I think they intend to call the 12D.
Has anyone played the Holton 188? This is supposed to be an 8D clone, based on
some vintage 8Ds. I heard the Wichita Band Instrument folks liked this H188
so much they purchased the entire first production run of it!
Ken A. Crawley
Have you tried Lawson's "Fourier Series" double horn? It is
fantastic! One of his sons got a doctorate in physics and has come
the impedance mismatch between the leadpipe of my H-180 Holton and the
Giardinelli C! mouthpiece I had been using for years. Well, I
selected one of their mouthpieces that matched the leadpipe and ,
voile! the a'' above the staff came down to proper pitch on the 12
mouthpiece that solved my problem instead of a $5,500 Horn!
ken crawley
Holton H-180
MarkT70160
and also reworked the lead pipe.. The members of the National Symphony
play on his horns. I tried them when I played with them for a set, and
didn't like them, but the work that he did on the Alex was unreal..
Thanks.. Neat shop in Boonesboro, MD.. Everyone needs to see it..
MarkT70160
much from her.. Hope she is ok.. Friend of mine that used to play with
the Kapp Virtuosi Players of NY plays on a new 8D and has raves about it.
He is very picky and hard to please, so if he liked it, then most of us
will love it.. Says that the upper range is as solid as the old 8D's
were..
Mark
Susan Plummer
: (John Kowalchuk using narini's computer)
: I'd like to hear a bit more about this. I've been playing a H-179 for
: over twenty years using a Giardinelli F-16 with relative success.
: BTW what is Lawson's address? I've lately been interested in getting a
: new leadpipe and would like to check him out.
Lawson's address is:
Lawson Brass Instruments
21023 Keadle Road
P.O. Box 38
Boonsboro, Maryland 21713
Lawson's leadpipes are incredible; they can make an okay horn play great.
But be preared for a high price. I believe they are worth the money, this
is just a warning, so you won't wince so much when you hear they price quote.
susan
Brass Arts
the old King Factory, is a superior instrument to the ones produced during
Conn's "Reign of Terror" in Abilene, Texas. However, the new Conn 8D is
built using King valves. The design of these are not quite as good as the
old Elkhart Conns in that the rotor facing is tapered but the shafts are
cylindrical making a good tigh fit a bit more difficult to acheive. These
new valves are superior to the Abilene valves where the entire rotor was
cylindrical.
There is also speculation, (though I do not have an unused Elkhart horn
for comparison measurements) that the bells on the new 8D's are a bit
thicker and slightly less resonant.
The 10D has been on the market for more than a year and is a good Geyer
style horn.
Randy Harrison
Proprietor,
Brass Arts Unlimited
tfrazier
(nickle silver) with the serial # starting with HG. Do you know if this
is from the Elkhart, Abilene, or UMI days?
All I know is I like the way it plays over any other Conn I've tried. I
also like it better than the Paxman I test played..
Todd K. Frazier
David Erickson
tfrazier <tfra...@databank.com> wrote:
>You seem to know something about the 8D, so I'll ask: I have a Conn 8D,
>(nickle silver) with the serial # starting with HG. Do you know if this
>is from the Elkhart, Abilene, or UMI days?
>
Here is a reposting of the Conn serial number list from the Allied catalog.
It looks like your horn was mfd in the '80's, in July of the year corresponding
with the next digit in your serial number.
Gordon Cherry sent out this message to the trombone list. It is great
information so here it is:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The list of serial numbers below are for all brass instruments manufactured
by Conn Instruments since 1876. The numbers come from the Allied repair
catalogue and were supplied to me by Mr. Bob MacDonald, first class
instrument repairman and sax player from Vancouver. Please print yourself
a copy and spread it around as many players have been asking about this for
a long time.
If you have any further questions do not hesitate to call me at my address:
gch...@unixg.ubc.ca. Thanks to all for their patience and interest. Here
goes:
SERIAL # DATE SERIAL # DATE
===================== ====================
1 1876 142,575 1916
700 1877 146,600 1917
1,700 1878 155,000 1918
3,000 1879 165,900 1919
5,000 1880 169,500 1920
6,000 1881 175,500 1921
7,000 1882 190,450 1922
8,000 1883 198,475 1923
9,000 1884 206,700 1924
10,500 1885 219,850 1925
12,000 1886 230,900 1926
13,000 1887 239,500 1927
14,000 1888 252,900 1928
16,500 1889 263,200 1929
18,000 1890 273,700 1930
20,000 1891 280,130 1931
22,500 1892 281,360 1932
25,000 1893 289,743 1933
27,500 1894 294,687 1934
29,000 1895 300,690 1935
34,000 1896 307,996 1936
40,000 1897 315,575 1937
46,700 1898 322,650 1938
52,000 1899 324,859 1939
58,000 1900 327,850 1940
66,700 1901 338,500 1941
71,000 1902 348,150 1942
76,000 1903 354,600 1943
82,000 1904 355,500 1944
88,000 1905 355,750 1945
94,000 1906 355,850 1946
100,000 1907 366,650 1947
106,000 1908 376,100 1948
111,000 1090 383,650 1949
116,000 1910 389,600 1950
121,000 1911 396,300 1951
126,000 1912 393,301 1952
130,150 1913 420,057 1953
132,400 1914 427,301 1954
137,000 1915 500,001 1955
571,850 1956
652,002 1957
718,696 1958
779,657 1959
834,200 1960
898,556 1961
949,456 1962
C00,501 1963
C73,854 1964
E54,106 1965
R31,247 1966
NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM 1967 TO MARCH 1974. AROUND THAT TIME THE
CONN BRASS INSTRUMENTS WERE BEING MANUFACTURED IN SOUTH TEXAS AND NOT IN
ELKHART. IF YOU HAVE A HORN THAT SAYS TEXAS THAT IS THE VINTAGE FROM THOSE
YEARS. FOR THE MOST PART THOSE YEARS WERE NOT VERY GOOD ONES FOR
WORKMANSHIP, AS THE WORKERS WERE UNSKILLED COMPARED TO THE GREAT CRAFTSMEN
FROM ELKHART.
BEGINNING IN MARCH 1974 A CODE SYSTEM WAS SET UP. THE CODE IS AS FOLLOWS:
First character (letter) indicates decade, "G" for 1970's, "H" for 1980's,
etc.
Second character (letter) indicates month of year, "A" for January, "B" for
February, etc.
Third Character (number) indicates year of decade, reading directly.
Fourth Character (number) indicates group as follows:
1 - Cornet
2 - Trumpet
3 - Alto
4 - French Horn
5 - Mellophonium
6 - Valve Trombone
7 - Slide Trombone
8 - Baritone - Euphonium
9 - Tuba
10 - Sousapone
The remaining four numbers constitute the serial number on a monthly basis.
Whooooohhh!! Okay all you Conn players. Lets see who has the oldest horn
out there. Maybe as a contest we can do an article with a picture for the
I.T.A.
Gordon Cherry
Principal Trombone
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Adjunct Professor of Trombone
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA
Bryan Higgins
>Here is a reposting of the Conn serial number list from the Allied catalog.
...
> 949,456 1962
> C00,501 1963
> C73,854 1964
> E54,106 1965
> R31,247 1966
>
>NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM 1967 TO MARCH 1974. AROUND THAT TIME THE
>CONN BRASS INSTRUMENTS WERE BEING MANUFACTURED IN SOUTH TEXAS AND NOT IN
>ELKHART. IF YOU HAVE A HORN THAT SAYS TEXAS THAT IS THE VINTAGE FROM THOSE
>YEARS.
Well, hmm. Mine is M90570. Does this mean it was made between 1965 and 1966?
Did they really run through all those serial numbers from E to R in just one
short year? I wonder if this is really accurate.
My bell says simply "CG Conn Ltd, Elhart Ind Usa." I bought it used in 1971
from someone who had never really played it; since it was in new condition, it
was hard to determine its age.
--
Bryan Higgins, Berkeley California
(br...@well.com, br...@netcom.com)
Charlie Turner
:>David Erickson (dav...@rational.com) wrote:
:>Well, hmm. Mine is M90570. Does this mean it was made between 1965 and 1966?
:>Did they really run through all those serial numbers from E to R in just one
:>short year? I wonder if this is really accurate.
I have called the UMI general information number where they have been able to
look up Conn serial numbers for me. That number is 800-759-2666.
Apparently they have some additional references for serial numbers that fall in
that 'missing' time period.
Bill Strickland
were in the N series. The move was made about 1972 or 73.
--Bill Strickland
James Szinger
Erickson) writes:
>The list of serial numbers below are for all brass instruments manufactured
>by Conn Instruments since 1876. The numbers come from the Allied repair
>catalogue and were supplied to me by Mr. Bob MacDonald, first class
>instrument repairman and sax player from Vancouver. Please print yourself
>a copy and spread it around as many players have been asking about this for
>a long time.
....
>BEGINNING IN MARCH 1974 A CODE SYSTEM WAS SET UP. THE CODE IS AS FOLLOWS:
>First character (letter) indicates decade, "G" for 1970's, "H" for 1980's,
>etc.
>Second character (letter) indicates month of year, "A" for January, "B" for
>February, etc.
>Third Character (number) indicates year of decade, reading directly.
>Fourth Character (number) indicates group as follows:
....
I'm afraid that this list incomplete for instruments manufactured in
the 1990s. In the spring of 1990, I purchased a new 8D (with tapered
valves) and the only thing that looks like a serial number is stamped
on the casing of the second valve. It is of the form "99 999999"
where each '9' represents a digit; there are no letters anywhere. I
think the number is about 38 255276. (This is from meory so the last
few digits are probably wrong.) The 276 is also repeated on the main
tuning slide. The engraving on the bell says simply,
CONN
8D
USA
Can anyone shed more light on the numbering of the newer Conns?
Ciao,
Jim
--
James Szinger, SECF Support Specialist
James....@Yale.edu, szi...@minerva.cis.yale.edu