Just Purchased a Conn 20A.

adc

Anyone have one? I swore I would never buy another horn but I couldn't resist it..$300

[img]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/JvgAAOSw3Zpf1ve5/s-l1600.jpg[/img]

J. Jericho

@adc The page link didn't load an image, so I looked it up on eBay. If it's the one with the satin finish, it's a beauty! Now all you need is a Conn 1 or 2 mouthpiece to finish it off.

adc

@j-jericho Yea the link did not work yea it is this one:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/JvgAAOSw3Zpf1ve5/s-l1600.jpg

I think I am good fore mouthpieces. I use a short shank Yamaha 11C4. I really need to pull the tuning slide an extra inch but it blows so much easier.

Take care!!!

Kehaulani

I've got a 20A. Use a Curry Vingage5. Play it solely for Beiderbecke era type music. I don't notice much adjusting except it feels a little more open than playing my trumpets. Could be the mouthpiece, don't know-don't care.

flugelgirl

I did one of these a while ago - cool horn but not a great player. Played best with an extra deep short shank mpc.
https://www.brassandwinds.com/blogs/news/1921-conn-20a-flugelhorn

adc

@flugelgirl said in Just Purchased a Conn 20A.:

I did one of these a while ago - cool horn but not a great player. Played best with an extra deep short shank mpc.
https://www.brassandwinds.com/blogs/news/1921-conn-20a-flugelhorn

Yea, I know what you mean. I have a Yahama Short Shank MP on it with a medium depth cup.11C4. Doesn't play like my Concert Grand but cool horn..lol.
[img]https://i.postimg.cc/rFH2hXt2/IMG-4194.jpg[/img]

chelpres

@adc Connloyalist has some interesting info on the evolution of the 20A cornet, suggesting it was a continuation of the Pan American model, albeit under the Conn brand. I have a Pan American cornet, serial number 225xxx dating manufacture to 1951. My question is, how does this differ, if at all, from the later iterations of the original Pan American model marketed under the Conn name?
Regards Tom

adc

@chelpres Thank you. I looke up that info!!

I have to say, in the last 4 years I have owned and played 30+ cornets..Kings, Conns, Committees, Ambassadors, Yorks, Holtons, Getzens, Bach.

My conclusion:

Four tiers:

I. Superior. My 1982 Bach Strad 184G
II. One notch about Average. My Conn Concert Grand
III. Average. (probably 95% of horns out there( 26+ Horns I owned fall into this catagory. ) Pick any two and you can usually pick out the better player.of the two.
IV, Clearly Inferior. 1890 ish Bo, and 1906 Conn Conqueror.

I have gone back and started Arbans (again) from scratch. It is frankly tedious and more difficult to play a lot of these exercises with all my average horns.

My message. I always felt that if you were good the quality of the horn was not a big factor. Pretty much changed my mind. An up and coming very talented HS student needs a horn like the Strad to advance to the top tier. I thought in HS and College I was "Good". I realize that a great horn could have put me above "good"..certainly not great.

You comeback players should consider forking out the extra $$$'s. You can't take it with you.

flugelgirl

Condition is also a HUGE factor with these older horns - you may have felt differently about some of them based on piston wear alone! I find that some of the old (1910-1930) cornets that seal better either because of less piston wear or those that have had valve jobs really do play a lot like some modern horns. Personally, I always prefer a modern horn in pretty new condition to gig on, but I make a significant income playing (except during COVID ) and do not want to have to go on a big safari to replace a horn. Really, though, there are plenty of current designs based on older ones as well. Shep crook designs haven’t changed a ton in the last 70yrs or so.

bnbechtel

@flugelgirl I guess I'm a comeback player; I had a Strad when I was a student ... I didn't like the tone I got on it, so I'm trying out different vintage corners to see which sounds best for me. I've had an Ambassador, a Conn 80A, and a Getzen Super Deluxe. I really think I'm bonding with the 1923 80A, I haven't tried a 20A, but everything is a bit of a consideration. I sound similar on all of these horns, though there are on obviously some differences ... the 80A sounds broader and has more in the low frequency of the horn resonating, and I love it. I never loved my Strad this much. I don't know what I'll be able to use the horns for yet, or if I'll just be playing to myself. The Getzen doesn't have the low end, it's more focused sounding, but has a certain zing to it.I ordered an Olds Special trumpet, as these seen to be broadly regarded well, and we'll see how I sound on it. I guess I would play a Strad if it were one magical horn that I felt an attachment to.