King Silvertone Cornet
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A friend of a friend has asked if I might be interested in his father’s 1942 King Silvertone Cornet. It appears to be in good condition, with patina but no obvious structural or cosmetic damage. It’s stored in the original case. I don’t have a cornet, and will probably have no reason to ever use it other than for my own playing pleasure. Do you have any thoughts on how seriously I should consider it, and what average value of these old horns is?
-tj
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It is either a King Long Cornet or King Master cornet. Value depends on condition and which one it is. The Master is more due to demand. General range is $300-$800 approximately. Condition is of course also important. If there is significant compression loss, drop the price accordingly.
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The Master models are really great players - I have a Silvertone Master from 1939 that’s near mint, and it’s super fun to play! I did a 1920s model for work that had a little wear, but was an equally good player. Definitely check the compression and overall condition, but they are versatile and fun to play. I’ve used mine both in Jazz jams and BBB and it fit in nicely. I prefer my Adams in BBB, but the Master did the job almost as well, and no one complained about it not being a shepherd crook - they were too fascinated by the engraving
Here’s a blog post featuring a couple.. I have also done others at work closer in age to mine, and they have been good players as well.
https://www.brassandwinds.com/blogs/news/what-s-on-my-bench-a-1915-king-master-model-cornet -
Richard and flugelgirl,
Thank you for the information! Here’s some photos of it. I’m going to play it this week. Do you know if a standard trumpet mouthpiece (my Monette Prana) will fit?
-tj
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@tjveloce That’s a Silver tone master model. You can’t put a trumpet mouthpiece in a cornet. These guys play better with a short shank cornet mouthpiece, but will do ok with a long shank cornet if that’s all you’ve got.
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Here’s the catalog info for that model:
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I think they're quite attractive. I would like to have one.
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@administrator said in King Silvertone Cornet:
I think they're quite attractive. I would like to have one.
This one is available for purchase. It’s in the San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Cruz) and I’m going to help the owner find a suitable home for it. I went and saw the horn in person today, played it a little, and got the history. I’ll post the report shortly. In the mean time, if you’re interested, contact me privately.
I have no interest in the horn nor a financial stake in it. I can only say that despite not knowing much about cornets or this particular model, it is in the parlance of the vintage car world, a “Barn Find.”
-tj
