Well I pulled the trigger and bought myself a nice cornet.
A Besson 700 (London)
Very nice, well looked after and essentially in new condition-one very minor ding.
Good price I think $500.
I am planning on starting up with the Sunnybank Brass Band when they recommence this year so I won't be embarrassed by my ol' faithful Chinese stencil 
Gday all, I'm new here. I wandered over from Trumpet Herald where I have been lurking for a while.
I'm a returning player after30 odd years.
I played through school but it dropped off, I was inspired to return when my son took up saxophone and i remembered how much fun a horn was to play.
I have dabbled in other instruments since that time but nothing professional.
So far I have some Chinese horns and a ZO flugelhorn which do me well. I am thinking about lessons or maybe joining a local brass band if I get good enough and they reopen after Covid.
I would really like to learn about jazz tho
Hi, I have played it and it has a nice full sweet sound I will try to develop
In regard to triggers I have never really used them so will need to learn how to properly.
I think there are some models with two triggers and I had expected this to have two.
Really I have nothing to complain about I got this for what I think was a pretty good price.
Serial no is 723-711250 so if anyone can help with with particulars from that, I think is is mid 1980s date (?)
Cheers
Thank you for that information it is good to have a date range. This one seems to have a small bore and takes a bit of getting used to. It likes higher notes and I think sounds best with a Harmon
Hi all, thanks for the greetings.
I am in Australia, I think all the usual brands are available here but I'm not really on the scene so only see what is in the music shops.
What I have noticed though is that we don't have all the great vintage horns (especially flugels) that there seem to be in the US and Europe.
Thanks for the jazzadvice link, I'll have a look.
I did a few of those cartoons earlier in the year (I can't seem to reduce them here tho)
@terryc Thanks for that, an interesting article and the link to the serial number suggests a 1984 date range.
Mine has the backward pointing waterkeys like the "older" Sovereign models rather than standard ones described for the 723, I wonder if that is significant?
Hi, I have played it and it has a nice full sweet sound I will try to develop
In regard to triggers I have never really used them so will need to learn how to properly.
I think there are some models with two triggers and I had expected this to have two.
Really I have nothing to complain about I got this for what I think was a pretty good price.
Serial no is 723-711250 so if anyone can help with with particulars from that, I think is is mid 1980s date (?)
Cheers
Well I pulled the trigger and bought myself a nice cornet.
A Besson 700 (London)
Very nice, well looked after and essentially in new condition-one very minor ding.
Good price I think $500.
I am planning on starting up with the Sunnybank Brass Band when they recommence this year so I won't be embarrassed by my ol' faithful Chinese stencil
Thank you for that information it is good to have a date range. This one seems to have a small bore and takes a bit of getting used to. It likes higher notes and I think sounds best with a Harmon
Ok trying again, different hosting site (I can email them if you are interested too)
@oldschooleuph I think this is the same trumpet, the lady was trying to tell me it was King Tempo from 1910 but I knew it wasn't.
I would be interested to know just how old it is.
It seems similar to the one in the ebay listing above but is brass not silvered.
I have deleted the pics from this post- see below (I hope )
Hi, the serial number is: 23756
Mine is a bit different to the one you showed but broadly similar.
The mouthpiece is an older style brass, conical/funnel shape rather than the "bach" shape, it is also quite small internally- this one is great for high notes.
The finger ring is flat vertically rather than horizontally as they usually are too.
Mine has an old looking timber case with red "velvet" lining
I wonder if there is another way to show you the pictures?
@chelpres I did see photos of this on Gumtree when I was doing some research but didn't see the Gumtree ad-I saw this on Facebook.
She didn't mention Czechoslovakia to me but I did see it on the leadpipe when I was inspecting it.
It isn't the couching tiger I was hoping for but I liked it so it came home
Oh I like it.
The lady I got it from said it was her father's, but she thought it was a King Tempo and dated it to 1910 because of the serial number.
I was pretty sure by the time I got to her house it wasn't, but bought it anyway as I liked the sound.
It seems to have a tight bore and a bit of resistance, the leadpipe starts off narrow.
There is little damage, just a few small dings.
The lacquer is worn but I like that and I gave it a polish with some Mother's Mag Polish and it has come up a bit shinier.
There are some black spots I can get off with a little work.
Oh the valves and slides all work so I am not complaining.
I picked up a mystery Czech trumpet today.
It has TEMPO on the bell and a serial number vertically on the 2nd valve case.
It has an interesting flat profile finger ring.
THe valve guides appear to be metal of some sort.
Not sure how to date it
I have polished it since it came home-these are the seller's pics
