I received a call from the client - an excellent armature/semi-pro player - who was wondering how to acquire a horn that he played in College. The only problem: the college still owned it. I suggested he contact the university to see if they would be willing to accept a new horn for the old one. The university was happy to take the deal. The horn was unplayable after being abused in the college. This horn had a lot of sentimental value to the client as it renewed his interest in horn playing.

Once he received the horn he brought it into the shop for a full assessment. The mouthpipe was bent in the sleeve area about 4 inches from where the mouthpiece goes in, and the bell tail had dents from 1st branch to the flare. There was not an inch that was smooth. The entire horn was in terrible condition. I fabricated a new bell cap, since the replacement ones from Conn don't look like the original Elkhart ones. I also fabricated a new mouthpipe sleeve, the original was was beyond repair. The valves were re-built and custom removable mouthpipe system was fabricated. Finally the horn was taken apart and soldered back together, reassembling the instrument without stress and back to its original condition.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions about my work on this instrument or any of my other work.