Meet the 8D

And here it is.

It roughly cost what I paid for it for repairs, but from what Josh says, it's now worth significantly more.

So, it's a Conn 8D, C series, which means it's from around 1963.  From what Josh says, it's been around the block a few times.  Aside for a good cleaning, it got some needed patches and ferrules replaced, new bearing plates, lots of dents removed, key extenders, and it needed a new bell ring (which needed to be machined down a bit).

I've never had a Conn 8D before.  At first glance it's not a very flashy-looking horn.  It doesn't have the elegance or artistry in the construction that other horns have.  It's rather plain, actually.  And Conn by nature is usually associated with school horns.  But for some reason the Conn 8D has taken on a life of its own and become the standard for big horn playing and the "New York Sound."

It's interesting how a brand of horn can become synonymous with a sound or a geographic area.  I'm not going to claim I actually know that they are.  I do know that Holtons were always extremely popular in the South and Midwest.  In College it was all about the Holton horns.  Nobody would be caught dead playing a Conn.

My Holton doesn't owe me anything.  I've played it for almost 30 years.  I'm always fighting it's urge to be "fuffy," which is standard for the Holton horn.  Don't get me wrong -- they're excellent horns.  But there's something about the 8D sound that is compelling to me.

So this morning I gave it its first shake-down.  The sound is big.  Very big.  Bigger than I expected.  It's not crass or harsh, just big.  As with any horn there are good notes and bad notes.  I'm finding more good ones than bad.  I think some of the bad ones might go away when I take it out on the open road.

As for the accuracy, time will tell.  I'm sure there is still a lot of fine-tuning I need to do.  But right now it's better than the Holton, but not perfect.  I think it's also me.  I can't blame the hardware for everything!

I'll chronicle anything worth mentioning as I continue to shake it down.  I can't wait for band to start!!!!