Hmmm -- Ver-r-r-r-y in-n-n-n-teresting. (As Arte Johnson used to say.)
You don't suppose the horn is counterfeit, do you?
I mean, how much money can there be in faking a semi-historical instrument worth no more than a few hundred bucks on eBay?
My old horn teacher (lessons back in the 1955-1960 era) had a Schmidt-type double horn. (He also had an authentic original Geyer double, but that's another story.) I don't know whether his Schmidt horn was a Schmidt-Schmidt or a Conn-Schmidt. Whatever it was, I always thought that the piston valve mounted sideways on it was kind of cool.
Years later, in a Horn Call article, I read about modifications that somebody came up with in an effort to deal with the uncomfortable left-hand position involved in operating a Schmidt-style double horn. Out of respect I suppose, the article didn't come right out & say the awkward left-hand position makes the unmodified Schmidt double unplayable, but that was the impression I came away with after reading the piece.
If the eBay price stays relatively low, that horn would make a nice wall hanger irrespective of its authenticity, no?
-- Alan Cole, rank amateur
McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 10:58 PM 2/24/2005, you wrote:If you know anything about Schmidt horns (the old piston thumb-valve models from Germany),
then I would ask that you go here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16215&item=7302616771&rd=1
...and take a look at this "Schmidt model" horn listed on E-bay.
The seller has good feedback (meaning people have been happy with his auctions), but there
are a few red flags that pop up with this horn. The seller just MIGHT BE playing things a
bit coy on ID'ing this horn. I used to have a Schmidt, and have played and/or seen a total
of about FIVE of them, NONE of which looked like this horn. The tubing and layout is VERY
close, but, for me, none of the detail bits and pieces ring true.
I'm aware that many "Schmidt-like" horns have been made over the years; Conn had one and
so did, I'm told, many other manufacturers. However, I'm not enough of an old horn expert
to tell if this E-bay horn is simply a later model genuine Schmidt, or a pattern copy.
For me, several red flags pop up on this horn. They are,
MECHANICAL ROTARY VALVE LINKAGE: Perhaps they came this way, but none I've seen were so-equipped.
LEADPIPE SHAPE:
Starting at the mouthpiece, the leadpipe on the E-bay horn follows the curve of the
bell-section (normal), but then, after only a short distance, it suddenly makes a turn
across the middle of the horn, like a Holton or Conn leadpipe does. This is UNLIKE any of
the 4-or-5 Schmidts I've seen before. On all the others, the leadpipe continues to follow
the curve of the bell-section until THE VERY BOTTOM of the horn (as the player holds it),
then turns upward and heads toward the main tuning slide. Or at least that's the way I
remember things.
LEADPIPE LENGTH:
This Schmidt has a SHORTER leadpipe than the others I've seen, prompting the question, "Is
this a Schmidt at all?"
3rd VALVE SLIDE ON F-SIDE:
All the Schmidts I've seen used the common "3rd-valve-swan's-neck-swoop," on the F-side,
and ONLY THE Bb slide was a simple 6-piece patchwork of 2-curves and 4-straight pieces.
The E-bay horn has both 3rd valve slides of the 6-piece construction.
VALVE LEVERS, BRACES, VALVE CAPS, ETC:
All unfamiliar to me. I have my father-in-law's Schmidt single-F, which is a later model;
born after WWII. Even so, most all the little widgets and details are very much like my
old "between-the-wars" Schmidt double. But this horn has none of these familiar pieces.
Also, if it's NOT a genuine Schmidt, then what-the-howdy is it? The "Carl Fischer"
inscription on the bell appears on many true Schmidts and, as I understand it, ID's them
as post WWII models, imported by Fischer. Perhaps Fischer also had his own "Schmidts"
made?
If not a true Schmidt, how good a horn would this one be?
What say ye?
jrc in SC
_______________________________________________
-- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 266.4.0 - Release Date: 2/22/2005
_______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
