Dear Friends,
I don't know the identity of the mystery E-Mailer & I have no dog in this particular fight. Still & all, I believe it's possible Mr. or Ms. Voice was just poking fun (as folks do on this list sometimes) rather than attacking integrity -- pretty much like pointing out that Walt Disney would spare no expense in the pursuit of making money.
However that may be (or possibly may not be), I strongly suspect (on the basis of no analysis & zero experience) that it would be advisable for most of us who are in operational contact with brass instruments to spend more time practicing them & less money freezing them. If I'm wrong, it's not for the 1st time.
In my case, I'm guessing the tangible benefit I would get from cryogenic treatment of my horn would be about the same as the tangible benefit I would get from taking a couple of ibuprofen tablets before a performance, I don't know.
The main thing about cryogenic treatment I don't understand is whether it can be reversed. That is, suppose I have my Josef Lidl compensating double horn or my Holton Farkas Model full double horn treated cryogenically & after the treatment I decide the horn plays worse than before the treatment. How do I get the cryogenic treatment undone? Heating beyond a certain point would melt the solder, no?
I'm guessing that nothing can be done to reverse cryogenic treatment of brass instruments. If I have my horn frozen & don't like the result, all I can do is sell off the treated horn & buy an untreated replacement. Then again, when I list the treated horn on eBay, I can sing the praises of its cryogenic enhancement to bid up the price.
And despite the fact I have no dog in the cryogenics fight, I do have experience with Osmun Brass -- positive experience. Years ago I bought 1 of their close-out Yamaha YHR-666 horns for $1,050 brand new. Great horn. Great deal. Shucks, they're going for more than that nowadays after 20+ years of use -- when you can even find 1 at all (they're becoming semi-rare). I gave the horn to my then-teenage son, who gave up horn after a couple of years & sold the YHR-666 (for more than Osmun Brass charged for it new) & used the proceeds to buy a rock & roll electronic keyboard instrument. So it goes.
-- Alan Cole, rank amateur
McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
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I feel I need to respond to the comments made by THE VOICE regarding cryogenic processing. His unsupported remarks are a direct attack on my integrity and have no place on this list.
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