Re: [Hornlist] Eastman horn - a review
Hello Kendall, I only can confirm your impression of these horns. I was in the factory in Tenjin in China in 1994 watched, how the women workers assembled the valves without inspecting the provided parts. We told the engineers how to improve the assembling style, but they promised but did not. It is a pitty. But nevertheless, the horns are not bad at all, but require a few hours to improve them. It is a real bargain if you compare invested money playing qualities with other much more expensive products. I also used one of these horns for a concert. Not bad. But if we just look for the bargain, we will ruin our own horn makers by the time. It is woth trusting our makers pay the higher prices, as we have their warranty their service at hand. They do their best to provide us with the best possible horns. Greetings from Torino (Don Quixote Heldenleben with Zubin tonight). Hans Hello Listers, I recently purchased a Paul Eastman horn from an E-bay seller. I paid $808 including shipping. I spent a week with Walt Lawson and Co. earlier in August working on various projects, one of which was to analyze the Chinese made instrument. Here is a review. We were first truly amazed at the finish. The seller had written that it is was nickle silver and also silver plated. It is neither, but a brass horn with bright nickle plating. Walter said this is a good finish but will be problematic in removing dents as it will tend to flake off when worked. Lowell had mentioned the pitting problem as well, but remember, you will have the same problem with hard laquer. It does look very nice, though. Upon arrival, the change valve was sticking and no amount of oil helped. When I got it apart, we discovered that all the valves were poorly fitted as they had just put them together and sent it off with no lapping or finishing. The slides had not been deburred as well and several were out of line. I spent about four hours disassembling the horn, lapping and refitting the valves, deburring and refitting the slides, drilling the plating out of the string holes on the levers, and reassembling. Bruce measured the valve tolerance when I was finished and had them working fine. He said they were at .003, about the same as Holton. The bearings are tight and the valves spin freely. All the slides are now fitted properly and it is very, very shiny. To summerized the quality, this horn was 4 hours labor shy of a finished product. Go figure but there are more expensive horns out there that are 4 hours or more shy of finished, also. Playing characteristics of this instrument are quite good, especially considering the price. Response is good and intonation is excellent, much to our surprise as it is an obvious Conn 8D copy. They apparently did not copy Conn intonation! The sound was also surprisingly good, though a bit dead compared to real NS. The soft end was particularly fine. The loud end has a tendency to blatt out rather than edge. The case is a very nice copy of the Pro Tec form case. Nicely finished and well fitted. I think this is an excellent student horn, especially at that price. Figure $50 and hour labor and it cost me about a grand. Does it play $1500 different than a new Conn? No. It plays better, IMHO, than the new 8D's. Was the workmanship $1500 different than a new Conn? No. More like $500 difference. I would have liked the sound better if it had a Conn bell, I'm sure. Is this a bargain? Yes, if you are willing to have the horn finished by a tech. BTW, Martin Smith of the Pittsburgh Symphony and his wife both tried the horn as well and agreed that it was an excellent student instrument. We figured this horn would get someone through HS and non-conservatory college studies without much trouble at all. Will you see these in major orchestras? Probably not but you never know. There are some pretty cheap pros out there! I haven't decided yet what to do with it. I'll let you know if I put it up for sale on hornplayer.net or e-bay, whatever. Or, if there is a real cheapskate amongst y'all who needs a new horn, make me an offer!!! All best wishes, Kendall Betts ___ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/gix3514%40gmx.at -- SigfridFafner the under ground horn player from Vienna NEU: Bis zu 10 GB Speicher f?r e-mails Dateien! 1 GB bereits bei GMX FreeMail http://www.gmx.net/de/go/mail ___ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Eastman horn - a review
In a message dated 9/7/2004 9:32:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I recently purchased a Paul Eastman horn from an E-bay seller. I paid $808 including shipping. I spent a week with Walt Lawson and Co. earlier in August working on various projects, one of which was to analyze the Chinese made instrument. Here is a review. Mr. Betts's review is interesting from my perspective. I tried one of these horns new a couple years back, and all of the problem noted in the review were exactly the same problems noted on the horn I received then. At least they seem to be consistent. From my perspective, I have trouble investing the time in an instrument which, when finished as noted in the review, will still be an Eastman horn and would have to compete price-wise with other such horns, new. To sell one new for as much as $400 or $500 over similar horns is dicey business. However, if a horn can be made good (or at least good enough) without much work, then it might be a good investment. All good investments come with some risk, and I think the risk is that you might get one that doesn't play well even after finishing work. Dave Weiner Brass Arts Unlimited, Inc. ___ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
[Hornlist] Eastman horn - a review
Hello Listers, I recently purchased a Paul Eastman horn from an E-bay seller. I paid $808 including shipping. I spent a week with Walt Lawson and Co. earlier in August working on various projects, one of which was to analyze the Chinese made instrument. Here is a review. We were first truly amazed at the finish. The seller had written that it is was nickle silver and also silver plated. It is neither, but a brass horn with bright nickle plating. Walter said this is a good finish but will be problematic in removing dents as it will tend to flake off when worked. Lowell had mentioned the pitting problem as well, but remember, you will have the same problem with hard laquer. It does look very nice, though. Upon arrival, the change valve was sticking and no amount of oil helped. When I got it apart, we discovered that all the valves were poorly fitted as they had just put them together and sent it off with no lapping or finishing. The slides had not been deburred as well and several were out of line. I spent about four hours disassembling the horn, lapping and refitting the valves, deburring and refitting the slides, drilling the plating out of the string holes on the levers, and reassembling. Bruce measured the valve tolerance when I was finished and had them working fine. He said they were at .003, about the same as Holton. The bearings are tight and the valves spin freely. All the slides are now fitted properly and it is very, very shiny. To summerized the quality, this horn was 4 hours labor shy of a finished product. Go figure but there are more expensive horns out there that are 4 hours or more shy of finished, also. Playing characteristics of this instrument are quite good, especially considering the price. Response is good and intonation is excellent, much to our surprise as it is an obvious Conn 8D copy. They apparently did not copy Conn intonation! The sound was also surprisingly good, though a bit dead compared to real NS. The soft end was particularly fine. The loud end has a tendency to blatt out rather than edge. The case is a very nice copy of the Pro Tec form case. Nicely finished and well fitted. I think this is an excellent student horn, especially at that price. Figure $50 and hour labor and it cost me about a grand. Does it play $1500 different than a new Conn? No. It plays better, IMHO, than the new 8D's. Was the workmanship $1500 different than a new Conn? No. More like $500 difference. I would have liked the sound better if it had a Conn bell, I'm sure. Is this a bargain? Yes, if you are willing to have the horn finished by a tech. BTW, Martin Smith of the Pittsburgh Symphony and his wife both tried the horn as well and agreed that it was an excellent student instrument. We figured this horn would get someone through HS and non-conservatory college studies without much trouble at all. Will you see these in major orchestras? Probably not but you never know. There are some pretty cheap pros out there! I haven't decided yet what to do with it. I'll let you know if I put it up for sale on hornplayer.net or e-bay, whatever. Or, if there is a real cheapskate amongst y'all who needs a new horn, make me an offer!!! All best wishes, Kendall Betts ___ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
RE: [Hornlist] Eastman horn - a review
About the Paul Eastman horn's valve tolerance, Kendall wrote ... they were at .003, about the same as Holton. ... Is that a radial measurement? At what tolerance does a valve's inability to seal (with a film of a 'normal' oil) become problematic? Russ Smiley (an engineer, but not a machinist) Marlborough, CT ___ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
