Review: Conn Connstellation Cornet 38A from 1961
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- A splendid vintage cornet from Conn in 1961; the Connstellation 38A. With a bore size of .485" (quite large) but a bell size of 4 13/16" (quite manageable) this cornet produces a gorgeous tone and is both fun and easy to play. Definitely one of the finest horns I've had - the design and quality craftsmanship of this instrument is impressive. For a couple of years (according to the highly esteemed 'Conn Loyalist') this cornet was made with a coprion bell - and the warmth and carrying tone of this cornet is indicative of this. This is a very nice cornet! Enjoy ~ Jonathan Milam
Just got this cornet yesterday... It's a 1968 model but it plays extremely darker than I imagined. The large bore really makes the horn nice!
+Carson Brite Carson; Greetings. Yes, the Conn Connie cornet is an outstanding horn. I think perhaps it has the nicest tone of any cornet I've played - and certainly a runner up amongst any horn I've tried. The large (.485 - that's valve trombone size bore) bore made it a tough horn for me to handle. I usually use a very deep V cup with a very large throat and backbore for my cornet playing and the Connie with my Curry VC mouthpiece put out a sound that was to die for - but it would really tax me to play for long on. Still, just a few days ago I was thinking about it... :) Take care and keep in touch as to how you're liking the horn and how you're using it. Continued best wishes, Jonathan
It sounds really good Jonathan!
Free - very kind of you to say so. Thanks for commenting! :)
You've sold me on this cornet. I'm getting one of these!
+Carson Brite Carson; Greetings. I was listening to a comparison vid I made of this cornet a few weeks ago and I must admit - the tone of this cornet is very nice. Wish I could say as much for the guy playing it - but the cornet is nice :) . One thing to note; it has an unusually large bore, .485, I believe. So, it can be wearying playing it - but the volume and tone it produces is almost inimitable.
+Carson Brite Here's a great vid of that horn, the Conn Connstellation cornet, played with a mute. Great playing there, too. Enjoy, Carson - and keep in touch if you pick up one of these. Good luck! :)
I got one for $300, no mouthpiece (but the guy let me try it on his Bach 5C) and it sounds nice. It was the guy's father's horn, that he'd played "in big bands and in Vegas". I was able to get it for $300 because when I took it out of the case the little screw that secures the trigger fell out and I was able to catch it (it might have been lost forever if if fell into a crack or something) and secondly because I "got a better sound" than the guy was able to get himself. I just wanted something short enough to stuff it into my bike pannier haha.
Those Connie's ARE built like a tank. What excellent cornets though. And that's a killer price; congrats! :)
Love my 1960 Bundy Bach coronet .Sweet old horns
Good for you, Paul. A nice vintage horn is a great thing. :)
Fine cornet, sounds lovely with Conn 4 cornet mouthpiece, and trumpet like with a Bach 10 1/2 C cornet mp
Kenneth, very interesting observation. I've read that some people feel the Conn 80A, which shares a similarly large bore size and is also a cornet, is an unusually mouthpiece-sensitive instrument. Thanks for commenting! :)
Nice sound with the second mouthpiece.
Thanks for your comment; it's a great cornet. I sell most all of my horns after recording with them, here's a link to that same cornet from the new owner; ua-cam.com/video/tdtVg_Hyh1Q/v-deo.html Great sound with a mute, isn't it?
Hi Jonathan. I keep coming back to this video. Tell me, did you keep this horn? I know you mostly try them and then resell them rather than accumulating what by now would surely be enough to stock a small museum. (I love the line about the angels singing.) I managed to get a 38A last September, and I love it. Of all the Conns I have, this is the one I play. Partly that's due to what I do. I play in a concert band with as many as a dozen players, and all but one other play trumpets. (I converted him to cornet.) The only way to keep this horn from disappearing into the section completely is to use a C cup, tho my preference is a Dennis Wick if I'm playing just for me. The horn just gets rich with a deep mouthpiece. I also have a Conn 12A, which is darker still, but it's more of a small ensemble jazz horn where there's only one cornet. With no modern tuning "conveniences" (no triggers) it has a few quirks as well. I use a Wick piece exclusively with that.
Steve; Greetings. I did not keep this Connstellation Cornet long at all. I don't do well with the larger bore instruments and this was just a bit too large for me. It went to a great guy in Shreveport, Louisiana, and he's made some great vids (excellent recording and playing) with it. I'm really more of a small-bore guy, actually. :) I almost did a vid last week of the mouthpiece I preferred with my cornets; by Mark Curry, simply called the "Vintage Cornet". Very deep V, not a C but a real V (again my choice). I think a throat of about 19 - great deep, dark sound. Curry refers to it as an 'intimate' sound. Strangely - I've never had a Wick mouthpiece. Again - thanks for the comment.
I did have a Conn 12B trumpet which I really liked. I should have kept that one horn, I know. I've tried to get a 12A several times but with no luck yet. The one cornet that I've kept through the years is a little Olds Special from '59-'60. The tone it gets is very nice; dark, intimate (whatever term you prefer) and just a well made little horn. I had it out last week and really enjoyed it. :)
I got my 1955 (last year of issue) 12A for $130! No lacquer tho, so the brass and copper are turning all sorts of colors, some of which I didn't expect. A friend also bought one after playing mine, but may not be happy with it, possibly because of the larger bore. He just bought an Olds Recording cornet to try. I've played a large bore horn for years (.468 trumpet), so I don't think it bothers me. I've discovered I really like cornets. Maybe it's because I feel more relaxed like I'm not trying to get to the back of the room with it or the bell being closer just gives me more feedback.
Steve; great price! At TrumpetHerald.com years ago I read after a fellow I really liked that used 'Flitz' on all his horns. I bought some at a local Ace Hardware and it's almost all I've used to polish horn for years. I've used it sucessfully on Gold, brass, nickel-silver, copper and silver-plated horns. It's a green product (not harmful like many) and it will bring the best out of any horn that isn't lacuqer covered (which is what I like best). I almost always took my vintage horns down to the raw metal and poished them with Flitz - just before the photo's on my UA-cam vids. Great stuff, easy to use, etc. Just use a pair of cheap gloves to cover your skin (or they'll blacken from the removed tarnish) and polish off with a dry cloth. I had an Olds Recording cornet - great horn but kept my Olds Special and let the Recording go. Again, I should have kept both... I did love the offset valve on the Recording.
If you would to compare a trumpet and a cornet, what are the major differences in terms of sound,range, and tone quality. Which one would you choose if you had these two choices?
Dazzlemaster: Greetings. I still owe you a UA-cam vid of Safe and Sound - and I do intend to do it (my schedule has been very hectic recently). Now for the cornet and trumpet... My area, Houston, Texas, likes to start kids on cornet because, I think, it takes a little less wind to play than trumpet. This is the way I feel anyway. The thing is, when I'm used to playing a trumpet - I find the cornet to be very difficult. Where the trumpet can take more air (a larger leadpipe maybe?) when I play the cornet it's very easy to 'overblow it' and get stuffed in the upper register. So, I do find the cornet to be a little more challenging; I really think it requires more discipline to play it well. This cornet, the one I did the video of here, is again strange for this reason... I think the leadpipe/receiver/mouthpiece is less receptive to blowing hard (which we can get away with easier on the trumpet) but the bore size (around the second slide) is very large. So, I sense a little restriction at the entry point of air but it takes a good steady flow to fill this particular cornet. I think the tone of this cornet is gorgeous; a very large, dark soulful sound. I did another vid with this cornet, a flugel and a trumpet; all using large, dark mouthpieces. I loved the sound of this cornet with that deep, large throated mouthpiece... almost incomparable. But for me the trumpet is much easier to play. If I had to play tomorrow night and solo - I'd be scared to try the cornet but I'd feel comfortable on the trumpet. If I played the cornet more maybe I'd feel more comfortable with it - but at this point I find the trumpet to be much easier to work with; I've played the trumpet much more than cornet (or flugel) for the last 8 years. Great question, Dazzlemaster; hope the answer isn't too confusing. :)
I used to own a 1961 Conn 38A.
One of my favorite instruments.
Cornets generally sound more mellow,
trumpets sound more shrill.
What was that second mouthpiece please?
Wow; I usually say and I completely forgot to mention which mouthpiece that is. It's a mouthpiece (cup and rim) put out by Trent Austin with a backbore by Warburton, I'm pretty sure but I don't have it on hand right now. I'm traveling but will be back to my mouthpieces in a couple of days. I'll check out what it was and post it here. Great question; thanks for watching.
Ok, that second mouthpiece was one by Trent Austin; a "TA Lead" cup with a warburton backbore, either a medium size or perhaps a 3 backbore. Hope this helps! :)
hello. can you sell it to me? Thank you
I'm sorry, but this cornet sold several months back. Here's a list of current horns I have for sale; they all have their own video(s). www.trumpetherald.com/marketplace.php?own=15921
Can't hear a word that you are saying.
Try with headphones. The volume on a lot of my earlier vids was rough - either too loud playing or too soft speaking.
Here's a newer vid of the same model cornet, the balance should be better. ua-cam.com/video/Heget28DIoM/v-deo.html
Thanks very much for the link.That's much better.I can hear you loud and clear. I have one of those cornets here serial No. 896..... Can't read the rest.Too scratchy.I have several long cornets Stradivarius,Kings,Olds,Selmer,Conn Victors,,Benge,but this is the largest bore of all of them,and surprisingley the easiest to play
Yes, and the sound of this cornet is fantastic. :) Conn had a real winner here. Conn's 28A is also a fantastic cornet, not quite the deep, hearty blow of the 38A, but it can do so much tonal difference with mouthpiece changes. Thanks for commenting - glad the second vid was better. :)
Your dog thinks it's a duet!!!
I've had two Doberman Pinschers; both of them would get as close to me as possible - at my feet if they could, and howl along with me. A Yorkie I had, however, would run as soon as I touched a mouthpiece. :)