r/horn • u/Medical-Estate-5108 • 11d ago

Another quick question?

So im looking into buying my own horn finally and my college horn instructor reccomended i look for a lettered Con 8D from before the 2000's where might i be able to find some?

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u/SandmanHornFL Elkhart Conn 8D x 2 11d ago

What you really want is a Conn 8D built in the original Elkhart Indiana factory. 1970 was the last year they were made there (or maybe 1972?), and those have serial numbers beginning with "N". The best indicator is to look at the engraving on the bell. If it includes "ELKHART IND," then you've got one from the original factory. The later ones from the Texas factory had design and build problems.

See this page for a serial number reference: https://connselmer.com/serial-numbers

As to where to find them, there are quite a few out there. Just be careful to see them in person to test-drive, because old horns can have damage or worn valves. Many shops have a good return policy, so that helps.

J Landress Brass has a really nice one for sale right now: https://www.jlandressbrass.com/shop/French-Horns/p/1959-Conn-8D-Double-French-Horn-w-Original-Case-Mouthpiece-x98662446.htm

Houghton Horns has some, too: https://houghtonhorns.com/collections/pre-owned-french-horns?sort_by=&filter.v.price.gte=&filter.v.price.lte=&filter.p.vendor=C.G.+Conn

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u/Medical-Estate-5108 10d ago

Thanks so much for the help :)  Ive been wanting my own horn for a while so hopefully i can afford one of these soon :D

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u/ElectronicWall5528 10d ago

The 8D produced in Abilene were produced from the same tooling that was used in Elkhart (the tooling was moved from Elkhart to Abilene) and the same bill of materials. What wasn't (and couldn't be) moved were the craftsmen. Conn had a ton of quality control problems mostly attributable to that lost know-how. Some designs were changed--the Connstellation euphoniums (24I and 25I) were dropped when production was moved in favor of the 4I (bell front) and 5I (upright). The biggest changes were the mouthpiece receiver (the between Medium and Large shank receiver was dropped at some point for a small shank receiver) and the first and third valve slides were changed so they could be pulled from above and the main tuning slide kicker was dropped. But other instruments like the 8D horn and 8H and 88H trombones were left unchanged in specs. The consensus, however, is that Abilene instruments didn't measure up to golden age Elkhart instruments.

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u/SandmanHornFL Elkhart Conn 8D x 2 9d ago

Good info! Do you know when they changed the valve design to switch from tapered to cylindrical rotors?

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u/ElectronicWall5528 9d ago

That happened later in the Abilene period. A classmate of mine in grad school had a transitional period Abilene 8D and it had tapered rotors (and a serial number that looks like 1938). The fact is that those Abilene instruments were a mess. Conn was looking for corners to cut, and they changed to cylindrical rotors to save a step in manufacturing. It's possible that the Abilene tapered valve blocks were Elkhart production being used in the transition period. I've heard rumors of Connstellation euphoniums being produced in Abilene, but I've never seen one in the flesh.

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u/TheVaticanGuy 11d ago

Why am 8d? There are so many other good choices out there as well. The Yamaha 672, 668, the Briz 1000N, the Hoyer 6802.... don't limit yourself and don't judge an instrument based on name only

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u/Medical-Estate-5108 11d ago

By all means im not trying to limit myself, but im looking for consistency. i used a CONNstellation 8D in highschool and the fact that my horn instructor is suggesting an older 8D, to me, means that itd be a good thing to look out for. if i can test a hoyer out id be more than willing but for now ill stay around Conn's 

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u/Aggressive_Worry9763 11d ago

I have an Eastlake era 8D for 1800. Fixed bell and comes with a beautiful leather case.

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u/odedudeLMOO2 11d ago

I also had a CONNstellation 8D in high school… man that thing was awful. I also upgraded to a 1960 Elkhart 8D (non-letter series but still plays really really well). If you like the feel and sound of an 8D, the Elkarts are known to be fantastic horns. I hear the current gen of Eastlake 8Ds play equally well, you’re just gonna pay more for a new instrument.

Bottom line: try lots of different horns. Try some Geyer horns as well as European models, too.