This particular instrument was well-played, as it belonged to professional musician, the late Leo Sacchi. Conn 8D’s of this era are known for being excellent instruments and are highly sought-after. 468″ bore, Kruspe wrap, 12-1/4″ large throat nickel silver bell, all nickel silver construction, tapered rotors and bearings, mechanical change valve, adjustable lever bridge, clear lacquer finish and factory cut bell. This vintage Conn 8D French Horn, was made in Elkhart, Indiana in the late 1950’s (serial number 624XXX). The most notable area of scratches can be seen on the lead pipe. The horn is in very good condition and is limited to small dings, surface scratches and other signs of character. All compression ratings are on a scale from 0 (best) to 8 (worst). Instruments with leaky valves may feel loose, may have trouble centering, and may take more energy to play. Also featuring a lightweight bell, the Vintage. The compression ratings measure how well an instrument’s valves prevent air from leaking. This hand assembly increases the production time greatly but yields a horn that does not have the same stress at the solder joints giving the horn better vibration and therefore better performance.
Its traditional large throat bell and lighter weight all nickel construction than most horns makes this a perfect match for any player.Ĭ.G. Up for your consideration is a very nice Vintage Elkhart Indiana E Series Conn 8D Double French Horn. The Vintage 8D model from Conn is a completely hand-assembled professional double french horn. Conn 8D offers the flexibility and projection a horn player needs to succeed at all levels.
There is only a small patch of missing lacquer inside the bell, a small dent on the first branch and inside the bell as shown in this compression video. So their, multiple, owners must have at least oiled. Both of these horns are approaching early retirement age (63) and have their original valves, never plated. Several folks have made careers out of re-plating Conn valves, (and other-wise tweaking them to make them play even better). Conn 8D has been professionally cleaned and maintained by Ion Balu. The 8d/28d were never known for stellar, long lived valves.