Posted by John Cooper on February 26, 2003 at 12:42:39:
In Reply to: Silver vs. Laquer posted by Tyler's Dad on February 26, 2003 at 12:14:32:
You will probably get a similar response from many contributors to this bbs. There are several very good BBb piston horns out there. Horns like the VMI 3301/3302, Mirafone 1291, King 2341 (don't rule out rotary horns). A bad silver horn will play worse than a good laquer horn. The best thing to do is go to one of the large music shops (Dillon's, Baltimore Brass, Brasswind, you can find them listed in the "Shops" section of this web site) that stock many different horns and multiple copies of the same horns to try out. When you are spending $4K+, make a father/son trip out of it, he'll remember it the rest of his life. Don't forget to have him blow on some CC instruments. It was suggested to me by many people on this board to play all the horns you can regardless of the key, then choose the one that plays the best.
John Cooper