Need help Re; Good/Bad Bach Serial#'s/Years

[LuvTD2b]

Hi All, I am new to the forum and a older return player. I need help in identifying a Bach 36 straight. The serial # is 82xxx with NO Corp. ID on bell. The case is the normal Bach Strad case but says Selmer on it.....Its price is pretty low and I am tempted, yet have heard about bad years....clunkers and strike years. I am not well versed on Bachs merger years, other than what Wikipedia says. I am sure there is more to it. As much as I could tell maybe late 80's...but not sure.....I am really reluctant to pull a blind buy off without knowing its a reputable seller....Any info on that era or what to steer away from is greatly appreciated.

[Burgerbob]

All eras have good horns, all eras have bad horns. You really, really can't generalize. Some are certainly worth more, but that doesn't mean much IMO.

If the price is low enough, I'd get it.

[Vegasbound]

If the price is right and it plays like you want then buy it

[mbtrombone]

I have to agree with what Burgerbob and Vegasbound said, if the price is right I would buy it, and if you don’t like it sell it on to another home. What doesn’t work for you may work really well for someone else.

I have a great playing 42BOG from the 80s that I will never sell. I also bought another 42 straight section that I hated so much I sold it in about a week. I really hated how I sounded, but a friend of mine bought it and loves it, so who knows.

Good luck with the purchase.

[GabrielRice]

Agree with the above. If the price is good and it looks like it hasn't been abused, go for it. A trumpet player friend of mine has assembled a great collection of Bach trumpets by buying anything that interests him as long as it's at a price he knows he can get back by re-selling it.

[LuvTD2b]

Thanks all for the help and great info. Its on a auction site (we know which one)....If stays low enough I may jump ....really would rather see slide condition in person, and play one rather than buying blind.....i live close to dillons, so i always planned on trading up there when my level of play warranted it. But if stays low even a trip to slide dr wouldn't be all that bad.....spent last few hours doing the slide dr's slide care recommendations, wrights polish, and there 2 special polish and sealants with the slide mix cream and oil, the B7 is way better than i remember( as well as my B88 and my eastman .500 student) . Thanks again for all the guidance.

[hornbuilder]

Something else to consider is that an "average" Bach can be improved by rebuilding. The horn is disassembled, and rebuilt with various areas being given consideration in the process. Making sure the ends of tubes are square, that there are no gaps between tubes under ferrules, that tassemblies are stress free,, etc, etc.

[Pezza]

I bought a Bach 12 online. Never seen it yet alone played it.

The horn is wonderful. After having it over 12 months I realised it is a Corporation Era Bach!

I got it for $900 Australian plus $50 postage. I'm sure I could sell it for more but I'm loving the horn.

[chromebone]

One of the worst 42’s I ever tried was a Mt. Vernon and one of the best was a mid 90’s K Valve. Bachs more than any horn seem to more about the individual horn than any particular era. I think the design is very sensitive to how well it is assembled; if there is too much stress, it kills the resonance of the horn.

[mbtrombone]

Thanks all for the help and great info. Its on a auction site (we know which one)....If stays low enough I may jump ....really would rather see slide condition in person, and play one rather than buying blind.....i live close to dillons, so i always planned on trading up there when my level of play warranted it. But if stays low even a trip to slide dr wouldn't be all that bad.....spent last few hours doing the slide dr's slide care recommendations, wrights polish, and there 2 special polish and sealants with the slide mix cream and oil, the B7 is way better than i remember( as well as my B88 and my eastman .500 student) . Thanks again for all the guidance.

Did you win…

[LuvTD2b]

Thanks all for the help and great info. Its on a auction site (we know which one)....If stays low enough I may jump ....really would rather see slide condition in person, and play one rather than buying blind.....i live close to dillons, so i always planned on trading up there when my level of play warranted it. But if stays low even a trip to slide dr wouldn't be all that bad.....spent last few hours doing the slide dr's slide care recommendations, wrights polish, and there 2 special polish and sealants with the slide mix cream and oil, the B7 is way better than i remember( as well as my B88 and my eastman .500 student) . Thanks again for all the guidance.

Did you win…

No.....it didn't go to high.....but I decided to stay with my horns until my skill level warrants bigger investment....I have a .525 straight B7 which is fine for now, but cant help kicking tires on good ones at times though.....I am a adult returner after long layoff so eventually i'll pull the trigger on a bigger investment....always heard about steering away of some era bachs and conns and that was my main hope is to learn from the well versed on here and not the hard way....hope someone on here grabbed it , seemed like a decent deal.

[mbtrombone]

Did you win…

No.....it didn't go to high.....but I decided to stay with my herd until my skill level warrants bigger investment....I have a .525 straight B7 which is fine for now, but cant help kicking tires on good ones at times though.....I am a adult returner after long layoff so eventually i'll pull the trigger on a bigger investment....always heard about steering away of some era bachs and conns and that was my main hope is to learn from the well versed on here and not the hard way....hope someone on here grabbed it , seemed like a decent deal.

I am sure someone will like the horn. If you want something later and want to avoid having to re-sell the only way will be to play it really. Any horn is hard to pick without playing. Good luck on future horn searches and purchases though!

[whitbey]

I got a utility grade Bach 42 for a student from DJK several years ago. Ugly. About the best playing Bach I ever tried.

[urbie5]

I got a utility grade Bach 42 for a student from DJK several years ago. Ugly. About the best playing Bach I ever tried.

I've bought two Bachs from him -- a 36B and a 42B! Both are Elkhart horns (I haven't researched the year, corporation, strikes, or any of that level of granularity). They both play pretty well, but I use them as "utility" horns -- they're good, but not... inspiring, somehow, in terms of sound. (My "good" horns are an Edwards T-350-CR-E and a silver King 3B.) I'll use them for outdoor gigs, tight-space situations, practice at home, etc.

Oh -- and they're both pretty ugly! The 36 has quite a bit of... I'm not sure if it's corrosion, exactly, but the condition where people do a lot of tongue-clucking about it: "Stay away from a horn that looks like that, it'll deteriorate until it's unrepairable and unplayable," blah-blah. Well, it's highly playable, and looks exactly the same as it did when I got it about 16 years ago. I'm 58, so at this rate, I may have a problem on my hands, by the time I'm 185 or so....