Is this a King 3B?

[joemende27]

I'm thinking of grabbing this horn but I'm a bit thrown off and never owned a King.
The owner says it's a 3B but I'm used to seeing the counterweight that says "KING", as you can tell this one says "Cleveland". Any insight from you all would be greatly appreciated!

[BGuttman]

If it's really a 3B, the bell engraving will say either "Concert", "3B", or "2103".

A 3B will have nickel silver outer slide tubes with a brass crook.

There is a Tempo model (1307) which has the curved bell brace as well. It's possible that this is the Tempo.

But from the pictures you posted I can't tell.

[tbonesullivan]

From what I can see, it's got a two piece yellow brass bell, yellow brass slide crook, nickel silver outer slides. The tempo would have a nickel silver bell.

That style of cork barrel is usually only seen on their professional horns.

The counterweight has the KING logo on it, above cleveland. It could be a counterweight added later.

Bell markings on an instrument like this are key to identifying it. That said, it does LOOK like a 3B or 2B.

[greenbean]

I am confident that it is a 2B or 3B. But I can also see that it has been a school horn. (DOE and serial number etched on bell throat). So I would assume it is a beater and expect to pay very little for it. Keep in mind that 3B's don't sell for a ton...

[jorymil]

Whoa! I just bought this horn off eBay. Based on the following image, it's definitely a 3B:

Wish I would have done a Google Image search on it first, though: bummed that it has school info etched on the bell like that. Not clear at all from the eBay images the seller posted. I paid $600 for the horn, and was planning on stripping the bell lacquer anyhow, so depending on how the slide is, it may or may not get returned b/c of the bell etching. $600 is a pretty good deal if the slide is in good shape; not so much if it needs $300 of slide and dent work.

[jorymil]

As for the counterweight, who really cares? I can always pull off the stickers and polish it up, get one of the new 3-piece ones, or just take it off entirely.

[TromboneSam]

Why would you return it just for the bell etching? I took a gamble on my 3b from ebay, and it turns out it was also a school horn from the 70's. There's a school name and serial number that says "Shaw '73" etched on every part of the horn (including the bell), except the cork barrels, where the person etching actually wrote "Ronald is gay."

All that is to say that it's the best playing 3B I've ever had, probably the best one that I've ever even tried. Everyone else who's played it has also been impressed with it, to include some heavy hitting players that have played custom horns for years. You can tell there was a lot of work done to the horn over the years from kids' mistakes, but I wouldn't trade that 3B for any other.

If it plays well, keep it!

[jorymil]

"Ronald is gay!" LOL! That makes me feel _much_ better about a mere serial number and school name, which seems to only be etched in one place.

Should be arriving later this week; will let everyone know how the story turns out.

[Kingfan]

I bought a Holton TR180 off a pawn shop about 30 years ago. It had high school marching band music in the case. The slide was shot, and the rest of the horn had seen better days. I never paid much attention to it other than playing it, but am thinking of trading it off and decided to give it a good cleaning last week. The tuning slide has so many ripples from dent removal it looks like a hammer finish. I found a tiny tic tac toe game scratched in the bell, which I had never noticed before. It has the standard Holton marking and no extra markings (other than the tic tac toe!) indicating it was a school horn. However, based on the music I found in the case, the condition of the tuning slide, the condition of the main slide when I got it (had to have new inner and outer upper and lower slide tubes) and the evidence of repaired creases in the bell, odds are it was a school horn. That said, it may be ugly but it is one of the sweetest sounding horns I have ever owned, and with the new slide tubes is a joy to play.

[jorymil]

Got the horn over the weekend and was able to unpack after getting back to town yesterday. Much nicer than I'd expected: the lacquer seems to already have been removed from the bell, and the etching on the bell isn't as noticeable as in the pictures. Slide's pretty good, considering, and the horn came shipped in a brand-new Wolfpak backpack case. Will get some pictures up here as soon as time permits.

[JLivi]

Wish I would have done a Google Image search on it first, though: bummed that it has school info etched on the bell like that. Not clear at all from the eBay images the seller posted. I paid $600 for the horn, and was planning on stripping the bell lacquer anyhow, so depending on how the slide is, it may or may not get returned b/c of the bell etching. $600 is a pretty good deal if the slide is in good shape; not so much if it needs $300 of slide and dent work.

Maybe I'm blind, but I don't see the school info etched into the bell.