TromboneChat

Has anyone played these Brassark horns? The ‘vintage orchestral’ is designed by them and the 42 and 88h conversions take existing vintage horns and modify them with some Brassark parts. They look interesting but I’ve not seen much talk about them.

I've not played them much but I've got a few friends around town who have them as their daily working horns and really like them. They've all been super positive about the horns. But that's all I've heard anywhere.

I've played a couple of the conversions. Just about the best way you can get a 42 or 88H, IMO. Easy to play, great sounds.

I’ve played the vintage and the 42 conversion.
The 42s I tried were really great, if I wanted a really good 42 out of the box without trying many dozens I’d get one.
The vintage is really interesting, really easy to play with a slightly European / German sound. It’s pretty light and responsive, the valve takes some getting used to, though. It’s a bit tight with the valve engaged, but super open when open. The valve engaged feeling is kinda like a vintage 88 feel, and open its like a modern 8HLT.

Pretty sure Tim Higgins of the SF Symphony uses one of their Bach 42s as his daily.

I've played the Vintage Orchestral and the 88H conversion back to back at the BrassArk.

They're both great. I played a VO prototype that I didn't like at all, but the production model was phenomenal. If I had to replace my Elkie 88H I'd immediately go with one of those. Couldn't put it down.

The 88H conversion was great too. It obviously still felt like a good 88H but more refined. I prefer my 88H, but for those who want a rock-solid 88H (without having to track a good one down and restore it) it's a great option.