TromboneChat

This came up as an arbitrary statement in another thread but it got me thinking as I didn't fall under the stereotype. How old are you and do you own a vintage (Elkhart era) 8H or 88H? Feel free to include motivations for buying one or how you came about to owning one. Experiences playing one are welcome as are paticular fondnesses towards other Elkhart Conns, other era Conns or other brands vintages. Im curious to see if the younger crowd goes after older horns, but for now primarily 8Hs and 88Hs.


Thanks

I have an Elkhart 8H and an Elkhart 88H (also an Elkhart 72H and two Elkhart 6Hs), most of which have been customized. I use them frequently but these are merely part of my instrument arsenal. I actually use Bach and Edwards models the most. I am in the 50+ age category.

37. Yes, I own vintage Conns and Bachs.
Primarily playing on customized Bach stuff. But I have also been seen with my Elkies in concerts.

Crazy4Tbone86 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 1:39 pm I have an Elkhart 8H and an Elkhart 88H (also an Elkhart 72H and two Elkhart 6Hs), most of which have been customized. I use them frequently but these are merely part of my instrument arsenal. I actually use Bach and Edwards models the most. I am in the 50+ age category.

You just listed half of my arsenal. ;p

Age now or when we started? I was 11 when I started owning my Elkhart 88h.

Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

I'm over 50 and I play an Elkhart, but it's not an 88H. It's a 40H. I also play a lot of different brands.

Age: late 30s
Location: Germany, originally from UK
(Total amateur with very occasional paid gigs)

Bought an N-series Elkhart 8h a few years ago as I was in the market for a straight .547 horn and already had a GenII 88h. My idea of sound concept was forged in the British brass band and symphonic traditions. I wanted something relatively lively and with a colourful sound. Another motivation for the 8h over other straight .547 horns was: I liked the idea of interchanging the slide with my modern 88h.

The 8h is my primary horn for playing most 1st trombone parts in symphony orchestra, small group and concert band. I have other modern and vintage horns but nothing else I own is as fun to play as that 8h. In the meantime I got an SL2525 slide which IMHO works great with it, especially with a recently-acquired M/K drawing 0.525” Conn-style sterling silver leadpipe so I no longer play it as much as a ‚pure’ Elkhart 8h but still like to have that option and will keep the original slide around. I have thought about getting it modified to a convertible straight/valve setup but decided not to risk ruining a perfectly good horn.

I own a late-50s 6h, also a really fun horn to play. Other vintage horns I play at the moment are a 50s Holton 67 Stratodyne and a newer Holton TR150. I‘ve been through King and Bach horns of similar vintages but just get on better with the Conns/Holtons it seems.

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

Use at a gig or being a "full-time professional " wasn't criteria when this was lobbed at me. And not seeing a "full-time professional " use one at a gig doesn't mean the don't own one. And from my experience and from what I've heard from others there is some peer pressure that studio guys give each other over horns. Orchestras and touring bigbands tend towards similar horn types/bands for uniformity (there was a thread on this). If we were talking about seeing a 6H on a bandstand I'd have to agree that those are scarce (at least where I'm located).


Edit: I want to state for the record, as i thought about exact wording, you did state "union" in talking about professional gigs. And while i stand by my original response i did want to acknowledge what you actually said as i did not want to misquote you.

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 2:36 pm Age now or when we started? I was 11 when I started owning my Elkhart 88h.

Lol. Didn't think I'd have to put an under 20 option.

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

To be fair... most people haven't!

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

Correct. But safe bet in the UK you'd find more modern 88H's and Courtois than old Elkhart's.

My first trombone I bought with earned money was an Abeline Conn 88h from 1979. My second Conn 88h was an 1955 Elkhart that I bought of EBay in the year 2015, but I have more Elkhart Conns.

/Tom

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:02 pm

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

To be fair... most people haven't!

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:29 pm

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

Correct. But safe bet in the UK you'd find more modern 88H's and Courtois than old Elkhart's.

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

Regions and countries play a part in horn choice/preference/availability to be sure. But why assume what equipment is being used without having firsthand knowledge? Do you have any evidence to support your statement?

Thrawn22 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:55 pm

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:02 pm

To be fair... most people haven't!

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:29 pm

Correct. But safe bet in the UK you'd find more modern 88H's and Courtois than old Elkhart's.

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

Regions and countries play a part in horn choice/preference/availability to be sure. But why assume what equipment is being used without having firsthand knowledge? Do you have any evidence to support your statement?

Yes, just use a little common sense. Old Elkhart have not been made in nearly 60 years. Most that did exist, no longer exist because deterioration. High level pro endorsements are highly influential on younger generations therefore add the fact that not a single top level pro in the UK plays one and you can easily reason that it’s not a common instrument (I can think of several that play Gen 2s however). Fun toy in your closet or occasional work? Absolutely. Your work horse instrument? Negative.

Also, for “data,” see your own poll results.

34 -- no. Trombone playing is about ability and musical interpretation. Any "magic" sound you get out of a vintage horn is great, but not if more modern horns are easier to play, which they are.

** Quote marks added for extra sarcasm effect

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:15 pm

Thrawn22 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:55 pm

Regions and countries play a part in horn choice/preference/availability to be sure. But why assume what equipment is being used without having firsthand knowledge? Do you have any evidence to support your statement?

Yes, just use a little common sense. Old Elkhart have not been made in nearly 60 years. Most that did exist, no longer exist because deterioration. High level pro endorsements are highly influential on younger generations therefore add the fact that not a single top level pro in the UK plays one and you can easily reason that it’s not a common instrument (I can think of several that play Gen 2s however). Fun toy in your closet or occasional work? Absolutely. Your work horse instrument? Negative.

Also, for “data,” see your own poll results.

I did the poll for "data " purposes, but your overall supposition to things you have not personally witnessed does not count as evidence and is what I'm sorta taking issue with.

And my Elkhart's are my workhorses since all i own, except my Gen II, are Elkhart's. Only thing modern are the slides I'm using for my 8H and my 88H. I explained why I'm using a 2547 slide on my 8H and my 88H being custom built (2/3 Elkhart parts) didn't come with a slide. The Gen II is the youngest horn i have and i got that in 2003 i think.

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:02 pm

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

To be fair... most people haven't!

いいねー

I spent much of my 20s on an Elkhart 4H. I've mostly played old instruments; the youngest horn in my current stable is about the same age as I am and others are older. This isn't out of a belief that there's anything inherently special about old horns; perhaps I have some minor aesthetic preference towards "vintage" stuff but mostly it's just that I could always get them for cheaper than the shiny new things and they still work well enough for my (decidedly non-professional) purposes.

I'm in the 50+ range, in community band and a brass quintet.
I got an Elkhart 88H in 1974. Played that for a couple of years in high school and through college.

Got another Elkhart 88H, used, made in about 1975. Played that for 20 years. Sold about 6 years back.

Stumbled into three Elkhart Conn bass bones, university surplus, for $35 each. 2 60H, one 72H.
Used the 72 for parts, fixed the 60Hs, sold one, still have the other. Built in 1967.

Great horns.
John Thompson

jtbandmusic wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:34 pm I'm in the 50+ range, in community band and a brass quintet.
I got an Elkhart 88H in 1974. Played that for a couple of years in high school and through college.

Got another Elkhart 88H, used, made in about 1975. Played that for 20 years. Sold about 6 years back.

The 1975 may have been a nice Conn 88H, but it wasn't made in Elkhart. Conn moved production from Elkhart, Indiana to Abilene, Texas in 1971-72. The last of the Elkhart models were (I believe) some of the 1972 production with "R"-prefix serial numbers - and perhaps those were final assembled in Abilene with Elkhart components. [I was told that my then-new early-1972 "R" 88H was among the last out of the Elhart factory.] I think many R's were all-Abilene. And, to everyone's surprise, some of those (not all) were fine instruments. But Conn finally gave up on Abilene after several years (decades?) and moved production to Eastlake, Ohio. Others will know the history much better than I.

My keeper 8H is a near mint 1955 that I bought from a picker in Denver, who had bought it at a garage sale the previous day and listed it on Craigslist. There was an old airline baggage tag in the burgundy flatliner case, so I called the number and got the original owner, who proudly proclaimed that he'd won every competition he'd ever entered playing that horn. Purchased new in his freshman year of high school, he'd played the horn through college, then sent it back to Conn for a full factory overhaul after graduating in 1963. So it's a 1955 8H with half-moon engraving, re-blueprinted at the Conn factory to '60's configuration (curved/dog-leg neckpipe, as opposed to the straight neckpipes on the '49 and other '55 I once owned), re-lacquered with Lustre Conn lacquer. No slide lock. The horn has a very mild sympathetic resonance on F (a good thing in my experience, compared to the many I've played that resonated, sometimes strongly, in the F#/G/Ab range); it feels slightly alive in the hand on every note, at every dynamic, but the feedback is just right, not too intense. The thin bell trades a bit of control at FF and maybe a bit of projection for amazing responsiveness and available color at every other dynamic. I've never played another 8H that had such secure pianissimo attacks as this one. A couple of orchestral pros who have played it both agreed that attacks on this horn "ping" in a very satisfying way.. It's not really a section horn (I have a heavy Minick 8H bell for that), but as a soloistic horn, it truly sings.

I also played a '63/C series 88H for ten years, while buying and selling another ten or so Elkharts that couldn't quite match it, but then along came a '65/E series that did everything equally well but was just a little better behaved (slightly tighter leadpipe?), so that's the keeper for now.

I sold the '49 and the other '55 8H to DJ, who still has them. They're both equally amazing players, just not as pretty as the Lustre Conn '55 that I kept. Offer DJ enough money and you might even able able to pry one of them from his trombone-hoarding hands.

I play 'em because I like 'em.

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:29 pm

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:57 pm

Guessing you have never gigged in the UK then

Correct. But safe bet in the UK you'd find more modern 88H's and Courtois than old Elkhart's.

Maybe so, but your statement was you had never seen one used on a pro gig, inferring real pro's don't play Elkie's whilst my comment was part made in jest but also saying here in the UK you are more likely to have an Elkie somewhere in a bone section than not!

There is still a market for them here, with demand outstripping supply and they attain big money because of that.

Age: 52

I picked up my first Elkhart Conn in (I think) 2004 - a 1942 70H. Since then, I've acquired a 62H and 88H.

I know of several much younger people who use Elkhart Conns. Here, for example, is a list of several professional UK bass trombonists (most much younger than I) using the 62H:

• Keith McNicoll (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden)

• Angus Butt

• Josh Cirtina (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)

• David Vines (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra)

• Dan West (Septura)

• James Buckle (Philharmonia Orchestra)

• Rob O'Neill (BBC Symphony Orchestra)

Vegasbound wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 2:23 am

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:29 pm

Correct. But safe bet in the UK you'd find more modern 88H's and Courtois than old Elkhart's.

Maybe so, but your statement was you had never seen one used on a pro gig, inferring real pro's don't play Elkie's whilst my comment was part made in jest but also saying here in the UK you are more likely to have an Elkie somewhere in a bone section than not!

There is still a market for them here, with demand outstripping supply and they attain big money because of that.

Yes, I am strongly inferring the vast majority of pros do not play old Elkharts. I’m sure a pro dusts one off here and there for fun, but it’s just not a common horn in pro circles. The demand does not outstrip supply in the US. Dillon Music had a boat load of them and they still haven’t sold all of them. The fetch a slightly higher price than you’d expect, but not substantially higher unless it’s a unique specimen. Mt. Vernon Bach’s are significantly more rare and fetch on average much higher prices than other horns of similar age. And you will encounter Mt Vernon Bach’s being played by pros (at least the bells).

Old Conns are fun and I’ve played some excellent ones and even used one on a gig. But they’re just not consistently reliable enough to be an every day instrument. Too many weird notes and the valve is lacking. If they were as mythologically perfect as they are made out to be by some then they would never have needed to be “improved” with the Gen 2, Greenhoe, Shires, Getzen, Yamaha, etc. Along with Bach it’s the prototypical American pro trombone. It’s a testament to its influence that we still refer to it and continually try to tweak the old formula to make it better. You can, as I do, simultaneously love and venerate Old
Elkharts while confessing it’s not an everyday pro horn.

several things from your post, you didn't say originally a vast majority, you said you had never seen one used on a pro gig and therefore pros don't play them, not true here in the UK as I pointed out and Ed has named several in major jobs here who do..... Of course supply doesn't outstrip demand in the states, remember for many years we suffered an import ban so they where not easy to obtain new and therefore used number is limited, if you want to holiday in the UK bring and Elkie 88h in good condition sell it here and it will pay for your trip!

Likewise, here Bach's have never been that popular and currently I can only think of Byron Fulcher in a major job who plays one, others may be able to name others so therefore even mount vernon's outside the 6 and the odd bass do not sell well

But as the French say Vive le difference

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

I've seen it, but not often/recently. A section mate of mine plays an Elkhart 88H with a Minick bell but he's the only one I can think of these days. When I was in undergrad in the early/mid-90s, the tenor players in the Cincinnati Symphony were playing Elkhart 88H's, but they switched to Edwards later and both are not there any more. Different era, so not really applicable now.

I have an Elkhart 8H bell I have played professionally several times (in orchestra and quintet) , but it's not my main axe. If it had a valve, I would absolutely play it more often, maybe even all the time.

And Tyler, while you might remember me a bass player, I play tenor far more often these days than bass. But, I'm not in the modern orchestral tenor trombone audition scene, where vintage 88H's would be extraordinarily rare.

I agree it's extremely rare among professional performers, to the point where it might be unusual to see it in some places.

Age: (about the same as FOSSIL)

A bunch of old Conns which I play because I like them and don't have to make a living at it. Also a Holton and a DuoGravis. In practice, any one of them would do the job, but where's the fun in that?

EdwardSolomon wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 2:58 am I know of several much younger people who use Elkhart Conns. Here, for example, is a list of several professional UK bass trombonists (most much younger than I) using the 62H:

• Keith McNicoll (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden)

I've seen Keith with a 73H, but perhaps he has both. But then he'd sound fine on a Bundy.

S

Age: 20-30 (27 specifically)

I don't have an 8/88H, but I do own and enjoy playing on an Elkhart 6H as my daily driver now.

I don’t play an 88h myself, but I have two students who do. The 16 year old has an early Abilene horn, and the 20 year old has an Elkhart from 1959 that he bought from a retired player down the street from his house. Both horns are very good players, even if they aren’t going to win any beauty pageants!

castrubone wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 6:49 am Old Conns are fun and I’ve played some excellent ones and even used one on a gig. But they’re just not consistently reliable enough to be an every day instrument.

Guess the many top-flight professional players in Los Angeles and the UK who use Elkhart Conns every day are just wrong then?

Elkhart Conns aren't used everywhere because in most places (at least in the US) the orchestral sound concept heavily favors the dark Bach-like sound. It has nothing to do with Conns being somehow inadequate for professional use.

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

You must be kidding, right?

brassmedic wrote: ↑Sat Apr 17, 2021 2:08 am

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

You must be kidding, right?

Well, not if he's never been to one...

Technically would be true.

Aw, why not:

I don't know why I'm having so much fun clowning on these Elkhart threads. It's like it's life or death in the minds of some people. The best players you don't see on Elkharts because someone built them something better for free or something worse for negative money. Or they just don't like Elkharts. Or they play Elkharts. It's just a tool to make music.

I bought my 1967 88h in March of 1968 and still have it. I played many Union gigs on it. I play mostly bass (Edwards) or tuba now, but if I were asked to play a tenor gig, it would be on that 88h.

I'm 68 and playing a 1963 72H.

castrubone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:01 pm Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

As a professional trombonist my only large bore tenor is an Elkhart 88H. I'm also acting bass trombonist in a professional orchestra here in CT where the contracted 2nd trombonist plays an Elkhart 88H. He owns 4 of them. If your point is that the trombone world lives in the Edwards and Shires world you are correct, especially here in the US. But if you've seem mo one playing one on a professional gig you should look around more.

That more or less proves my point. Knowing a person that plays on old Conn isn’t the issue. Of course they exist. The point is it’s rare to the point of being almost unheard of. Insinuating I haven’t played enough gigs to know better is arrogant and condescending.

Nah I didn't prove your point at all-your point is your point. Sorry you have a problem with someone stating the truth and that you take it as arrogant and condescending. I said "you need to look around more." There's a difference. I'm a full time pro. I not only own and Elkhart 88H I use it as a primary instrument. I do other gigs where folks use 88Hs. They are pro gigs. I'm only disputing your post.

Your quote:
Owning an old 88H does not mean you use it as your primary instrument. There is also a difference in culture between full time professional performers and those who aren’t. Full time pros I can speak unequivocally I have never seen an Elkhart 88H at a professional union gig.

The VSO 2nd up until a couple of years ago, G Cox, still played an E. 88H.

Here's an interesting custom variant recently listed on Reverb, a convertible Elkhart 8H bell section with custom Thayer valve section by Terry Pierce:

https://reverb.com/item/40044648-conn-8 ... valve-wrap

For what it's worth, I know of at least one full-time professional symphony orchestra trombonist who plays only an Elkhart 88H. He loves it, and sounds great on it. I'm sure that there are more around the country, as previously noted.

I don't understand the pissing contest in this thread. Yes, quite a few of us older trombonists have Elkhart 88H and 8H trombones. Most of us (in the United States, at least) acquired them when we were younger, as I did. Many of us still play them regularly, at least as part of a perhaps expanded stable. I love my 88H - but it's now just one of my "children!"

Most younger players (including the majority of orchestral "professionals") acquired their new trombones well after Conn stopped making trombones in Elkhart in 1972. They also play fine instruments - some of them Conns and Bachs, some from Shires, Getzen / Edwards, Yamaha, or others; some from European / British factories, a few from "boutique" makers. Most sound excellent. [If they didn't blend with their sections, corrective actions would probably have been taken.]

It's nice (I guess) to know the preferences and prejudices of some TromboneChatters, but it's really not a matter of great import. Let's get back to helping and supporting other trombonists, providing information, history, news, guidance, and friendship - and assistance buying and selling. TromboneChat is a great place to meet. Let's keep it that way. For everything else, please use Facebook!

I love my 8H predecessor. Works great with my 12c MV remington. I'd love a Beitel which is the TIS version. Great horns.

TheConnsequence wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:26 am I love my 8H predecessor. Works great with my 12c MV remington. I'd love a Beitel which is the TIS version. Great horns.

You have quite a museum-worthy collection of vintage Conn trombones!

Posaunus wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 9:34 am

TheConnsequence wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:26 am I love my 8H predecessor. Works great with my 12c MV remington. I'd love a Beitel which is the TIS version. Great horns.

You have quite a museum-worthy collection of vintage Conn trombones!

I just cannot help myself when it comes to old Conns. They just play great and feel very air efficient. There is one that I am looking very forward to acquiring sometime in the near future.

TheConnsequence wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:08 pm

Posaunus wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 9:34 am

You have quite a museum-worthy collection of vintage Conn trombones!

I just cannot help myself when it comes to old Conns. They just play great and feel very air efficient. There is one that I am looking very forward to acquiring sometime in the near future.

You should look out for a 32H, it would make make a good addition to your collection. And maybe a 40H for the looks.

TheConnsequence wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 6:08 pm

Posaunus wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 9:34 am You have quite a museum-worthy collection of vintage Conn trombones!

I just cannot help myself when it comes to old Conns. They just play great and feel very air efficient. There is one that I am looking very forward to acquiring sometime in the near future.

A Conn 30H "Burkle" would be a great addition to your collection!
https://cderksen.home.xs4all.nl/Conn30H1940image.html
Nice looking, really fun to play.

I expect the same would be true of the larger bore Conn 32H "Burkle."
https://cderksen.home.xs4all.nl/Conn32H193ximage.html

I'm on the 20-30 age bracket and definitely enjoy my Elkhart 8H on the rare occasion I'm asked to play tenor. Very user friendly, and 88s are not too uncommon in my part of the world. I've played bass under them often enough.

biggiesmalls wrote: ↑Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:29 pm Here's an interesting custom variant recently listed on Reverb, a convertible Elkhart 8H bell section with custom Thayer valve section by Terry Pierce:

https://reverb.com/item/40044648-conn-8 ... valve-wrap

I believe that is this instrument https://trombonechat.com/viewtopic.php? ... er#p100120

I disagree with the statement that “most Elkhart” horns are deteriorated.

I play mid-50s 6Hs. They are well maintained. The ‘52 6HLW is my daily driver.

Sure, it’s pretty normal to have to replace the original inner slides in time, but there’s absolutely no reason to delegate these great horns to the closet.