A photo would help me ask some pertinent questions. Linz somehow rings a bell, but I can't find any clue in Langwill with the information you've given. There were a lot of compensating doubles made in Italy. Italian makers don't jump to my mind the way German, English, USA, and Japanese do.
A lot can be told by the attention to detail by the maker. Although Hans' horns would baffle the average dealer, any knowlegeable player would get excited just looking at it, and playing it would instantly confirm the highest professional quality. I own a couple of horns that fall into that category, and have been able to find practically no information about the makers. Violin dealers have dealt with this problem of obscure makers, usually to their great profit. Unfortunately, only the most experienced horn players can accurately gauge the absolute quality of an unknown horn. Most players have accomodated the flaws of their particular horn and are comfortable with how it plays. If they play an unknown horn, differences are usually ascribed to the unknown, unless the unknown has a reputation that nobody dares deny. If you go back through old postings, Hans has several times set out specific guidelines for rating an unknown instrument, the absolute first being to tune it so it feels right to your familiar tuning. Somewhere, I have print outs of Hans' criteria that I refer to, but mostly from memory now. Even knowing the whole check list, it can require a lot of experience to distinguish between a design flaw and a leak. To be a bit mercenary about the whole matter, since I am always looking for a good deal, I think that it is only fair that the person who has worked to gain the experience to recognizes a real find is the one who should take best advantage of it. What usually happens is I find a carcass that will be worth $2000 after I put a hundred hours into making parts to restore it. All said and done, if you can get enough information to identify the thing, I'll be glad to give you good advice about what you've got. If you want to take advantage of a potential find, buy it as cheap as you can, and take a chance. I've certainly given you enough general advice to be able to drive the price down, and you'll have fun, and gain some education, trying to get it back up again. Sarah wrote on 5/29/2004, 3:28 PM: > Hopefully this is a similar situation, but the problem is that I know > nothing about this horn! Can anyone tell me what make it is or at > least SOMETHING?!!?! It says "Made in Italy" and "Linz" on the bell. > > Thanks for your help! > > ~Sarah > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > In a message dated 29/05/2004 20:12:53 GMT Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > So... this woman has had a French horn in her closet for years, and > now she > wants to get rid of it because she is "cleaning out her house." She knows > absolutely nothing about the instrument > Sounds like the widow of a friend of mine who wanted to sell her > husband's > old horn - an Alexander 103. She asked a friend of hers to "try to get > �20" > (about 36 US dollars) for it. > Fortunately (for both of us) she got to me before the chap on the local > market got to her. > All the best, > Lawrence > "�aes ofereode - �isses swa maeg" > > http://lawrenceyates.co.uk > > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > set your options at > http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/grazioso07%40yahoo.com > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger > _______________________________________________ > post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > set your options at > http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/billbamberg%40aol.com > _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
