Steve Mumford writes:
>
Those 8Ds with the 2 digit prefix were made in Eastlake (King parts).
What about the Eastlake 8D's with six-digit serial numbers? I have an
8DS, bought new in 2003 or 2004, whose serial number is 979xxx. Is there
any way to date one of those? It definitely is NOT a pre-letter series
Elkhart horn!
The only properly made 8Ds were the Elkhart ones. They had properly designed
valves, but of course they're mostly all worn out by now anyway (35+ years).
The bit about most of the Elkhart horns being worn out is excellent, and
wasn't mentioned when the original advice to buy an Elkhart horn was
given (not by you). My experience over several years of looking for
another 8D has been that most of the Elkhart horns are clapped out scrap
metal by now, but priced stratospherically because they are the
much-touted and -sought after Elkhart 8D. All the several I tried had
severe, major problems of one kind or another: valves that leaked like
sieves, paper-thin metal, badly-done major repairs, or some combination.
It also seems to me that those of us who actually do have Elkhart 8D's
in top condition also have no intention of selling them.
IMHO, the best of the Eastlake 8D's, *taken on their own terms*, are
excellent horns. However, they also don't play anything like Elkhart
8D's. Personally, I'm not convinced this is a bad thing, but, obviously,
what constitutes a good horn is also largely a matter of taste. It also
seems to me that most of the modifications people perform on Elkhart
8D's, particularly changing the leadpipes, serve chiefly to make them
play more like the better Eastlake 8D's. I don't quite get the logic of
paying a premium price for an Elkhart horn and then modifying it so it
no longer plays like one, but, as I get older and older, the number of
things I don't get increases.
Donning my Nomex underwear. <g>
Howard Sanner
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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