[cymru97]

Hi everybody,

I picked up this little curved soprano last year. I had it overhauled and after picking up a tiny Conn Eagle mouthpiece for it I cannot leave it alone, I adore this thing. Now, it's a Harwood Professional with some very unique features that have me a little stumped.

As you'll see in the pictures it has the Buescher "rooster" comb on the bow and the low C# is on the right side ala Buescher. It has soldered toneholes and the serial number is arched and "LOW PITCH" is directly below it.

Now the keywork is what sets this horn apart. It has a G# trill key that sits directly where most Bueschers have the "spoon type" alternate F#. In place of the standard alt. F# there is a Conn style key that wraps around the back of the horn to the tonehole above the thumb rest (Have a look at the pics, it'll make more sense). Also notice the key posts are pawn shaped, not a straight taper like most of the major brands.

So what do I have? A Buescher with modified keywork and a relocated tonehole? Were stencil modifications like this common? Did Harwood special order this custom setup? What is going on??? Could it be a King, Martin, or some other horn?

Anyway, here at the pics at shutterfly. Just click on them to view as a slideshow.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1EbMXLNqxYsIm

Thanks for the help!

 

[cymru97]

Thanks for the info Steve.

What do you think about that relocated tonehole? I guess there's no reason why Buescher wouldn't do it as a custom job, but I would think that would add significantly to the cost. Also, are those posts common Buescher posts? If not, what would explain them?

I'm off to check out Jay's site.
-Andy

 

[Seasax]

wow,
shes a beaut, hows it play, (does it play?!?)

ahah!!!
are they snaps i see/??

 

[cymru97]

Hey Sarge,

Thanks! I toyed with the idea of having it replated, but she's got too much character to ruin her with a pretty new look. It actually came off of ebay and the folks had acquired it from an auction liquidating the assests of a farm implement dealer in Northern Missouri! It was awefully tatty when I got it so it obviously sat for many years. The best part is there were no major flaws with it so it was really just a cleaning and repad!

Unfortunately those aren't snaps you see. This one never had them ( I removed the old crusty white pads myself) and I think probably predates snaps anyway, not sure. It plays wonderfully, The big difference came when I bought a Conn Eagle mouthpiece off the forum. The thing is so small the tail end of the reed hangs considerably over the table. I haven't played other vintage sops to compare, but the tone is deep, rich, and full unlike the modern horns I've played 9not many really). To me it sounds more like and alto than a soprano! The best part is the intonation isn't far off at all, especially with that short mouthpiece. My main horn will never be soprano so for me the limited range and Eb3 won't be a problem and I'm slowly discovering altissimo fingering on it. Anyway, I adore it and the best part is I have all of about $250 in it...

 

[Dave dix]

The buescher stencil line was slightly different from the main line but still a super-fine horn
Dave