Anyone have an opinion about an OLDS Special?

[msterling]

I have had a 1969-1970 OLDS Special for about 10 years. It has some peeling plating on the inner slide but is otherwise in very nice condition. Is this a decent horn or just a student model. It seems to be dual-bore and has a transition from yellow brass to maybe rose brass on the bell section.

[dbwhitaker]

There is an old thread about the Special: viewtopic.php?p=130128#p130128

[Chazzer69]

I have one a little older than yours and it happened to come out of storage the other day when I had a friend over to try out a couple of horns. I was pleasantly surprised by what he and I were both able to get out of it. It's a good horn!

[BrooklynDad]

I think the Olds horns special horns are good sounding, budget-friendly horns. Olds instruments from their heyday just have their own thing, owing to their dedication to innovation/trying new things. Custom Venturi, their own alloys, fluted slides- etc. They aren't for everyone, but Olds instruments literally scream "quality". I particularly like their Opera line of instruments. In my school days, I would buy and resell vintage horns in order to learn more about them, how they play, etc. and it ended up being a wonderful way to get into the equipment. And I barely lost any money between the buying and reselling. Win/Win. Michael Dease

[msterling]

There is an old thread about the Special: viewtopic.php?p=130128#p130128

Interesting thread! I do have an Olds 3 mouthpiece which came with my first student T-Bone (an Ambassador). Other small bore mouthpieces don't insert far enough into the leadpipe. The Special looks like a very fancied-up Ambassador. The scratchy slide action is annoying.

I wonder if I can get the inner slides replated or replaced. The outer slide looks pristine inside and out.

[rudytbone]

I picked up a used Special to use as a "beater" marching horn for ~$50 back in '83. Best "beater" I've ever owned.

[ghmerrill]

I don't think the Special was ever a "student model". I have a '47 (with the "serpentine" braces) and it was the #2 professional horn in their catalog for '46 and '47 at least -- selling (as I recall calculating it) for the equivalent of about $3,000. They are dual bore, of course, but I wonder if what you're seeing as "rose brass" is just the lacquer having darkened up. A year or so ago, I stripped the old lacquer off mine and re-lacquered it -- except for the bell because I couldn't bring myself to remove that "look" of the darkened lacquer.

I paid $120 for it on Ebay just a few years ago and regard it as a steal, though I rarely play it.

[Geordie]

I like my Special - use it for parades and ‘lively’ environments. They have a reputation for being sturdy and well made. Mine is very nose heavy. I believe that’s common. Added a generic counterweight - approx 8ozs - and all is good. Struggled to find an authentic Olds counterweight.

[ghmerrill]

Mine is very nose heavy.

Definitely.

[msterling]

I don't think the Special was ever a "student model". I have a '47 (with the "serpentine" braces) and it was the #2 professional horn in their catalog for '46 and '47 at least -- selling (as I recall calculating it) for the equivalent of about $3,000. They are dual bore, of course, but I wonder if what you're seeing as "rose brass" is just the lacquer having darkened up. A year or so ago, I stripped the old lacquer off mine and re-lacquered it -- except for the bell because I couldn't bring myself to remove that "look" of the darkened lacquer.

I paid $120 for it on Ebay just a few years ago and regard it as a steal, though I rarely play it.

There is a clear line where the color of the bell transitions to a darker shade. You can see it in the pic.

[msterling]

I like my Special - use it for parades and ‘lively’ environments. They have a reputation for being sturdy and well made. Mine is very nose heavy. I believe that’s common. Added a generic counterweight - approx 8ozs - and all is good. Struggled to find an authentic Olds counterweight.

I do use mine for parades. It take less air than the 88H.

Mine has an Olds counterweight and is nicely balanced

[ghmerrill]

There is a clear line where the color of the bell transitions to a darker shade. You can see it in the pic.

Ah, I see that now. There appears to be a pretty distinct line there. Interesting.

[JohnL]

There is a clear line where the color of the bell transitions to a darker shade. You can see it in the pic.

Ah, I see that now. There appears to be a pretty distinct line there. Interesting.

There's a good picture of a "tri-color" Special on page 5 of this catalog:
http://itsabear.com/Olds_Docs/Olds1970.pdf

[Doubler]

FWIW - Whereas the 2-tone Studio bell consists of a nickel-silver flare brazed to a yellow brass taper, the same effect was achieved by Re-O-Loy plating the flare of the Special after the bell (taper and flare made of the same material, rather than dissimilar metals) was assembled.