Holton Soprano, anyone?

[chising]

I got a non-function vintage Holton Soprano as a Gift,
it doesn't play right now but got almost every parts that it needs to do
a major overhaul, this one also have the high F key and other
extra keys that usually you don't found on vintage sop.
Didn't anyone here got a Holton sop or have experience with it?
Does it play well, what does it sounds like, good, bad or so so?
Is it worth to invest some money and bring it back to life?

Thanks in advance.


George a.k.a Chising

[bruce bailey]

It depends on who actually made it. If it has soldered and beveled tone holes, it is a Martin and well worth the investment if you can finish it off for under $700 including the horn and repairs. If you have a photo of the tone holes, and G# key, e-mail me with them and I will identify it. I have a Holton (martin) alto that is really nice, but don't expect these to rival the newer Asian and French horns.

[blackfrancis]

I've played a Holton soprano for a long time- great horn! If you're looking for an investment, forget about it. If you're looking to make music with it, I heartily recommend it. (mine's just a regular Holton, not a Martin stencil- about 1912. BTW, I have played an old Martin sop., and it was excellent!)

[Rudy2]

Hiya,

I have a Rudy Wiedoeft Holton soprano that has a very good tone. Nice and smoky, and plays very well in tune throughout the range. I am going out on a limb here, but in my opinion it is superior to other horns of the era. Even better tone-wise than than the Yamaha YSS-475 which is my current soprano of choice. Certainly a better tone than the Yani soprano's that I have played and I am guessing, tone-wise, pretty hard to beat, period.

Having said that, it is a nightmare to keep in regulation. It has very funky keywork that gets out of whack even if you are careful with it. The unusual keywork is usefull for trills and really is not just a gimic. But the horn is fragile and should not be relied on for a gig without a backup.

I play mine with an S-80 mouthpiece and 2-1/2 Rico Royals and it sounds really great. Takes some effort to blow, but terrific sound. Much better sound than modern horns imho.

So like others have said, it isn't worth a lot as an investment. But it certainly is a decent player when pampered.

Randy
Everett, WA

[super20dan]

the holton sopranos are quite good which is quite a suprise considering how bad the rest of the family is

[Ari]

Ok who knows the history of Martin stencils as they apply to Holton?
I just got my hands on a 234XX Holton Soprano - the keywork looks exactly like a martin handcraft sop from the same era. The tone holes are soldered but are not beveled.
Opinions on who made it?:?

PS don't know what it sounds like - got it in the mail at work, have to take it home to play tonight. pads are workable but I will likely repad.

[hafuch]

Hi Ari,

Looks like your Holton soprano was made by Holton, as they used soldered, but unbeveled, tone holes like the ones you describe.

I have a Holton soprano (as well as a tenor, which I love), and have been pleased with it. It has a BEAUTIFUL tone (warm and rich, not that reedy, oboe-like sound you so often get with straight sopranos) that turns heads, but alas, the intonation is rather typical of most vintage sopranos in that one must use the emboucher to compensate for imprecise intonation.

Mind you, the trade-off has been worth it, as their intonation issues are no more problematic than those of other vintage sopranos (from what I hear anyway).

It should be worth a little repadding and regulation, though!

Enjoy, and let us know how you like it.

Hafuch

[fredj608]

I bought a vintage holton sop about 6 years ago as "junk", and had it cleaned, repadded/corked and regulated and "polished. It's nickel (?)-plated and the main part, not the keys and action, is sandblasted. "Made by Frank Holton and Co, Elkhorn Wis" engraved on the bell-front, and "Bb 18782" and the letters L P widely spaced on the bell-back. Plays OK, but I don't use it much, as I'm primarily a bari player.

Is this instrument of any interest to a collector?

[fredj608]

I bought a vintage holton sop about 6 years ago as "junk", and had it cleaned, repadded/corked and regulated and "polished. It's nickel (?)-plated and the main part, not the keys and action, is sandblasted. "Made by Frank Holton and Co, Elkhorn Wis" engraved on the bell-front, and "Bb 18782" and the letters L P widely spaced on the bell-back. Plays OK, but I don't use it much, as I'm primarily a bari player.

Is this instrument of any interest to a collector?

[bruce bailey]

First it is probably silver plated if the keys shine and the body is satin. Some of these have the extra keys like the C# trill for the RH. A collector will buy it but I think most serious players will go the Conn, TT or Martin route. What do you want for it? You may want to list it for sale in the "marketplace" section.

[tommyr]

I have been playing an old Holton since at least 1975. It has withstood many bumps on the way. It has a better tone than any other Soprano I have tried.It has the high F key . Many question the year, and I have no idea other than a sreial # of 32560. I only play it once in a while now, but I still love it.

[bruce bailey]

Those Holton serial numbers are not too accurate on the internet. From ones I have seen, I would place yours at about 1927.

[chemEtoo]

I recently tried a Rudy Wiedoeft Holton Bb soprano (32xxx, LP) at Rayburn's music in Boston. It had a sweet tone (that reminded me of a 1920s Conn that I played on 20 years ago), the ergonomics were reasonably good, and the intonation was okay but not as good as a recent Yamaha. The extra keys were interesting. As described elsewhere here, they included a C-D trill, right hand positive-action G# alternative, old-style right-hand alt Eb fingering, and an extra low C vent with "PAT APPL FOR" on the key. I almost bought the horn but ultimately went for a Couf Superba 2 instead.

[DanCraven]

mine's an older one, within 100 of 30000, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It has so much more character, personality and charm in the tone than the majority of modern straight horns. As mentioned by an earlier poster, it took some work to learn to play it in tune, but the time was well spent because it sounds so nice!

Edit: forgot why I was posting---your horn is worth fixing up!

[jazzbug1]

My Rudy soprano is still at J and J Woodwinds. A meticulous job is worth waiting over a year for. Re-plated silver/gold, with a set of Roo pads. It was probably a flood victim and appeared to have been used as a hammer by some idiot. Now it will be played proudly with it's Rudy relatives as soon as it arrives home.