Should I remove lacquer off of a rose gold brass bell

[BassBoneColin]

Hey everyone! First post!

Currently, I am playing on a Getzen 3062 AFR (lovely horn for what I do now) and I'm curious if it's worth the hassle of removing the lacquer from the bell. I love the look and sound of de-lacquered bells but due to the epoxy finish that Getzen uses it might not be worth the time and energy it takes to remove. I'm only planning on using this horn for around 4-5 more years so is it worth it for me to get this lacquer removed or should I just keep it the way it is for now?

[Posaunus]

In my opinion, the aural effect of lacquer removal is minimal; the visual effect can be nice (personal preference).

[jorymil]

I wouldn't on a horn like that, or if I did, I'd have it done professionally. It's one thing to remove the lacquer on an older horn that already has significant lacquer wear, but it's a different story on a $4000 bass, especially if it's your only horn or if it's your first time de-lacquering a horn. You want to be sure not to decrease the horn's value significantly, and you don't want to be without a horn if (when) you mess something up.

[modelerdc]

another vote for don't do it. You might notice the effect alone in a practice room, but it won't make any difference in ensemble. But it will affect the value of your horn.

[elmsandr]

So, first a thought; I prefer the sound and response of an unlacquered horn. Most of my vintage horns currently have their vintage flaking and screwed up lacquer. It just isn’t enough to make it really worth the effort. Even an old lousy lacquer tends to look better than an unpolished and protected raw horn, it is amazing how many bell water drops and rings from the stand you can get in a really short period of time. I don’t particularly care what I look like, but often the audience does.

Secondly, are getzen horns hard to strip? I remember the lacquer on my Edwards wearing and crazing pretty quickly, figured it would come off easily. Been a while, but I’m pretty sure I stripped my valve tuning slides and it took about 20 minutes, think I was using citristrip at the time, but it could have been Zip, don’t remember.

And lastly, as was noted, it will probably lower resale value for no real reason.

Cheers,
Andy

[BassBoneColin]

Thank you! I think my currently plan right now is to just sell the bell in the future. I love the slide on my horn and the valves are amazing and will pair well with the bell Im going to put on in a few years. I think for someone my age its probably not worth losing the resale valve over little change in sound. Thank you all for the comments and guidance!

[Posaunus]

Thank you! I think my currently plan right now is to just sell the bell in the future. I love the slide on my horn and the valves are amazing and will pair well with the bell Im going to put on in a few years. I think for someone my age its probably not worth losing the resale valve over little change in sound. Thank you all for the comments and guidance!

Good choice!