TromboneChat

Simply by the bell marked "corporation "?
Is it really that easy?

Yup!

Hm... then I stumbled on one for what looks like a great price...
Value for a corporation Bach 42b?

Highly dependent on condition and area you are in. We got our son one for $1200. Good playing condition, but a few minor dents and a lot of laquer loss. Our son's instructor, who tends to buy those up when he can told us $1300-$1800. I've seen as low as $900 for one with some flaws in need of correction. Occasionally pop up for even less from someone who is just selling an old horn. You do see mismatched slides on these old horns from time to time, might be a corporation bell with a more modern slide. That bothers some, others don't care. You just need to check serial number on the slide to get a rough estimate of manufacture. Corporation bells were manufactured roughly 1967-1980.

The one we got has a slide that dates around 1975 by serial number, but I did a lot of searching and really pored over photos of 42b's manufactured in that period to make sure things checked out and based on characteristics, the bell is a little older. Most likely 1973. Things I noticed (my observations and I have not been able to find any independent confirmation):
Sometime during the early Elkhart years they started stamping a number on the valve housing (which some people confuse with a serial number). Prior to 1974, they stamped this number on the top of the valve housing. In 1974, they moved that stamping to the bottom of the valve housing, where it has remained ever since.
A confirmed 1973 had number 3xx on top of valve housing
A confirmed 1974 had number 8xx on bottom of valve housing, another confirmed 1974 had 6xx.
Two confirmed 1977 had numbers in the 2xxx range on bottom of valve housing.

Sometime around 74-75 they changed the insert for the old french style case. At that point, they actually started using a foam cutout that the bell fits in. Earlier cases just had a wood block that the bell section sort of mounted into. The bell section on our son's has a bell section stamp on top of the valve housing with number 4xx. The case it came with is the earlier french style case with just the wood block to secure the bell.

I've bought two separately for $500. At the high end, 2k for a very nice one.

I bought my last straight 42 corp for $500 and then dropped another 250 for a trip to The Brasslab - played it for 4 years as my main axe. I've heard the alloy or how they treated the brass changed post corp and that's what makes the difference. I've owned and loved corp and non-corp horns, but that 42 corp was something quite special.

sterb225 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:49 pm I bought my last straight 42 corp for $500 and then dropped another 250 for a trip to The Brasslab - played it for 4 years as my main axe. I've heard the alloy or how they treated the brass changed post corp and that's what makes the difference. I've owned and loved corp and non-corp horns, but that 42 corp was something quite special.

Yeah that special vibe is what I am looking for. Right now it is priced at 1400 usd wich seems high, even for a 42b, we'll see how negotiations go.

I can attest that a Corporation era Bach 36/36B is something really special. There is a range of serial numbers (production years) where the bells were hammered by a certain artisan and seem thicker; maybe some magic involved. DJ Kennedy calls these "chocolate"—they're amazing. There was a thread on TTF...

Oh yes I remember that thread very well!

Any experience with corporate 42B's? Can they also have the "chocolate" bell or do they also have that special vibe?