For sale is a wonderful Elkhart Conn 8D. This horn is an M series (M90399) and has had an overhaul by the horn restoration master Chuck Ward, in Cleveland Ohio. This 8D has a beautiful, warm, Conn 8D sound and is very responsive and easy to play. The soft side of this horn is especially pleasing, and the powerful louds it produces are huge, powerful, and beautiful. This horn is everything you would expect from a professionally restored Elkhart 8D.
 
This horn has some special features. The valves have been rebuilt (by Chuck Ward) and have excellent compression. They are very quick and quiet.
 
The bell and leadpipe have also been replaced. The leadpipe is an 8D leadpipe, but the bell is a standard medium throat bell. This was somewhat of an experiment to see what would happen if an 8D had a medium bell professionally installed. And what a successful experiment! I have spent about two weeks playtesting this horn and found that it is absolutely everything that you would expect from an 8D sound wise, but it has much better response than many of the large-throat bells that I have played. The sound is not at all bright as would be the concern.
 
There are some minor dents and dings throughout the horn that were not removed. They are all minor. The 1st valve slide (F side) has the most, but none are deep, and they are not affecting the sound. You can't really see this from a distance, but up close it is somewhat of a cosmetic issue. It is not a playing issue. There are no thin spots on the horn, and none of the dings are deep.
 
The bell flare and tail did receive some damage from rough treatment on the way back from Chuck's shop. The flare has a couple minor flattened spots (the best footage of this is in the YouTube video of this horn). I also had to remove a small dent from the bell tail (done by Dr. John Ericson, professor of horn at ASU). These things are not matters of playability concern, but should be noted, and they are why the price is lower than I usually sell a rebuilt 8D for.
 
This is a phenomenal professional horn worthy of being played in any horn section. Whether you are going into college or play on the community or professional level, this will make a fantastic horn if you are looking for an 8D style horn, but don't want to put the effort into playing a larger bore instrument.
 
This horn comes with a used, but nice ProTec ProPac case. It is in used, but good condition. The backpack strap has a small tear, but that is the only major thing to know about. A mouthpiece is not included, but I can include a standard one upon request.
 
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!