This one is hard for me. This is one of the most special instruments I have ever owned, and by far the best Holton bass I've played. But I am not a collector and I'm not sure how much I can actually use it in real life... Therefore, I'm going to temper my regret with a higher price.

This is a '60s TR185 that lived much of its life in Japan. Sadly, the original case was quite smelly and is now decorating my aunt's living room... I wonder if she kept it!

Anyway, it came to me with the original dependent lever system and an E slide. I could tell, even in this less-useful configuration that it was pretty special, so I had Benn Hansson fab up a real 2nd valve lever for me (I kept the F lever original, no problem for me). The work is amazing and brings the horn to a modern level of playability. I also sourced some Holton .585 tubing from John Sandhagen and had him make a D slide for me. One of the bends on the D valve was thin, so it has been patched. As you can see, it's not buffed and not pretty, but it is entirely functional. Now, it's totally up to modern standards with F/D tuning and split triggers.

Why did I have this work done? Well, this horn makes a really special sound, and doesn't fight you doing it. Big thick sound, tons of core, lots of color, no really strange ranges, awesome pedals, no intonation quirks. The strangest note on the horn is C in first position with the F valve- I assume due to the setup with the bird's nest valve and the shorter tubes. Otherwise it's perfectly easy to deal with, and better than any 50B2 or similar vintage dependent horn I've had, including my Minick Holton 180. Low range is completely fine for a rotor instrument- I have to adjust a bit from playing my axial instruments, but it's not stuffy to my face.

It is a bit mouthpiece pickier than a modern instrument. I play it with a Laskey 90D and previously a Yamaha Yeo. Anything deeper and it starts to lose core and is more difficult to play- it would honestly be happier with something smaller, which is part of the reason I'm not sure I can keep it. I also am a little too used to independent tuning and it really limits where I can use it.

The slide is in good shape, and the best Holton slide I've used... though of course that's a pretty low bar! It has a bit of plating loss on one inner, but nothing else. I'd call it a 6/10 for the picky people, but I have had no problems playing it in a variety of settings with Yamasnot, so it's a personal 8/10.

Otherwise is has normal lacquer loss for a 55+ year old instrument, but no serious dings. It was used but taken care of for a long time.

Also included is a whole set of parts from another similar vintage 185: F valve, wrap, inner and outer tubes, two crooks, some braces, and F lever assembly. .585 tubing is not the easiest to find, and it's nice to have an extra valve. I'll toss in a later-production Holton 1 1/2G as well. No case.

I'm asking $3800. Is this high? Yes. But there aren't many of these, and I don't think there are very many of those remaining that play nearly this well and have nice levers and F/D tuning. If you have a cool bass for trade, let me know.

Sold.

That was quick!

[quote="GabrielRice"]That was quick![/quote]

Yup... I'm going to regret this one. Oh well, it needs to be played.

Good on you for having the courage to sell it. I've enjoyed seeing it in your videos--I actually picked a single-valve one up for myself recently: thank you for inspiring me!

Ha! Now, between the two of us, my 72Hs get to hog all the vintage not-Bach bass mojo!

[quote="Finetales"]Ha! Now, between the two of us, my 72Hs get to hog all the vintage not-Bach bass mojo![/quote]

Time to get a Fuchs and put Thayers on it, I think....

[quote="Burgerbob"]<QUOTE author="Finetales" post_id="170877" time="1644291537" user_id="136">
Ha! Now, between the two of us, my 72Hs get to hog all the vintage not-Bach bass mojo![/quote]

Time to get a Fuchs and put Thayers on it, I think....
</QUOTE>
Nooooooooo! Dont do that :weep:

[quote="bassboneman69"]<QUOTE author="Burgerbob" post_id="170878" time="1644294824" user_id="3131">

Time to get a Fuchs and put Thayers on it, I think....[/quote]
Nooooooooo! Dont do that :weep:
</QUOTE>
Of course not... I'll make it fit my Trubores.

(No, I won't, still need to get a good plan for restoration of the one downstairs; had a replacement rotor, decided not to do that... at least not with that hardware; but this is all WAY off topic now)

Cheers,

Andy

[quote="elmsandr"]<QUOTE author="bassboneman69" post_id="170924" time="1644340723" user_id="3633">

Nooooooooo! Dont do that :weep:[/quote]
Of course not... I'll make it fit my Trubores.

(No, I won't, still need to get a good plan for restoration of the one downstairs; had a replacement rotor, decided not to do that... at least not with that hardware; but this is all WAY off topic now)

Cheers,

Andy
</QUOTE>

I'll take it!