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kymarto

kymarto

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I just bought what looks like a beautiful old Hungarian tárogató. It is a Reményi, made about 100 years ago in Budapest. I haven't got it in my hands yet, but I have detailed pictures, and if the horn is half as nice as it looks I will be happy. The body is grenadilla, and the bell is lacquered pearwood. It is a simple system--no rings on the LH, two rings on the right, single octave key. I have seen closeups, and this is professional keywork, with a clean smooth bore.

That is actually what I wanted after trying the other one that I have with all those keys. That will allow me half holes, and various bends that I use on my other non-keyed winds.

The instrument is supposed to be completely refurbished and with a new mpc by a Hungarian craftsman.

Hopefully, I will not be posting another Jeremiad about this one like the last one. From what I can see, it is a top quality instrument, and the seller says that it plays two octaves easily and clearly, with good intonation.

I'll also be interested to see how the sound compares to the Romanian one I have, which I have got working about 75% (rather than 25% when I got it).

More when it arrives in a couple of week. Early Christmas!!
 
kymarto said:
I just bought what looks like a beautiful old Hungarian tárogató. It is a Reményi, made about 100 years ago in Budapest. I haven't got it in my hands yet, but I have detailed pictures, and if the horn is half as nice as it looks I will be happy. The body is grenadilla, and the bell is lacquered pearwood. It is a simple system--no rings on the LH, two rings on the right, single octave key. I have seen closeups, and this is professional keywork, with a clean smooth bore.

That is actually what I wanted after trying the other one that I have with all those keys. That will allow me half holes, and various bends that I use on my other non-keyed winds.

The instrument is supposed to be completely refurbished and with a new mpc by a Hungarian craftsman.

Hopefully, I will not be posting another Jeremiad about this one like the last one. From what I can see, it is a top quality instrument, and the seller says that it plays two octaves easily and clearly, with good intonation.

I'll also be interested to see how the sound compares to the Romanian one I have, which I have got working about 75% (rather than 25% when I got it).

More when it arrives in a couple of week. Early Christmas!!
Click to expand...

Congratulations! Regarding the Romanian instrument you have already, since it plays well in tune, then potentially it is a very good instrument, no? I mean, leaks etc are completely fixable and the keywork can be tweaked.

As I mentioned, I resurrected a 1991 factory Timis that everyone thought was a piece of junk. It had leaks left and right, missing pads, springs, and a mouthpiece with a very large opening. Sure enough, after repadding and recorking, and with a brand new mouthpiece, this thing has a beautiful sound, albeit with more embouchure adjustment. The issue was 90% the original mouthpiece, so I don't buy this whole thing about Timis taragots not having rich tone. I guess it's like Ceausescu's infamous Dacia cars - they worked very well, after you completely re-built them:)
 
Yes, potentially it could play fine. The bore is kind of ragged and the wood is quite soft, but that shouldn't matter. The painted finish is chipped under the pads, which has, I think, contributed to the leaks, so that will need attention. I can fix the keywork play with a spacer. I need to find a source for single pads-- that is the main thing now.

Beautiful job on the mpc. BTW I eyeballed the top of the bore and it does appear cylindrical from about the point of the top octave key. This is common on saxophones, and oboes have a diameter jog at the end of the staple. The contraction at the top is known as "necking in" and apparently improves the purity of the high notes. I will be interested to see of the Reményi has the same contraction.
 
Thanks for that info! Pics to come when the horn arrives. Here are the pics from the e Bay listing:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330643278195?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648

It is the original Schunda design, right down to the shape of the keys. I love the palisander bell, and as you can see we are dealing with a seriously decently-made instrument. It appears that all the Romanian ones are basically the quality of the one I have, but the early Hungarian ones were finely crafted. How it plays is another matter but the seller says that it is good, and he sells many tarogatok on eBay and deals in musical instruments, so I hope it is true. I guess it will be, but I am waaaaiiiittttinggggg.....
 
kymarto said:
Thanks for that info! Pics to come when the horn arrives. Here are the pics from the e Bay listing:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330643278195?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648

It is the original Schunda design, right down to the shape of the keys. I love the palisander bell, and as you can see we are dealing with a seriously decently-made instrument. It appears that all the Romanian ones are basically the quality of the one I have, but the early Hungarian ones were finely crafted. How it plays is another matter but the seller says that it is good, and he sells many tarogatok on eBay and deals in musical instruments, so I hope it is true. I guess it will be, but I am waaaaiiiittttinggggg.....
Click to expand...

Every time I talk to professional Romanian musicians, I am told to buy a taragot in Budapest:)
 
Is there any chance you might want to sell the first one you bought? I might be interested in a challenging repair/restoration project.
 
John--

This sounds like a wonderful idea. With your skills I'm sure you would have it playing in no time, and I am not looking forward to scrounging pads, etc.

I will sell it to you cheap if you want it, but first I would like to send you some detail photos so you know exactly what you are up against.

The main challenge is the fact that the wood is very soft, meaning that the pad seats are not really smooth. This will not be a major problem with soft pads (the present ones are old and hard as rocks), but if you really want to make it nice you might consider building them up slightly and then really giving them a clean edge.

There is a repaired crack running from the tenon of the bottom joint to the first tone hole. It doesn't look to be a problem.

The bore is extremely ragged, with splinters around the bottoms of some tone holes, and the bottoms of the holes themselves sometimes looking ripped rather than drilled. This is real Soviet-quality. That being said, the horn seems surprisingly well in tune. Aside from the leaks, the only note that seems troublesome is the third C, which wants to break up to the D. I suspect this is a bore issue, but once the horn is decently set up it might be OK.

The keywork is generally adequate, except that you will need to add a spacer on the double axle of the LH pinky keys. From what I have seen this instrument is generally no worse that most of the cheap Timis horns.

If you are still interested write me at kymarto123@ybb.ne.jp and I will answer any questions and send pix.
 
I'd also be interested - I already have a tárogató in mind but if I don't go through with it I'll be happy to take it off your hands. I can restore just about anything so I'm not too worried.
Congratulations on your new tárogató! I'm glad you were able to find a nice one.
Timis tárogatós are spotty, they're not all junk. ;)
 
PrincessJ said:
I'd also be interested - I already have a tárogató in mind but if I don't go through with it I'll be happy to take it off your hands. I can restore just about anything so I'm not too worried.
Congratulations on your new tárogató! I'm glad you were able to find a nice one.
Timis tárogatós are spotty, they're not all junk. ;)
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Looks like it will go to John, sorry. But keep in mind that the seller from whom I bought mine has a pretty constant supply of Romanian taragots--he has one now on the UK eBay site. If I were you I would continue to bid low and one will fall into your lap eventually for sure. This seller seems like a decent guy--I had good communication with him. Basically he knows a bunch of musicians and he gathers instruments no longer working well and sells them with the blanket proviso that they will need an overhaul. He is no expert but I think he will be honest about the condition of the wood and the keys. I saw once he sold a Safta, which is a big step above a Timis, but he seems mostly to deal in the standard postwar Romanian horns.

The guy from whom I bought my new one is a different species. He is in the US and knowledgeable about instruments. His father knows these horns as well and lives in Hungary, where he searches for good Hungarian instruments. He seems to sell an instrument on eBay every couple of months, and they are accurately described. His reserve prices are very reasonable--the one I got had a reserve of $1200.

He has a Stowasser coming up and is sending me pix. It won't be $1200, but I'll post details when I get them.
 
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Thanks!
Ziggy fell in to my lap for under $1000. Actually pretty incredible even for a Romanian tárogató, and that is the only reason I own it. I just want one with more to it, if you know what I mean.

I just fashioned a new mp for him, though! Expect pics soon!

In regards to Timis horns I notice that there are definitely a few gems, although the breed is spotty. They're a gamble if you don't know what you're doing.

Is that ebay guy the one that calls the bell a "funnel"?
 
PrincessJ said:
Thanks!

In regards to Timis horns I notice that there are definitely a few gems, although the breed is spotty. They're a gamble if you don't know what you're doing.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the case with the Timis I have. I borrowed it from my friend, who bought it in Romania (in person) in the early 90's. He did not know what to do with it, because it was unplayable. It turns out all it needed was a few pads, recorking, and a decent mouthpiece. It has a really nice sound now, but requires an entirely different embouchure than my main [Hungarian] taragot.

So I agree, not every Timis is junk. I got lucky with this one and I am keeping it (making the purchase official this weekend). How many people can say they own not 1, but 2 of these beautiful instruments? :)
 
PrincessJ said:
Thanks!
Ziggy fell in to my lap for under $1000. Actually pretty incredible even for a Romanian tárogató, and that is the only reason I own it. I just want one with more to it, if you know what I mean.

I just fashioned a new mp for him, though! Expect pics soon!

In regards to Timis horns I notice that there are definitely a few gems, although the breed is spotty. They're a gamble if you don't know what you're doing.

Is that ebay guy the one that calls the bell a "funnel"?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's him.
 
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