Posted by Joe Baker on October 29, 2000 at 02:05:42:
In Reply to: Re: Re: old E flat posted by Clark Sandford on October 27, 2000 at 14:46:36:
A 'Stencil' horn is an instrument sold under a name other than the name of the manufacturer. This would sometimes be the name of the store that sold it. I guess more often, the manufacturer would have an agreement with certain stores giving them exclusive rights to that brand name, but they would sell their horns to other retailers in the same market under a different brand name.
For the date, go to the 'music trader' website (link below) and follow the links for 'serial number lists' and 'conn'. It'll give you a very good idea of when your instrument was built.
Good luck to you and your son!