About Olds Ambassadors

[GeorgeB]

I often see Olds Ambassadors from different periods at pretty good prices. My understanding is that the Ambassador is a student horn and yet I have heard that the odd pro and semi-pro player actually use the Ambassador at performances. Are they really that good?

[Dr GO]

@georgeb said in About Olds Ambassadors:

Are they really that good?

They are. I put my Ambassador third in line in sound quality to my Trumpet playing list of horns with my Martin Committee and Harreslon Summit the only horns I hold in higher tonal regard.

If you note my list of horns, I put my Ambassador ahead of my two Recordings, and the Super Recording for tonal quality, it's THAT good.

[Dr GO]

@georgeb said in About Olds Ambassadors:

...I have heard that the odd pro and semi-pro player actually use the Ambassador at performances...

Lee Morgan's Cornbread album features him on the Olds Ambassador. My favorite jazz song of all times is on that album... "Ceora".

[GeorgeB]

@dr-go

Thanks for the information, Doc. And it is interesting that you would put your Ambassador ahead of your two recordings, which are pretty pricy on the used market and many swear by them as the best players out there..

Were there just certain years for the Ambassador ?

[Dr GO]

@georgeb said in About Olds Ambassadors:

@dr-go

Were there just certain years for the Ambassador ?

Mine was from the mid-60's. I believe TMD's is from the late 50's. His is a nice horn as well.

[Dale Proctor]

I don’t think you’ll find many (or any at all) professional players, past or present, using an Ambassador outside of the jazz/big band world. I used an Ambassador trumpet with good success in a big band for a few years, but it wasn’t acceptable for classical playing.

[Dr GO]

@dale-proctor said in About Olds Ambassadors:

I don’t think you’ll find many (or any at all) professional players, past or present, using an Ambassador outside of the jazz/big band world. I used an Ambassador trumpet with good success in a big band for a few years, but it wasn’t acceptable for classical playing.

Dale, I absolutely agree with this. My comments above relate to the most types of playing I do which is small jazz ensembles. But when I play classical, my Recordings get that gig. Their sound is rich and they can really sing.

[J. Jericho]

I owned two Ambassador trumpets, one average and one less than mediocre. I also played two of my friends' Ambassador cornets, one average and one less than mediocre. Sure, you can make them sound good and play decently, but why bother? I'd say spend more on a better horn that you don't have to overcome in order to get good results.

Dr GO's Olds Unicorn, labeled as an Ambassador, is the only exception that I know of. How many Unicorns did Olds produce?

Lee Morgan didn't continue to play his Ambassador; why is that?

[GeorgeB]

@j-jericho

I'm not thinking of an Ambassador to replace anything I presently own. All my horns are top notch professional models ( except the Getzen 400, though it is a dandy ) with each having their own unique sound. I just may add an Olds sometime down the road. But the used pro models are very pricey, so I was just curious about the Ambassador line.

[barliman2001]

@georgeb Votruba in Vienna have a pristine Olds Studio - original case, original mouthpiece and original paperwork - for € 950. I can vouch for this horn because it was mine until I exchanged it for a Recording...
https://www.votruba-musik.at/musikinstrumente/gebrauchte-instrumente/trompeten-fluegelhoerner

[GeorgeB]

@barliman2001

Looks like a good one, but in Canadian funds that's a lot more than I want to spend right now. Thanks just the same for letting me know.

[tptguy]

I have many Olds some "pro" models and some of the others also.At this time I have 3 Ambassadors, 1 Fullerton and 2 LA's. The earlier ones are lighter than the later ones and to me sound the best. My '47 with a Bach 43 pipe almost plays by it self..the later '51 all original is no slouch either, Fullerton models have always felt a bit bulky, heavy and muffled...just my own impression.

G.

[Dr GO]

@georgeb said in About Olds Ambassadors:

@j-jericho

I'm not thinking of an Ambassador to replace anything I presently own... But the used pro models are very pricey, so I was just curious about the Ambassador line.

I look at it this way George, the horn plays great and is very inexpensive that I do all my vacation traveling with it such that if it is lost or stolen, there is minimal volume loss.

[flugelgirl]

Ambassadors can be good players, though I don’t think they compare with most modern pro horns. I feel their playability has more to do with condition than year of production, since so many have either been played to death or have had a lot of possibly questionable repair. I have one I picked up at an estate sale for $50 that isn’t bad, and I occasionally use it as a loaner for when I’m working on a friend’s horn. The pristine barely played one I got for my niece is a better player, and they are within a couple of years of production. Those that I play tested after valve jobs when apprenticing at Dan Oberloh’s shop were night and day before and after.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive backup, Ambassadors are a great choice as long as they are in good condition.

[MasterWannabe]

I saw a youTube video some time back by Charlie Porter demonstrating the difference between a $200 Chinese trumpet, a $2000 Bach Strad and I think a $20,000 Monette and using three different mouthpieces. Now I am not going to claim that I have the most discerning ear but I noticed very little difference in the sound of the 3 horns themselves but I did notice a big difference between the three mouthpieces, I don't remember what the 2 lower end were but the high-end was a Monette. This demonstration brought to mind a thread I saw on the old Trumpet Master started by someone asking about the difference between a student mouthpiece and a pro mouthpiece. One of the responses (by ROWUK I think) that has stuck with me said "it is not so much about the hardware but the software".

[Dr GO]

@masterwannabe said in About Olds Ambassadors:

...I noticed very little difference in the sound... "it is not so much about the hardware but the software".

So true. I have found that the match between the appropriate mouthpiece shank and leadpipe bore can make or break the sound generated by a horn. This takes me back in memory to a lesson I had with Claudio Roditi, when he had me try out a horn he bought for $75 at a street sale in Upper Manhattan. I played the horn with my mouthpiece and I said, "Claudio, it sounds like a $75 horn". Claudio then gave me a mouthpiece hand crafted for that horn Jerome Callet and the horn just sang. At the end of that lesson, Claudio took me to Jerome's studio where he crafted me a perfect mouth piece for my Olds Recording. All Jerome did was go back and forth on his lathe at grinding on the backbore.

[tmd]

@dr-go said in About Olds Ambassadors:

@georgeb said in About Olds Ambassadors:

@dr-go

Were there just certain years for the Ambassador ?

Mine was from the mid-60's. I believe TMD's is from the late 50's. His is a nice horn as well.

I have a pair of Ambassadors. A trumpet and cornet, both from 1957. Both are nice horns, well made, great valves, good core. I'll leave the student horn vs pro horn debate to others. I'll just say I like them, but they are not my go-to horns.

I had my 1957 trumpet refurbished by Kanstul. Gary had his Ambassador fully "pimped out".

Mike