Martin Committee

[Anthony Lenzo]

Can anyone enlighten me about Martin Committee trumpets.I saw one selling for $7,000 after a mark down in price on Reverb.It looked a little worn but it's from 1957 .Is it that good a trumpet to be worth that amount ? Thank you Anthony & Merry Christmas

[barliman2001]

IMHO, most Martin Committees are way overpriced due to demand from players who want one even if their playing capabilities don't warrant such an investment...
I don't deny that there are wonderful instruments amongst those remaining with us; but it is a fact (as with all instruments) that there are some played-outs and duds amongst them and what's even more important, an instrument needs to be suited to a player's charactristics and typical repertoire. You would not play a Mozart Mass on a Committee, just the same as you would have your work cut out playing swing solos on a Selmer piccolo.
So, as with all instruments, only buy "into the dark" if you cannot really miss due to proven quality, known fittingness of instrument or good price.
I have several times bought "into the dark" because something seemed desirable at the time... with the result that afterwards, I either could not get to grips with the instrument, or it had some hidden defect, or it failed to fit a need I had. Result?
Neither of these instruments is with me now.
I'll explain:
As a relatively inexperienced players, I had a lot of recordings of music for the corno da caccia - and I had money to burn. So, when on a business trip to Leipzig, I casually wandered into Friedbert Syhre's workshdp because there was a beautiful silver-plated corno in the window, and bought it for cash (a whopping € 4,000). I practised on it once a week, perhaps, for about five years, never played a single gig with it, and then sold it to a guy who really could use it, for half the price.
A couple of years later, I found a Clemens Glier Kuhlohorn on e-bay; really wanted it as a rotary flugelhorn to complement my piston Courtois. Bid on it till the cows came home, got it, used it for about ten rehearsals and two gigs and then found that as a flugelhorn, it was unsatisfactory compared to my Courtois, and sold it on to a player in Vermont who can really use it in church music.

At one time, I was so completely kitted out that I virtually had a trumpet for every possible pitch (A, Bb, C, D, E - for Hummel Original [which I never played] - Eb, G). The only thing I lacked was a trumpet in F. So I, young fool that I was, ordered one from Vinceent Bach, silver plated. Took about six months to get to me; played beautifully; but then, again, I was lacking opportunities of using it. So after a year, I re-sold it at half price.
One more instance: I had a beautiful Besson Kanstul Bb/A picc that I really liked and which I sounded nice on. But I was dead set on having a Stomvi picc, due to the Maurice André connection, and sold the Besson Kanstul for a Stomvi Elite. Nice horn; but the valve block was built a bit lighter than the Besson, and it did not fit my hand so nicely which forced me to exert too much pressure on the valve block with the result that valve #1 regularly got stuck... something I had never experienced with the Besson I am using in this pic...

I'll continue with my success stories...
Found an oldish, almost worn-out Courtois Balanced Bb at Votruba's in Vienna for a price tag of € 300, had it refurbed for another € 150 and been playing it successfully in symphonic settings ever since all over Europe...
About a year later, in 2018, Votruba's called me to see a nice horn that just had come into their shop out of a trumpet player's estate... turned out to be a nicely preserved Olds Recording, for a mere € 450... has been my main big band axe ever since...

Hope you can make some sense out of my rambling!

[Anthony Lenzo]

@barliman2001 I thank you for your reply very interesting .I hope you find other trumpet gems in your trumpet career .I understand your compassion and compulsion we have all been there.Thank you for your time Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year .Anthony

[ROWUK]

To address the original post, prices are always relative - even for new horns. In the case of a Martin Committee we have several things contributing to the current high price:

limited quantity of playable instruments
high demand based on the supposed magical properties.

Now, magic IS something that CAN happen between a player and his instrument but that is the catch. The player AND the horn need complementary magic to make this investment worthwhile.

I am convinced that any number of manufacturers could recreate the Committee for a lot less money. There is no magic in the brass or skills required to make one. The issue is, that too few people would buy it because they mostly want the myth first and the story behind having one is created later.

[Anthony Lenzo]

@ROWUK Interesting theory it's possible .Anthony

[Richard III]

I suppose the good news when spending large amounts of cash for a vintage trumpet is that when you have to have the valves rebuilt, the cost seems less?

I'm not buying anything vintage anymore because I'm tired of that problem. I have one trumpet built in 1937 with perfect valves. How that happened, no idea. But all the other horns built before 1960 have some level of issues.

[Dr GO]

A vintage Martin Committee is a great horn. I know. I own one. It is my favorite of all my horns. Why? Because I play it well and it plays me well... better than any horn I have ever played or owned. Is it worth $7.000? You will only know that answer once you play one.

I lucked out on my horn. I bid for it on e-bay. I offered the first bid at a ridiculous underbid ($2,000). After that bid, it was taken down by the seller. I contacted the seller and they said my starting bid scared them. So I told them I would buy it from the seller straight out, no more bidding for $3,000. The seller said yes. So I became a proud owner of a 1946 Martin Committee, with a serial number 7 away of one the Committees Miles played in the '40s.

So yes, I have a mythical horn but I play it well and it plays me well. Was it worth $3,000? Did I mention it is my favorite horn? Oh yeah, I have a Harrelson Summit, brushed silver bell and 24k gold tuning slides, selling for $12,000 the year it was mailed to me in 2017. My Martin Committee still gives me more pleasure than the Harrelson, so yeah, I bought it for $3,000, but it means more to me than a horn that would cost me $12,000 to replace.

Not sure if that answers your question. But if that 1957 plays the same as my 1946 horn, I would pay $7,000 for that horn.

[Dr GO]

@Richard-III said in Martin Committee:

I suppose the good news when spending large amounts of cash for a vintage trumpet is that when you have to have the valves rebuilt, the cost seems less?

Committee valves are amazing. My 1946 had no valve work when I received it in the early 2000s. All pistons without any wear pattern. The action is faster than any of my horns, even my newest, a 2017 Harrelson.

I have played several other Committee. Tom Green (a well known trumpet refurbisher) sends me Committee horns to play and review after he refurbishes them prior to releasing them out on the market. There is not a single vintage Committee he has sent me that 1) required valve work; 2) has had any problems what so ever with valve function. I just reviewed a 1947 Committee for him not too long ago. Another consistently great Martin Committee!

[Anthony Lenzo]

Calicchio trumpets I hope I spelled it correctly

[Kehaulani 0]

I have had three Committtees, all good horns. Better than other horns I've also had? No. And I kept exchanging them for different horns.

I suppose there are two factors. 1) how do you want to use it? 2) do you have "mad money"?