Reasons to collect trumpets?

flugelgirl

Ivan is right - I’ve worked on both in the past year. It’s fun working in a shop that gets a bunch of the unusual!

Dirk020

Although I have a bunch of trumpets lying around here I would not call myself a collector; the reason I buy instruments is that I am after all this years still curious about how they play.
Last week a Yamaha YTR 637 appeared on the marketplace over here and since this is supposed to be a Schilke B5 clone I decided to buy it, just out of curiosity, I never played a Schilke so this was to me a great opportunity to try one (okee, not the Real Thing but still) for a nice price.
I don't think she will be a keeper, simply because of my Getzen Eterna trumpets both sound better and (to me) play easier. Nevertheless a nice experiment and a nice experience

At my place trumpets come and trumpets go, I think I already tried over 30 different horns but still my curiosity is not satisfied so who knows...

@Dirk020 Curiosity is the key to buying trumpets. Being a collector isn't all about how many you have. It's about curiosity and appreciation of instruments. I'd say you are a "serious" collector.

Bob Pixley

I've bought some out of need (like a C trumpet for classical, a good cornet for brass band, etc.), some out of curiosity (which I've usually sold because they didn't do anything for me), and some because they were really old and neat. The really old, neat ones don't play that well, so I've kept just 2 of them (a couple nice 19th century ones). I have a few Bb trumpets, but play only one with regularity, and really should sell a couple of them. I have a few decent cornets, but only play 2 with any regularity, so again, I should sell a few more of them (I sold 3 last year). I suppose I used to be a collector, and had more horns than I care to admit, but now I'm just a guy who owns a few more horns than I need.

tmd

@Dr-GO said in Reasons to collect trumpets?:

Why do golfers have 9 irons and 3 woods in their bags? "

Still playing golf, Gary? BTW, was this you? The poor guy ended up at my hospital. So if it's you, I'm happy to stop by and bring you a towel or something.

Man Hurt in Golf Cart Crash at Maryland Nudist Resort ...
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-Hurt-in-Golf-Cart-Crash-at-Maryland-Nudist-Resort-563970311.html

Some of my horns have a practical role. But for the most part, I collect horns, because I can.

My current collection. I mostly use my Bach 43 Trumpet and Olds L-12 Flugel. And I occasionally use my Bach C, Getzen Field Trumpet, and CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet.

Bach 1974 Stradivariuis lightweight 43 Bb Trumpet
Bach 1980 Stradivariuis 239 CML Trumpet
Bach 1965 Stradivarius 37 Bb Trumpet
Bach 1947 Stradivariuis NY 67 Bb Cornet
Olds 1957 Ambassador Bb Trumpet
Olds 1957 Ambassador Bb Cornet
Olds 1969 L-12 Flugelhorn
Carol CPT-300LR Pocket Trumpet
Getzen 1974 Eterna 896 Flugelhorn
Getzen Eterna 940 Piccolo Trumpet
Getzen M2003ES Bb/G Field Trumpet
Besson BE1020 Cornet
King H.N. White 1969 Eb/F Alto Horn

Mike

N1684T

I was closer to identifying them than the story. It said they were trumpets! talk about having a good aim?

OldSchoolEuph

Why do geologists collect rocks, or paleontologists collect rocks with things in them? It is the only way to research, learn and grow in understanding of the subject.

Here is what I said about the topic on the back cover of A Timeline of Trumpets:

"... The story of these instruments and their makers has been obscured by apathy and accident, lost to fires, theft, and deliberate destruction - even through false histories developed by some makers as marketing hype.

Rediscovering their story then becomes an archaeological exercise, with EBay as a virtual dig site and the horns a fossil record. Sparse catalogs become Rosetta stones.

Trumpets have been a part of our culture since before there were humans. They have served as expressions of emotion, tools of the hunter-gatherer, tools of the warrior, and ultimately once again as a means of expressing that emotion from deep within the human soul that manifests as music. To look at how the trumpet has transformed in its role in human society is to look at how human society itself has transformed. And, as a material object once adapted from nature, but which took new forms as the successive technologies of metal-working, component sub-assembly fabrication, machining, high-force mechanical forming, and ultimately automation transformed the abilities of humans to make objects for their use, it is a microcosm of human technological and socio-economic evolution."

That's why I collect.

Bob Pixley

@tmd said in Reasons to collect trumpets?:

...My current collection. I mostly use my Bach 43 Trumpet and Olds L-12 Flugel. And I occasionally use my Bach C, Getzen Field Trumpet, and CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet.

Bach 1974 Stradivariuis lightweight 43 Bb Trumpet

Bach 1980 Stradivariuis 239 CML Trumpet

Bach 1965 Stradivarius 37 Bb Trumpet

Bach 1947 Stradivariuis NY 67 Bb Cornet

Olds 1957 Ambassador Bb Trumpet

Olds 1957 Ambassador Bb Cornet

Olds 1969 L-12 Flugelhorn

Carol CPT-300LR Pocket Trumpet

Getzen 1974 Eterna 896 Flugelhorn

Getzen Eterna 940 Piccolo Trumpet

Getzen M2003ES Bb/G Field Trumpet

Besson BE1020 Cornet

King H.N. White 1969 Eb/F Alto Horn

Mike

My regular trumpet is a 1976 Bach 43 ML. My C trumpet is a 1982 Bach 239 CML. My flugel is a 1970 Olds L-12. I also have a Bach Strad cornet, a Besson cornet, and a Kanstul field trumpet. Strange parallels...I guess great minds think alike...

Trumpetsplus

@OldSchoolEuph
As part of our initial design work for our Jaeger trumpets we bought dozens of trumpets, mainly from the 1920s to 1990s. Some went straight back again (thank you Dillon Music!), some were kept for a few months, some we still have. We visited factories and workshops in many parts of the world collecting experimental and production models. We were investigating what gave each model its specific response, and deciding whether or not we wanted that feature. Then we looked at exaggerating each feature we liked and dampening those we didn’t.

Those were the reasons for our collection.

And, from time to time, we sell some of these instruments that were helpful in our quest. At the moment we have a Getzen 900H and an Amati pocket we no longer need.

@Trumpetsplus That's interesting. Who is "we" and how much manufacturing experience did "we" have? Seems a little like my friend Floyd in South Carolina. He's got a fleet of cars assembled with assorted parts.... an old Plymouth, the latest, with a Ford engine and a Chevy rear end and parts from a shop that specializes in old car parts. He's more interested in how much rubber he can burn or showing off riding down to the nearest town with two traffic lights.

I guess if a Committee could design the most sought after vintage horn you could do it too. Somehow I have a hard time visualizing it all working out right without some miracle happening.

Trumpetsplus

@Niner "We" is my wife and I plus other assorted friends and colleagues. I have a lifetime of designing, hobbyist machining, and fabrication, and managed a manufacturing company in Australia for almost 10 years.

tmd

@Bob-Pixley said in Reasons to collect trumpets?:

My regular trumpet is a 1976 Bach 43 ML. My C trumpet is a 1982 Bach 239 CML. My flugel is a 1970 Olds L-12. I also have a Bach Strad cornet, a Besson cornet, and a Kanstul field trumpet. Strange parallels...I guess great minds think alike...

Absolutely.

Mike

Kehaulani

@Niner said in Reasons to collect trumpets?:

@Trumpetsplus That's interesting. Who is "we" and how much manufacturing experience did "we" have? Seems a little like my friend Floyd in South Carolina. He's got a fleet of cars assembled with assorted parts.... an old Plymouth, the latest, with a Ford engine and a Chevy rear end and parts from a shop that specializes in old car parts. He's more interested in how much rubber he can burn or showing off riding down to the nearest town with two traffic lights.

I guess if a Committee could design the most sought after vintage horn you could do it too. Somehow I have a hard time visualizing it all working out right without some miracle happening.

"We" is Ivan Hunter and people at * Jaeger Trumpets*. If you don't know them, Ivan is a contributor to this forum and a highly experienced and respected craftsman..

@Kehaulani If his credential in trumpet design rests on being a long time contributor and being highly respected I apologize and bow to your zeal in rising to his defense. I was only expressing a doubt of his assertion on the face of it. He says he has a lifetime of hobbyist machining and fabrication and some management skills. Lots of famous instrument makers in the long past started with as little or less in credentials. However, my friend Floyd has a lifetime of working experience as a master mechanic for a major company. Still wouldn't drive one of his cars further than the next town and back without my insurance being paid up.

Trumpetsplus

@Niner said in Reasons to collect trumpets?:
I was only expressing a doubt of his assertion on the face of it.

Not sure that I asserted anything. I wrote that some of the process leading up to the creation of the Jaeger range of trumpets involved collecting trumpets. Which is within the subject of this thread.

Kehaulani

@Niner said in Reasons to collect trumpets?:

@Kehaulani If his credential in trumpet design rests on being a long time contributor and being highly respected I apologize and bow to your zeal in rising to his defense.

I don't see where I said that his being a forum contributor, in and of itself, gave his opinions more credibility than the next guy. I was just stating a fact.

"Zeal in rising to his defense"? Zeal? Defense? Just letting you, and any other readers, know who he is if you/they are not familiar with him. Would it be better not to describe his qualifications for those who don't know?

@Trumpetsplus I apologize for being abrasive. I have no knowledge or experience with any of your product line. I was just reacting on the basis of your Dr. Frankenstein approach to vintage horns. Examining old successful horn designs.....taking a part from one, modify a part from another.

From your site, looks like you produce the valve block in Czechoslovakia and the rest is assembled in Australia from parts you make yourself or get from someplace else. From what I read the finished product is in raw brass, which seems different to say the least, and you can exchange the standard bell for a factory Bach bell. What does your standard B flat trumpet retail for in US dollars?

Trumpetsplus

@Niner Thank you, no offense taken - I've had much worse from Conducters and singers!

My workshop and I are in South Salem, NY. I arrived here courtesy of an "Einstein" visa in 2000.

Jaeger Bb and C trumpets (all bell options) are $2950. Our quarter tone Bb and C trumpets (all bell options) are $3810, and our ascending valve trumpets (only Bach bells at this stage) are $4350.

As part of our product development we examined various current and vintage models, we didn't take parts from them.

@Trumpetsplus Thanks for not taking offense. I remember you from the old site. Hope you are doing well with your trumpets.

OldSchoolEuph

Because if you take it seriously, and you are very lucky, maybe you get to do this

Of course as I learned at the first of these, you better be able to sight read in Db & Gb a lot, so I was incredibly grateful to Steve Ward who let me play on his mid-1850s Allen baritone in the second video there. Not only was it helpful to be back in bass clef, but that horn reset our understanding of when the most common form of rotary valve action (side lever) came into being - its the oldest known example. Despite being made just a decade after the first rotary valve, having a bell with sack-but like taper and Allen valves with tiny slits for ports, that horn really sings.