Rudy Muck
-
I just posted this excerpt from "A Timeline of Trumpets", pages 181-182 on TH in reply to a question about a Citation, and it occurred to me it was a good fit for this new section. (Before someone objects, I'm the author. When I republish it it doesn't count as plagiarism!)
Rudy’s father, J.R. Mück was an immigrant from a Moravian family that had been building brass instruments since 1875. Rudy himself had been born in Moravia in 1907, coming to the US with his family in 1911. Rudy played professionally in New York City as well as his work in the shop that opened sometime in the 1920s. The cushion-rim mouthpiece business launched around 1932, with the hand building of trumpets having already been underway as an extension of the instrument repair and customizing business. But when J.R Muck retired in 1936, Rudy set out to significantly expand as a maker.
With knowledge of the Bach design, as well as access to some of the craftsmen and all of the parts suppliers, Muck was well situated to build his “Citation” model trumpets as New York Bach clones. What is interesting is the variety of parts sources Muck employed. The valves of most appear to be from Blessing, as Bach also used on some of his horns, and the detailing of many of the casings is a stylized abstraction of the Bach appearance. Many horns feature the Bach stop rod on third with Bach posts, which to the present day are made in the Bach factory, suggesting that Bach actually supplied Muck parts at times. In the same location however, one can find distinctive Blessing posts or a third maker’s short ball posts, without any pattern other than the horns seemed to be built with what was available that day.
It appears that Muck assembled horns rather than making them. Blessing played a key role as a parts supplier throughout the time Rudy Muck owned the business. There are, however, also horns, particularly the “M” series models that have strong indications of being partially or completely assembled by Monke in Germany. While a few even have distinctive Monke valve casings, most still show the same stylized Bach turning. What is interesting is that Blessing valves, Blessing posts, two different styles of valve cap, and many other elements appear mixed-in randomly from horn to horn on these otherwise strongly Monke horns. It is possible that some were stencil and some were built in New York from parts – but equally plausible that Muck was shipping Blessing and Bach parts to Germany for their supplier to use, preserving both the look, and the random hand-built feel, of their product.
Muck serial numbers have baffled all who have tried to make sense of them. Muck instruments appear with no numbers, with 4-digit numbers, with 5-digit numbers and with two groupings of 6-digit serial numbers. However, the known sale dates of many of these horns all overlap. This is particularly true after Rudy Muck sold the business to Carl Fischer around 1950. Fischer already owned JW York in Grand Rapids Michigan, and that immediately added another parts supplier to the mix. While nothing can be proven conclusively, the 4-digit sequence seems to span the duration of the Muck Company under both owners and is likely the “core” serial number sequence. The 5-digit numbers align with Blessing part numbers during the period and may have come along with the valves, or perhaps, as can be seen in a handful of obvious Artists and Super-Artist stencils, with completed horns built under contract. The first block of 6-digit numbers aligns with York serials after the Fischer sale. The second block, appear to exist primarily on some of the “M” models, which also have 4-digit numbers routinely, and may be connected to Monke, though Monke does not seem to have had a rigid numbering system for their stencil work.
Thanks to the recollections of Niles Eldredge regarding his high school trumpet, a 4-digit 1959 Citation with the more elaborate but far rarer valve caps, we know that Fischer was procuring some Muck parts in the 50s from its York operation and Mario Marcone was assembling the finished product in New York at a Fischer facility. The York sourced valves are visually indistinguishable from Blessing sourced product, but York had a long history of making precise stencil product when contracted to do so.
-
"I just posted this excerpt from "A Timeline of Trumpets", pages 181-182 on TH in reply to a question about a Citation, and it occurred to me it was a good fit for this new section. (Before someone objects, I'm the author. When I republish it it doesn't count as plagiarism!)"
I watch The Daily Pigin Show by Island comic Andy Bumatai. He always says, after giving a piece of information, "But don't quote me. I might be wrong." LOL
Benge 3X
Martin Committee
Getzen Capri Cornet
Adams F-1 Flugelhorn"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn."
Charlie Parker"Even if I could play like Wynton Marsalis, I wouldn't play like Wynton Marsalis."
Chet Baker -
A note on the serial numbers. Small builders normally outsource valve blocks. Valve blocks are typically the repository of serial numbers. The valve block manufacturer often wants to retain the record of manufacture so will reserve the right to number these according to their internal systems.
-
@Kehaulani said in Rudy Muck:
"I just posted this excerpt from "A Timeline of Trumpets", pages 181-182 on TH in reply to a question about a Citation, and it occurred to me it was a good fit for this new section. (Before someone objects, I'm the author. When I republish it it doesn't count as plagiarism!)"
I watch The Daily Pigin Show by Island comic Andy Bumatai. He always says, after giving a piece of information, "But don't quote me. I might be wrong." LOL
If you go to my website you will see the trumpet-historian's equivalent featured. I quote Roy Hempley pointing out that "just when you think you've got it figured out, a horn comes along to prove you wrong"
-
There are, however, also horns, particularly the “M” series models that have strong indications of being partially or completely assembled by Monke in Germany. While a few even have distinctive Monke valve casings, most still show the same stylized Bach turning. What is interesting is that Blessing valves, Blessing posts, two different styles of valve cap, and many other elements appear mixed-in randomly from horn to horn on these otherwise strongly Monke horns. It is possible that some were stencil and some were built in New York from parts – but equally plausible that Muck was shipping Blessing and Bach parts to Germany for their supplier to use, preserving both the look, and the random hand-built feel, of their product.
<<I'm not sure where the connection with Monke comes from, I can't find any indication. On the web page I made about Ernst Modl, https://brasspedia.com/index.php?title=Ernst_Modl_brass_instruments#Rudy_M.C3.BCck I tried to fit the Rudy Muck M series into the Emo-production, in terms of details and in terms of serial numbers.
Let me know what you think.... -
Who made the valves for Bohm-Meinl, Gebr. Alexander piston brasses, "German Yorks"? I was always under the impression that those horns, such as York 75, York National, etc. marked Germany were from Bohm-Meinl. But the piston type varies...sometimes it's a Blessing-style piston, other times a simple exposed-spring with a flat washer, and the valve guide is just a screw in the piston surface [like the cheaper Weltklangs and others]. Sometimes the spring is outside, but with a larger center post and a smaller washer. The most complicated
B&M serial? The photos are bad but the stamp has small font, and a bit jagged - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rudy-muck-trumpet-158047/402628943279 - the 7M Balanced vs. the Buffet-Crampon horns with 6-digit serials, since 4-digit is usually Modl
This 32M looks like the low-end B&Ms, with the odd sculpted bit in the middle of the valve casing - https://reverb.com/item/20865498-vintage-rudy-muck-trumpet-32m-mkiii-with-vintage-case
For comparison...balanced horn with B&M looking serial? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-c-1970-Buffet-American-Trumpet-X-Large-Bore-Great-Lead-Horn/143903779629
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Evette-Schaeffer-American-trumpet-for-restoration/233841180190Modl serial? The casings and stamp look like it - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rudy-muck-trumpet/224233748499
This guy looks like some late 1950s A. R. Huttls I've seen, with the stamp near the bottom cap, beefy casings, trombone waterkeys, and bell profile - http://www.rudymuck.info/images/5ccombo.jpg
This 32M is from Amati-Kraslice! http://veryrarebrass.com/rudy-muck-32-m-dallas-london-vintage-pro-level-b-flat-trumpet-very-rare-horn/
-
Notice the mix of makers as far as component parts on some of these examples.
When it comes to Muck, I wouldn't rule anything out. Like Rolls-Royce, what started out crafted in-house with some sub-assemblies supplied transitioned over time into a brand/company that was nothing but production coordination - no fabrication.
