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About Kenton Scott Expertise Provide information on antique, obscure and out of production BRASS instruments. 1) Please don't ask for evaluations, I'll not provide them on this site. 2) I am often asked very similar questions, so I'd invite you to first check on Horn-u-Copia.net. Much of the information I have garnered about this topic, I have posted on this WEB site. Experience I perform in several historical bands, have informally researched the area, repair brass instruments, and operate a Forum dedicated to the topic at http://horn-u-copia.net Education/Credentials B.S. Ed, M.S. |
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You are here: Experts > Music/Performing Arts > Musical Instruments > Antique Musical Instruments > Questions about my York & Sons trumpet Antique Musical Instruments - Questions about my York & Sons trumpetExpert: Kenton Scott - 4/29/2008 Question QUESTION: I am a college trumpet player currently studying at Indiana University, and I recently acquired a York and Sons antique trumpet from a friend a few months ago. The horn's serial number on the second valve is 36547. Basically, I would just like to know more about the horn, when it was manufactured, and what its characteristics are, etc. I got the horn professionally cleaned, replaced some valve springs and pads, and slightly realigned the third valve slide, so it is mostly very playable. The only problem I'm having is with the mouthpiece. It came with its original case, mouth piece, and extra tuning slide, but of course I would rather use my own modern Bach mouthpiece instead. Since my modern mouthpiece obviously doesn't fit in the horn correctly, is there anyway to address this issue? It's really the only reason I don't play this horn more often. Any questions you could answer would be greatly appreciated! ANSWER: Your horn dates to about 1913. You can get considerable information on York instruments at: http://www.horn-u-copia.net/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?board=york Hang on to that mouthpiece! Modern mouthpieces even when they fit, often don't perform well in vintage instruments. And, modern players erroneously come to the conclusion that vintage instruments are flawed. It is simply that they were designed to different standards, and many times a mismatch between mouthpiece and instrument ends up being a poorly performing combination where tone, intonation, and pitch can all be affected. You could try with another copy of your Bach, to take it so a local machinist and have them shave the shank to more closely match that on the vintage mouthpiece. Otherwise, you may want to consider having a custom one made. OR you can experiment with other vintage mouthpiece to see if another works better for you. OR, - and what I would recommend is that you teach your embouchure to adjust to more than one mouthpiece. If you practice on multiple mouthpieces regularly, then you can easily switch from one to another without suffering ill effects. Your instructors may disagree and of course I would defer to their opinion, but it works well for me. ---------- FOLLOW-UP ---------- QUESTION: Wow, thank you for your speedy response and your great answer! I love the sound of the horn and the way it plays, and I realize that the proper way to play it is with the old mouthpiece. I'll certainly hang on to the one that came with the horn, but one question about that -- did these old mouth pieces come in different sizes/types back then, or was the mouthpiece you played just the one that came with the trumpet? If so, I would be curious as to how the sizing system works (if there is one), and where the best place is to acquire other York & Sons mouthpieces. If not, then I'll continue trying to play on the old mouthpiece. I find it quite small and rather horn/flugal-like in shape. Thank you so much again for your response! Ryan Answer Yes, they came in different sizes. And you don't necessarily need to stay with the same brand. But, trying to figure out the differences between them is pretty much of a 'duck shoot'. You can find vintage mouthpieces on eBay. One seller comes to mind who seems to have access to a lot of them is Frisco1227. You might find this exploration of York mouthpieces we have done, interesting: http://www.horn-u-copia.net/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1184099365 Add to this Answer Ask a Question | |