Expert: Mike Pawul - 11/1/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have a late 60's Buescher Aristocrat Trumpet. Serial number 436XXX.
Is this a horn still considered "second in line for a Pro" or had Selmer turned it into a student model by then? Do you know bore spec's on this horn?
Thanks for any info you can give.

ANSWER: Mike, The horn dates to about 1967 or so. Selmer turned the Aristocrat into a total student horn in about 1968. From 1963 to then they actually were intermediate level horns. The bore changed over those years so the best way to tell is to pull the second valve slide. Then use a caliper to measure inside the slide (not the horn side) to give you a number. Usually it is somewhere around .460" and that is a medium large bore. However I have seen large bore models during that time too.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I've read that these horns changed after Selmer took over. How much and what items changed is what interests me. One posting said to compare the valve casing. If the horn has the flared piston casings, interior bottom screw caps, and odd piston set up, then it is likely that it is a true Aristocrat and not from the Selmer/Bundy engineering. (which is more of straight shaft, basic look) Does that make sense?
What items changed to grade this down to intermediate from prior manufacturing?
Did Buescher sell parts inventory to Selmer to assemble and sell? Crazy questions, I know, but the horns don't appear to be a lot different in the immediate years that followed the sale.
You opinion?

Answer
Well there were several changes. Immediately after Selmer took over they changed the thickness of the tubing and the amount of Zinc in the brass. They were saving dollars but it made the horn less focused and it didn't deliver the punch it had before the sale. The valve case continued until Selmer went universal in 1968. After that time all the "lesser" models in the line had the Bundy style valves. The changes over the years were small but continued every year and amounted to changing the horn into a Bundy clone after 1968. So the difference between 1963 and 1964 was small but by 1967 the horn was still an intermediate. Then in 1968 it turned into a true student horn. Selmer bought Buescher in total so they had their tooling and parts inventory from 1963 on. The basic look didn't make a drastic change until 1968 so from 1963 to then the horn continued to look close to identical. But if you play a 1958-1960 Aristocrat it sounds different from a 1964-1967 model.