Custom Trumpet Re-builds and how I ended up doing them for a living
by Will Spencer

18 years ago!

For those of you who don’t know me, I repair brass instruments and specialise in custom trumpet modifications. My current clients include many trumpet players from Britain’s leading orchestras who regularly come to my workshop in Surrey for consultation and customisation work.

It all started when I was at school and was always trying to find a way to improve the way my trumpet blew. I remember polishing the thick frosting off my Boosey & Hawkes trumpet to make it more responsive and then later on converting my Bach MLV to a standard 43/72. Subsequently, I chopped the bell off this instrument and put it on my Yamaha Eb trumpet. Basically I was a tinkerer! After studying in London with Denis Egan, Paul Cosh and Crispian Steele-Perkins I embarked on a trumpet-playing career, subsidising my income with brass teaching. After a few years I realised that this hectic and unpredictable lifestyle was not sustainable so I spent a year at Merton College studying brass repairs. I quickly set up a workshop in South East London and spent about 10 years repairing mainly local authority instruments. That all feels like a very long time ago and the techniques I learnt back then make up a tiny part of the knowledge I have gained overall. I am grateful to my friends in the brass repairing community both here and in the US for sharing their valuable knowledge and helping me to become a growing resource for trumpeters everywhere.  

Restoration of Higham rotary cornet

Modular conversion seperated fittings

Player's view of modular conversion

The bulk of my work revolves around a modular system which allows the trumpeter, with the aid of a 2mm hex key, to remove and replace a variety of different bells and leadpipes. It was originally designed for Will O’Sullivan at the English National Opera and is now used throughout the section on their C trumpets. The modular trumpet idea is not new, and the detachable bell has been around for ages but it has always been a compromise. Although most players come to me with the idea of having lots of combinations for different styles, they are usually more than happy with something very similar to their original instrument but with a different bracing layout. From customers’ comments I can confidently say that my system, while changing the way the instrument behaves, usually enhances its performance while enabling the player to experiment with other bell and leadpipe combinations to suit different musical situations. Here is an example of a typical modification:-

Modular conversion from above

A prominent London player contacted me because he felt the blow on his Bach was a little “tight”. This is not necessarily due to a fault in the instrument but commonly a player’s style of playing needs a freer blowing instrument. This player had the bell and leadpipe stays removed and my modular fittings put in. I also supplied him with an MK main tuning slide and Bach 43R leadpipe to replace his 25R. He is now able to swap between his original slides and leadpipes with the option of swapping bells at a later date. This player also has very acidic sweat so the whole ensemble was protected with gold plate.

The C trumpet issue

Last month I had a rush on C trumpet conversions. The C trumpet is becoming more and more popular in British orchestras but many British players have huge difficulties with intonation on this instrument. In America, the standard C trumpet is the Bach Large Bore 25H which is commonly thought to be modelled on the instrument Adolf (Bud) Herseth used in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. There are many of these instruments over here but we don’t seem to be able to play them! It’s a little like asking an American to play a Sovereign Cornet in a Northern Brass Band. As a result, I’ve found myself adapting these instruments to suit the individual player’s requirements. Before deciding what needs to be done, one needs to ask the following questions:

1. What sort of music will I be playing on the instrument?
If you play mainly chamber music or solo work, there is no point going for an instrument that is designed to swamp a full symphony orchestra.

2. What acoustic will I be playing in?
If you regularly play in a concert hall which requires a huge amount of projection then this must be considered in your choice of bell & leadpipe.

3.What are the rest of the players in your section using?
You don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb…or maybe you do!

4. How important is the tuning?
“Push-me-pull-you” sprung slide There is often a compromise between an ideal sound and good intonation. Some players will work an instrument into tune with either lips or alternative fingerings rather than use one with an inferior tone and better intonation. There is also an option of shortening the first slide and using a sprung trigger (shown in photo below) to sharpen the valve. Some players even use a fully mobile sliding bell to enable the tuning of every single note. While this ensures that the instrument is absolutely in tune, it can be a little off-putting for the rest of a section who could be used to anticipating normal intonation discrepancies. There may be more options to consider that are personal to the individual player if an instrument is to be optimised for the job it is to perform. One will never find an instrument that will work in any environment and with every player: I have recently rebuilt 10 completely different C trumpets for 10 different players.

What is available?

Most of my work revolves around Vincent Bach trumpets so I’ll concentrate on them here. Firstly, many players don’t even know what model they are playing on! The most common assumption is that a Bach with a reverse leadpipe is the same as any other Bach but with a longer leadpipe. Actually, most reverse leadpiped Bachs are fitted to lightweight bodies and combined with a 43 bell making them one of the most popular instruments in today’s orchestras.

Many players also assume their trumpet is a particular model from the number stamped on the bell. The number on the bell is only the bell number and there are multitude of different ones as there are leadpipes. The result is that between the numerous bell/body/leadpipe combinations available from Bach, there are hundreds of possible variations of which we see only a handful in the UK. There are also parts made by other manufactures, and so the potential combinations and complexities multiply.It must be noted here that most after sales parts by other manufacturers are designed for the American market. The Americans generally try to make a more commercial sound on their Bb instruments and few of their Bb leadpipes would work well in our orchestras. However, you may want to use your Bach in a commercial music environment, in which case a change of leadpipe is a cheap upgrade.

There are many original Vincent Bach leadpipes available, the most common being the 25. This is used on most Bb Bachs that don’t have a number on the leadpipe. This same leadpipe profile is used on the C trumpet but cut to different lengths: The “S” is a long pipe with short upper slide of about 2cm. The “R” is of reversed construction and the A is a longish leadpipe with a shorter upper tuning slide of about 4cm. The effects of all these pipes can easily be found on-line but the best way is to try them yourself.

MK stayless slide with saturn waterkey

Another way to enhance your instrument is to replace the main tuning slide. I am the UK distributor for MK Drawing who manufacture replacement slides for Bach & Yamaha trumpets. This is the easiest and possibly the cheapest way to enhance the blow of your Bach or Yamaha. If you would like to read what people are saying about these products there is a thread on this forum relating to their performance. The version of this slide with stays opens out the lower register and improves the general slotting and feel while the stayless version makes your instrument into an instant lead trumpet. The full range of MK products can be seen at www. mkdrawing.com.

Anyone for a bell!

I also keep a large selection of Bach bells, slides and leadpipes in stock. These are available in various materials and weights. It must be remembered that the bell number bears no relation to its measurement and is only a mandrel number. The most common Bb bells are the 37, 43 & 72. The weight of the bell has the effect of making the instrument project better while the “G” or gold brass bell (contains more copper) gives the instrument a more complex tone. It is worth noting that the standard 37 bell is by far the most common for good reason. It is extremely flexible and is at home in nearly all musical environments. You must really know what you are doing if you opt for something like a 65GH

So Now You’re Completely Confused!

Fortunately for my customers, I’ve spent enough of my life experimenting, to enable me to talk and play them through this minefield of options. It has taken me about two years of research to learn what is available and then build the trumpets that work for me so hopefully I can save time and money for my customers by using this knowledge to enhance their decisions. In case you are interested, I use a medium large bore standard weight Bach Bb with 37GH bell, 45LR leadpipe and MK stayed slide. My C trumpet is a Xeno valve block with MK’s Mt Vernon 7 reverse red brass leadpipe, MK stayed tuning slide & 229GH Bell. Both are gold plated and the C trumpet is pictured below.

Yamaha Xeno valve block with MT Vernon No 7 Leadpipe, MK reverse tuning slide, modular fittings and Bach 229GH bell in 23ct Gold Plate by www.bestelectroplating.co.uk

Why Gold?

I recommend that all my customers have their instruments finished in gold as it is durable, doesn’t tarnish and is acid resistant so it shouldn’t react with your sweat. You can also have your instrument plated in a way which ensures that the slides get plated and therefore don’t oxidise and therefore don’t stick! In the past, many repairers made gold plating too expensive for most people but in reality it only costs about £100 more than silver plate which in the scheme of a several hundred pound re-build is not excessive.

And then there is “Snake Oil”

Pat Harbison, Professor of Jazz Trumpet at Indiana University and featured artist at this years’ ITG conference USES SNAKE OIL!

Last year I was approached by a valve oil manufacturer who suggested I used his oil with my label to advertise my workshop. His oil was great but no better than any others. I put it to him that I would only use his oil if it was better than anyone else’s. So over the next few months we experimented with various concoctions of oils containing PTFE or Teflon®. I gave lots of samples out to players and students until they came back with the win ning formula, an oil which lasts at least twice as long as standard oil and lubricates even when dry. It is now used in many of the top UK orchestras and there are plans for distribution in US. I sell two varieties: “The Classic”, which is great for everyday use and lasts for ages and the “Light” which I made for those whose valves are never fast enough! I sell less of the light oil as it sacrifices the longevity of the Classic for speed. However, it does work very well on tight valves such as those on Yamaha Xenos and Schilkes. There are many valve oils available and some manufacturers make dubious claims about their specific qualities, some of which are outright lies! Rather than say that Snake Oil is better than anything else I just allow players try it themselves by ordering free samples via my web site www.willspencer.org. I’m shocked that nobody has taken me up on it yet as I was expecting to supply the whole world with free valve oil!

And Finally,I’d like to thank Adrian for asking me to post this article. I hope it is of some use.

Will Spencer
www.willspencer.org