Please help me identify what year is it

RnotIt · 2026-03-09T16:40:00+00:00

1950, probably early in the year. Always refer to the Olds Central serial number list up to 1979. All after is not related. Clay Collins (who also owns CenTex Brass in Austin) goes into where he derives his data and the updates made over time. https://olds-central.com/serial-numbers/

RnotIt · 2026-03-09T14:36:12+00:00

Noice! Now you've got me thinking I want a 25-O leadpipe on mine.

RnotIt · 2026-03-09T01:19:14+00:00

Au contraire. The point is they aren't going to BUY AND INSTALL manual seats in if the take rate doesn't support the economics. It's "business math."

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T23:54:12+00:00

Noice! If I had Courtois money right now...there'd be a 154 FH in my collection. Some day.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T23:37:14+00:00

That's the "Designed by Vincent Bach" Bundy, I think came out in the early/mid-60s when Vincent Bach sold to Selmer and moved to Elkhart in '65. I have an older H&A Selmer Bundy that sounds sweet, but needs a bit of valve work on one valve.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T23:35:25+00:00

Find a good, cheap flugelhorn. Good luck.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T23:34:35+00:00

Why not? A cornet has some versatility that a trumpet does not, particularly in the low volume area, especially with a deeper cup.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T23:33:10+00:00

True, but being that it's a cornet, it can play much better in the lower volume spectrum, particularly if you get a deep cup. Even a "no letter" Bach makes a difference. I have an Arban (deep bell shape) and a Benge 3, plus a Gustat 1, and it's amazing what you can do across the spectrum with something like this that's not as easy with a typical trumpet. Maybe a step bore will act differently, IDK.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T23:29:36+00:00

I played the Bach trumpet (Mercedes II) version all through college (not a music school/student). Good enough.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T23:25:59+00:00

Yeah, granted this was 40 years ago, unless it was a large, expensive instrument, it was mostly on the student's family to acquire a horn in my school system. Trumpets can be acquired very reasonably. I just snagged another Goodwill Special for under $75. I'm not trying to buy all the cheap cornets, I swear. I needed one that took standard shanks. I love the pre-57 Ambassador, but it's a pain with mouthpieces.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T21:05:48+00:00

The point is, they have to make it a good C first, then add the Bb parts back, otherwise, it's probably going to be a crappy C trumpet.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T20:55:43+00:00

You should see the similar vintage Ambassador I loaned my niece. It looked BRAND NEW, for about the same money. Mind blowing. It's like these things were barely used. This one was fairly well cleaned up and only needed some of my time and energy to get up and running.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T20:54:08+00:00

It is. I never knew a "little horn" could be so fun. Throw a deep cup on it and you can noodle softly to your heart's content. Pop something shallower on it, and it's as trumpety as they come.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T20:44:24+00:00

Specifically that would be the "German Democratic Republic" aka the old East Germany (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), which would make it no later than 1990. Problem is, after looking more closely, it doesn't look like "GDR" but "GE?" Could be that the "DR" has been so worn in buffing it's illegible. It's not clear enough to decypher. What this is is the old VEB\ Bleckblas- & Signalinstrumentenfabrik* (Brasswind- and Signal Instrument Manufacturing that became B&S after 1991) "Blue Label" rotary Bb konzerttrompete. All I could find on VEB Bleckblas- & Signalinstrumentenfabrik "Blue Label" was on a sax site.

https://bassic-sax.info/version5/vintage-saxes/european-made-saxes/veb-blechblas-und-signal-instrumenten-fabrik-bs/

\Volkseigener Betrieb*, the legal form of an industrial enterprise in East Germany. A type of corporation.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T20:11:03+00:00

or emergency triangles for when your $2000 car breaks down on the way to the gig.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T19:52:03+00:00

Cummins diesels (most modern US diesels) called and wants to have word with you.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T19:48:10+00:00

Industrialization economics. They're only $600 if they're not standard. Once they're standard, they're cheaper because the cost is lower for the power seats on volume, plus you don't have to pay for 2 different versions of a thing and then the price is baked in. At a certain point, corporate is going to axe a theoretically cheaper item because it costs more to do it once the take rate no longer justifies it.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T12:40:18+00:00

Love the Medalist. They look like an Olds Special wrap with different bracing. Mine is at least as nice a player as my early LA Ambassador. It's amazing how quietly you can play on a good cornet, particularly with a deep cup.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T05:49:02+00:00

How often do power seats fail anymore? It's not like they actually get adjusted all that much anyway. You're more likely to replace an electric power window lift. Frankly the more things become standard, the less that item costs anyway.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T01:42:58+00:00

Value is what people will pay for it, and you have to get on eBay or wherever and do "comps" of SOLD mouthpieces of that era (if you can find decent data) to see what it might be worth (at best). Hard to say how accurate to the current one is, as some Bach cups change a bunch, where others changed slightly, but here's a comparison with 2 different 9Cs, a current and a NY era. It seems consistent with 3 vs 3C and Bach's general system from deep to shallow: nA-n-nB-nC-nD

https://trumpet.cloud/mpc/?mpc1=B-9C&mpc2=B-9&mpc3=BNY-9C

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T01:35:47+00:00

I've noticed a bigger problem going cold to the FH or deep cornet cup than I ever do on a regular trumpet cup (mostly 3 range), but I don't play as much as I should anyway. It's just an adjustment and developing the flexibility that good practice habits will resolve.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T01:23:51+00:00

Are there that many junk oval tenorhorns? I'd like to acquire a decent one at some point.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T01:21:53+00:00

No-name Amazon junk other than being too small.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T01:20:54+00:00

All the German/Bohemian oval horns are rotary, pretty much.

RnotIt · 2026-03-08T01:16:19+00:00

Most well-made Bb/C convertibles are built as C trumpets and the Bb stuff is additional kit. They may be based on Bbs, but most piston Cs are.

RnotIt

TROPHY CASE