F.E. Olds & Sons Custom Ultra Sonic Bb Trumpet

Description: The Custom, crafted by F.E. Olds & Sons, Fullerton, CA, dating to 1974. First introduced in the 60s, the Custom was a new direction for Olds. The receiver is marked Ultra Sonic, which refers to the bell. Most horn makers hand hammer a tapered tube over a mandrel to form the bell. The Ultra Sonic bells were formed by inserting a tapered tube into a hollow die and then blown open with a small, controlled explosion - a process Dale Olson refers to as “explosion molding”. Boom! It’s a process that’s probably similar to how the Jeninga Brothers make bells for Schilke. This trumpet was owned and played by Manny Stevens, who had a long career in the Hollywood recording studios. Manny was on a short list of Hollywood elite players in his day, and his career includes hundreds of movie and television soundtracks ranging from "West Side Story" and "To Kill a Mockingbird”. He can be heard in the stellar band backing Elvis Presley in his famous 1968 TV special. Robb Stewart recalls having done a lot of repair work for Manny in the late 1970s and 1980s. About this time period, Manny was highly recognizable as the trumpet player in The Gong Show Band on NBC’s “The Gong Show” (alternating on occasion with Chuck Findley, Bobby Findley or Jay Daversa), and this trumpet is reportedly the one he played. For many years, Manny’s trumpet of choice was a custom Olds Recording Model (based on Uan Rasey’s own horn), but by the 70s Manny had adopted the Custom as his working horn, playing it at least into the mid-2000s. SPECS 4 5/8” Diameter seamless one-piece Ultra Sonic brass bell 0.460” ML bore Brass valve guides Lightweight construction Baked epoxy finish about 85% intact 1st and 3rd slide stops This trumpet has received our professional in-house cleaning and service, but it has otherwise been repaired exclusively by Robb Stewart. During the Brass Mavens cleaning and service, we made sure to preserve the Reeves alignment. Alas, the horn is not marked with a bell code, as many of the Custom instruments were. Later catalogs would refer to this model as the P-12. I found it to have a brighter-than-expected sound. It is an easy and centered blow, with a lively response. This horn sang the G above high C, and the pedals popped. Pistons are smooth and quick, every slide fits and moves as appropriate. The tuning slide legs were flashed with copper. Engraving on the bell reads: “Custom Crafted by F.E. Olds & Sons, Fullerton, CA” This trumpet received a Reeves alignment back in 1977. You can see that a “redo” was called for in 2012, so I perhaps it is a bit overdue. When cleaning and servicing the trumpet, I reconditioned the pads and took care to preserve the Reeves alignment. The Reeves card is included with the horn, for provenance. This fine brasswind has undergone a professional cleaning and inspection prior to listing. I am happy to answer any questions or provide more pictures. All sales final.

Price: 2650 USD

Location: Whittier, California

End Time: 2024-11-13T22:25:28.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD