Old metal better than new? : Or how to avoid the cult of shiny brass

So, maybe this is not strictly in line with what the blog is all about but it is a gripe that I have, and it does concern old stuff.  As an amateur musician and occasional teacher to beginning students of horn and trumpet, I see lots of beginners with instruments so bad that they are a detriment to their learning. The worst is, with just a knowledgeable eye and a little time, usually a better instrument, for less, can be had.   Sure, you might need to get $100-300 of repairs, but that's money well spent, especially if you paid much less for the instrument in the first place.  

So how can those bright, shiny, perfect looking horns from China (and a few other countries, but mostly China) cause problems with my child learning a brass instrument?  

First are the valves.  Most valves in cheap instruments are pot metal, or a very poor alloy of brass, with little or no plating.  These corrode quickly, become sticky, wear unevenly, and eventually slow down, and leak.  In order to play anything other than the most basic passages, they must move freely, quickly, yet fit tightly within their casings.  I have some fine horns with original valves, made of very high quality allow, thickly plated, that are still in great shape after 70 years.  Oiling and cleaning keeps them that way.  Bad valves in a used, or new for that matter instrument are easy to diagnose.  First, pull the slides without depressing the valve.  If there is a pop, the valve is tight within the casing.  Second, depress the lever.  If it is sticky, it can either be a slight seating issue, or it just has not be oiled.  If they are sticky, ask the shop's tech to oil them and get them moving as well as possible prior to trying.  If the linkage between lever and valve is mechanical, so no strings anywhere, and has any plastic parts, don't buy it.  For that matter, any plastic parts anywhere, generally a sign of cheap construction.  The only non-metal parts should be cork in the spit-valve and valves of a trumpet, felt in a trumpet valve, and hard rubber or silicone bumpers on rotary valves.

To the right, I just wanted to show the beautiful construction of this 80 year old spit valve.  Gorgeous hexaganol port, matching, hand-made bolt and posts, with a graceful trigger. Just elegant, and notice that it is almostly seamlessly jointed.  

T

Blind joint and joint using ferrule

Second is the actual construction.  This is mostly how well the brazing of the joints (where the different parts of the horn connect) is done and ow stiffly the braces hold the instrument.  Poor brazing will cause leaks, corrosion at the joints, and eventually structural failure, poor metal for the braces, leading to too much flexibility, means an inefficient transmission of the air through the instrument.  The following pictures are examples of some master craftsmanship that is nearly 80 years old, from a Blessing Artist trumpet, from the time all aspects of this instrument were made by Blessing or his son, and a small crew of master tradesman.  

Another type of ferrule, exception brace work

These three pictures show examples of the three main types of brazing construction techniques in an instrument: A blind joint, a joint with ferrule, and a brace.  Blind joints are used at the valve.  There is no piece of metal supporting the tubing as it enters the valves.  Look closely at the red oval in the first picture.  There is an extremely thin line around the joint.  It is even, not smudged, and still shiny after all this time.   The blue oval shows one edge of a ferrule used to join two lengths of tube.  The ferrule is made in house (most of these simpler ones were) to the exact diameter of the tubing, and positioned exactly over the silver being used to braze the material.  Again, it is clean and secure.  Another perfect braze.  

Close up detail of brace made using post and cup construction

The next picture has several great brazes.  The first is the white oval.  It is a brace being joined to the mouth piece receiver.  This brace is a solid piece of worked metal, adequately thick (but not heavy) and very stiff.  Not a drop or smudge or silver solder, not even built up behind the angle of the joint.  Secondly is the orange oval showing the ferrule used to join the inner "feet" of the first valve slide.  No smudges, and tight, you get the idea.  Finally, in the third pic is a type of brace usually used to establish width and add stiffness to larger slides.  These are made of three parts: the foot, cup, and post.  The three brazes, two in the yellow, and one in the light blue oval are all in a space just about 1/2".  They are clean, smooth, and solid.    

Thirdly, how the instrument feels in the hand.  There will always need to be adjustment of the finger pinkie hook, and possibly the addition of a "Duck's foot" rest.  Some of the cheap instruments, especially the ones marked ... "by [insert European country here] engineering" use such cheap metal, that soldering/brazing it is almost impossible to do, so adjustments are nearly impossible.  Whether buying new or used, don't cheap out and have the horn adjusted.  If it is a fixed hook, think about installing an adjustable pinkie hook.  It is about $80 to have it done, and will make the horn comfortable and able to grow with the student.  I play with both a pinkie hook and a duck's foot, aka hand rest, that allows for perfect comfort.  With the addition of foam to the duck foot, one can play hours without getting sore or cramping.  

Finally, one of the most demeaning and useless trends I've seen, is grade and middle-school music teachers demanding their students all use the same brand.  This type of thinking has led to fine brands contracting with outside firms to mass produce instruments at a price that satisfies the parents, who normally may not wish to spend the amount their intermediate or professional instruments might fetch.  It also ostracizes those students whose family cannot afford these instruments, and makes music a clique rather than a welcoming endeavor.  I ask any parent out there that faces this to directly address the school board and request that teacher change their policy.  

So, where does this leave us?  If you can afford to buy new, buy reputable new, and the best you can afford.  Of the cheap horns I've tried, there are very few I'd even wish on the most beginning student. The one I did like, new started at $1300.  Recently, I purchased for close to this price, a hand-made professional horn that needed very little work (just a cleaning really) to bring it to 100%.  As far as trumpets go, there are tons of fine companies out there that you can buy used and get work done for less than a new piece of garbage.  Olds, Reynolds, Blessing, Buescher, Besson, Boosey & Hawkes, and York all made excellent horns and trumpets that can be found used for $100-$600 and may required just a couple hundred in work, if you know what to look for.  Look back at the pictures in this article.  Sure, this is not a shiny instrument.  A large portion of the lacquer is gone, and some of the metal is pitted.  I saw it in the local vintage/antique store for $200, which was a good price.  Over the next three months, no one bought it, probably because it was obviously not new, and the price was reduced to $50.  So, a professional horn, with work that, if I had not done it myself, was probably $150.   I'd say $200 for a trumpet (add a $1500-2000 for a horn) that will last at least through high school is a wise investment.