Christan Griego recently designed an new trombone for Getzen. He shares his thoughts about it below.

A while back, I had this idea. As always, it started as the most innocent of thoughts. It was “There’s this mythical ‘Bach’ style of trombone that, while some are great, most are inconsistent. Let’s try to build on this ‘Bach’ style while maintaining what we’ve always done best”. As you are probably aware, we’re known for making the most consistent resonating instruments in the world. So we should be able to make this work.

I knew where to start and I knew where I wanted to end up. That was the easy part. I also knew I didn’t want to re-invent the wheel, but I didn’t want to just rehash the same old things either. And so, by combining time tested ideas with a few new design approaches, I started the journey of creating this dream instrument that ultimately turned into the 4047DS Custom Reserve. Here’s a little insight into the how and why the 4047DS came to be.

The Handslide

This was the easiest part for me, since I knew what I wanted. A large, .547” bore hand slide with yellow brass outer tubes, nickel silver over sleeves, and a yellow brass end crook. The end crook gives us the width of sound needed to offset what is happening a bit later in the bell section. Prior research into end crook bore selection had given me the knowledge needed and the choice was made. The entire design is balanced and offset to each component so that it all works together to achieve the final outcome we are after.

The Bell

The design of the bell took us to the machine shop. The bell shape had to be correct in order for the 4047DS to give us the enveloping quality we were after. This is always the scary part of design as you hope your initial shape concepts are right due to the high cost of bell mandrels. I study history and what has been done in the past to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of others. As luck would have it, we hit a winner with our bell mandrel. With the bell shape nailed we moved on to the material choice, yellow brass and that’s all I can say. We have to keep some secrets, but I can tell you it’s not a light bell nor is it a hernia maker. My whole goal was to make an instrument that will fit most professional players without them making the journey to Elkhorn, Wisconsin to work with me on fitting a trombone. It’s okay, no offense taken.

The Rotor

This is possibly the most “oversold” part of any instrument manufacturer’s claims. While I’m not refuting anybody’s self proclaimed valve supremacy, my goal was to make a professional trombone that used a conventional rotor not of a higher deity or bloodline. Listening to vinyl recordings late in the evening, I have heard players from the 1950’s through today that sound incredible on good old, conventional rotor trombones. There are many musicians that I’ve studied with that still play on standard conventional rotors that aren’t at all hampered by the rotor’s design. I did play around with port diameters and rotor passageways to come up with our final design, but with design simplicity I think we have found a great combination.

The Wrap

It’s possible to make an instrument play great with a conventional rotor by making sure the overall wrap design is correct. I used my knowledge of wraps and bracing concepts in this area. The “DS” double edge brace design is born of the Edwards B454-D-E bass and it works just as well here on the 4047DS. In addition to the “DS” bracing, the 4047DS utilizes the concept of Asymmetrical Bracing with both yellow brass and nickel silver bracing. This innovative bracing design frees both the F attachment and the bell from diminished resonance and response caused by invasive bracing systems.

And Finally… The Leadpipe

I’m fortunate to be friends with lots of trombone players with a wide variety of equipment both new and old. One such friend knew about the 4047DS project and offered me a decades old leadpipe to test on the horn. Man did that pipe play well. The second the brass leadpipe slid into the slide, it was an “Aha!” moment. This was the final piece of the puzzle that made the 4047DS something special.

When developing a new instrument, we test things on a daily basis and get to see the improvements made slowly over time. Moving toward a goal only to have the destination cut short is a real drag and I think that many companies do just that. Rushing to launch model after model just hoping to get one to “hit”. That is exactly the approach I wanted to avoid. We have worked on this trombone for a few years and not once was I pressured to get the horn to market. I wanted, and was encouraged, to take my time. Only when it felt right every time I came back to the horn and after hearing the 4047DS played by countless players in house did I feel right taking this new trombone public. Crafting new trombones is fun. Crafting one that plays this well is something else all together. I am extremely proud to finally provide other players with the ability to play and perform on the all new, Getzen 4047DS Custom Reserve. Enjoy!

– Christan Griego

Instrument Specs

• Bell: 8 ½” Yellow brass unsoldered rim; B Mandrel *
• Tuning Slide: Yellow brass; Single radius taper *
• Bell & Tuning Slide Braces: Nickel silver construction *
• “DS” Edge Bracing: Yellow brass construction *
• Neckpipe: Taper evens intonation tendencies within the harmonic series. *
• Inner Handslide: Solid nickel silver construction cork barrel assembly *
• Leadpipe: Retro brass leadpipe born of historically proven bloodlines *
• Over Sleeves: Nickel silver providing longer wear points *
• End Crook: Yellow brass with large inner diameter providing a width of sound & consistent feel *

All in an optional fiberglass shell case with adjustable padding and backpack straps. It is the smallest large bore, tenor case on the market today. Providing more protection than a traditional gig bag while remaining lightweight without the use of expensive carbon fiber. *

* = Designed exclusively for the 4047DS Custom Reserve

OK, not really.  However, recently one of our competitors sent out a mass mailing to all of their dealers stating that they are “the only brass instrument maker producing all its horns in the United States”.  Apparently, in their world, Elkhorn, Wisconsin is no longer a part of these United States.  Believe me, that was a shock to all of us here at Getzen.

That’s the only explanation for their statements.  After all, every Getzen instrument is manufactured at our factory in Elkhorn.  In fact, our current production facilities are less than a mile away from the converted barn where the Getzen Company built its very first trumpet.  So obviously they either think Elkhorn is located outside the borders of the United States or they are grossly misleading their customers.  And we all know the later never happens right?  Right?

The fact is we pride ourselves on the fact that all Getzen instruments are manufactured in the US.  In an industry riding the wave of outsourcing, it is a badge of honor to be part of a very small group of manufacturers holding strong to our roots.

We take the standard of “Made in America” very seriously.  It is a little known fact that the requirements for using that term are pretty loose and liberally enforced.  Basically, in order for a product to be marketed as “Made in America” a significant change has to be done to any parts in the US.  For example, Brand X could import bells, valve sections, pistons, etc… from Trumpetland to the US.  Once here, those parts could then be soldered together, silver plated, and polished and the resulting trumpet could be sold as “Made in America”.  Since the imported pieces were just that, pieces, a significant amount of work was required to turn them into a finished trumpet.  So even though the term “Assembled in America” would be a better definition, Brand X can legally claim their horns were “Made in America”.  While technically and legally true, this practice profits greatly on the market place’s lack of knowledge about the fair use of the term.  It may not be dishonest, but it is definitely misleading.

At Getzen, we take an entirely different approach.  Take our 390 student trumpet, for example.  There are roughly 97 parts used in the manufacturing of a 390 trumpet.  Of those 97 parts, 73 of them are made right here in Elkhorn, WI.  The remaining 24 parts are all manufactured in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, or other parts of the US.  And that is our lowest priced, student level instrument.  I think we can all agree that a 100% American made student instrument is a rarity these days.

Could we reduce costs and increase profits by purchasing pre-made bells, valves, pistons, etc. from some offshore company, slapping them together in Elkhorn, and patting ourselves on the back while selling them as “Made in America”?  We sure could, but then we wouldn’t be selling a real Getzen instrument.  As long as my name is on the bell and I have any say in the matter that will never happen.

Sincerely,

Brett Getzen
Getzen Company, Inc.

Translated from the original article by Andrea Libretti in Strumenti Musicali Magazine

Getzen is an historical brand of American brass instruments started in 1939 by a former Holton employee.  Getzen first started building trumpets in 1947.  Since then, Getzen has gained experience and reliability recognized worldwide.  The 400 Series was created to meet the needs of students who are on a budget, but don’t want to sacrifice the technical features and timbre of upper class instruments.

One of the strengths of the internationally recognized Getzen Company are the pistons.  In fact, the durability and speed of their nickel silver pistons has become legendary unlike the Monel pistons found on nearly all other trumpets.  The outer surface of the piston is shinier, harder, and travels the vertical movement within the casing with remarkable smoothness.  More generally, the Getzen trumpets give a good impression of strength and compactness, as well as being well finished.  The 490 is produced in a medium-large bore size which is ideal for the student.  The entry bore size of the gold brass mouthpipe give a better response to the lower octave.  The weight is on average with other instruments of its class at about 1030 grams.  The first slide has a saddle while the third slide is controlled with a ring.  The one piece gold brass bell improves tones in the lower harmonics.  The trumpet is available in lacquer or silver plate and is available with a good hard case.  Substantially, all of the features described above (except the pistons) are the same as many existing horns tested.  What differentiates an instrument like the Getzen 490 is the quality of the materials used and the accuracy with which the parts are assembled.  In this case, with a craftsman’s skilled hands,  thus providing higher overall sound quality than the rest of the instrument industry.

Results

When you test a horn for the first time, you must have a reference to the class of the instrument.  It should be clear that if I’m talking about a student trumpet and define what is good about it, the review should be analyzed in the scope of the category of the instrument.  If not done, you could be comparing a student trumpet to one costing 5000-6000 Euro.

In the case of student trumpets, it is natural not to expect a very full tone, flexibility, or comfort.  Speaking of the Getzen 490 though, you will be pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the brand, certainly well above the other horns of this same class.  This means that during studies, the trumpet will increase the efforts of students and, likewise, increase the rewards they see.  It is always more pleasant to play an instrument that one likes and better meets our expectations.

During this test we found a good overall tone with a good coupling of the harmonics.  The fluidity of tone was inline with other trumpets in the test.  The pressure necessary to control the air column required effort slightly above average, but in the transition to a professional level horn, this will help to teach better control.  The pistons, as already mentioned, are extremely fast, accurate, and durable.  There was never any binding on the pistons.  The only negative of the trumpet is that the springs return the pistons so fast and powerfully that it can result in a slight noise from the piston returning.  This is not difficult to work around however.  Simply remove the piston, remove the spring, and compress it by hand until you achieve the desired strength.

In conclusion, we could not be more satisfied with the performance of the Getzen 490; a student trumpet with some professional features and tendancies.  We could call it a semi-professional horn that can fully satisfy the needs of a student in the early years of training as well as those of an amateur musician in any band area.  Of course, you pay for quality and it is natural that this instrument will cost a bit more than similar competing products.  But try to compare the Getzen 490 trumpet with any made in Eastern Europe or East Asia and let me know.

There’s a lot of confusion about what a hand hammered, one piece bell really is. Not to mention the confusion about what makes them so special. Well, maybe not confusion so much as misinformation. The market is flooded with professional trumpets that have, so called, hand hammered, one piece bells. Thus creating images of craftsmen of old using nothing more than strength, determination, and skill to turn a flat piece of brass into an expertly crafted bell. In today’s industry, that couldn’t be further from reality.

In many cases, the way trumpet bells were crafted years ago has been left by the wayside. The overall specs and dimensions may be unchanged, but the manufacturing processes are light years apart. Do you think there were hydraulic presses slamming brass into bell forms at the turn of the century? What about computer controlled spinning lathes forcing a bell blank tight to a mandrel? While technology has made many aspects of manufacturing better, some advances have actually tainted the finished product. How many times have you heard someone say his or her 50 year old trumpet plays so much better than a new one? Why do you think that is? The brand names may be the same, but, as the saying goes, they just don’t build them like they used to.

What makes a true hand hammered, one piece bell? What’s the right way to craft one? I’m glad you asked. As I see it, there are several questions that must be answered. What’s the bell made from? How’s the pattern made? How’s the seam formed/brazed? How’s the bell formed? How’s the bell spun? The answers to these questions are what separate the “wanna be” bells from the real deal.

What’s the bell made from?

The Right Way: First and foremost, a true hand hammered, one piece bell starts out as a roll of plain old sheet brass. Sure there are different alloys and thicknesses, but the common thread is that they all start as nothing more than a simple sheet.

The Wrong Way: There are some out there that confuse seamless bells with true one piece bells. Seamless bells are formed from either a single piece of tubing or by electroplating a thick layer of metal onto a bell mandrel. Both of these methods have their advantages. We use seamless tube bells for our student line of trumpets and cornets. They’re inexpensive and durable while providing easy tonal production. However, these bells offer little in the way of projection or character. Electroplated bells allow us, and others, to produce copper bells at an affordable price. Despite the positives, these too are a long way from hand hammered, one piece bells in terms of performance.

How is the pattern made?

The Right Way: Simply put, the pattern is made by cutting the brass sheet to shape … ideally by hand. That is, someone lays a template over the brass, scribes an outline, and uses shears to cut along that line. No stamping, no laser cutting, no computer controlled cutting tools at all. In fact, if we got rid of our electric shears and went back to manual tin snips, cutting a bell pattern would look just like it did before the Great War.

The Wrong Way: Keep reading. This and the next two “Right Ways” are covered by just one “Wrong Way” used by some of our biggest competitors.

How is the seam formed/brazed?

The Right Way: After the pattern is cut, it’s placed in a hand press. Here the flat pattern is bent in bringing the two outside edges together. Basically, this press is nothing more than a table with a slot down the middle. The pattern is laid on this table with the slot running from tail to flare. A lever is pulled and the craftsman’s strength is used to push a piece of steel through the slot taking the brass along with it. This folds the brass pattern in half. Then a hand tool is used to cut tiny notches at set intervals along the length of the pattern. The notches work to lock the sides together and form a perfect seam. This seam is then hammered, by hand, tightly together. From here, it’s on to the torch room where the seam is brazed, again by hand, using a special brazing paste and torch. It’s a hot, noisy job, but one that requires the human touch to be done just right. After being brazed, the pattern begins to look like a trumpet bell for the first time. It may be a burned trumpet bell that was just run over by a steamroller, but a trumpet bell nonetheless.

How is the blank formed?

The Right Way: This is where things get interesting and a hand hammered bell gets its name. It’s at this point the hammers come out. The burned, flattened bell pattern is taken into the aptly named Hammer Room. Here, the craftsmen involved start by “opening up” the pattern. In a nutshell they slide the pattern over a vertical, steel bell mandrel and repeatedly force it down onto the steel. Think of it as if they were trying to throw the bell straight down over and over again. The action forces the tight pattern to open up, meeting the mandrel’s taper. They’re beginning to open the throat of the bell, but we’re still a long way from finished.

Once the throat is opened, it’s hammer time. The pattern is again placed on a steel bell mandrel only this time it’s horizontal. Large wooden and/or rawhide mallets are used to, let’s just say, caress the brass to shape. Every inch of the bell’s surface from tail to flare rim are hit again and again as the bell is formed. The blows rain down like a one sided prizefight until the shape is just right.

This step is the key to what makes a hand hammered bell so special. Keep in mind that throughout this hammering the brass is work hardened. The brass must be re-softened via torch annealing to continue. It’s this hammering, hardening, softening, hammering, hardening, softening, etc… that gives the bell its truly unique tonal characteristics. Some think it’s the lateral seam that’s the key to a hand hammered, one piece bell’s superiority over two piece designs. The theory is that a two piece bell’s radial seam blocks resonance traveling through the bell while the lateral seam does not. While the seam plays a part to the bell’s overall performance, it’s just a small part of the whole. If the key was the seam, a seamless bell should be the best of the bunch because there is no hindrance at all. No, the real magic comes from the extremely complex and time intensive tempering of the brass. The kind of tempering you can only achieve with strong arms, a hammer, and a torch.

The Wrong Way: As I mentioned before, this “Wrong Way” is the competitions’ answer to the three previous “Right Ways” we practice when crafting a true hand hammered bell.

Like us, many of the competition start with a simple piece of brass sheet. However, the similarities end there. Rather than cutting the bell pattern and forming it into a blank with little more than the skilled hands of a craftsman, the majority of work is done by machine.

The brass sheet is fed into a hydraulic forming press. Here, the sheet is sandwiched between a mold and a hydraulic bladder. The bladder is inflated and, under thousands of pounds of brute force, the brass is forced to the mold. This exposes the brass sheet to an extremely high amount of pressure and stress. Due to its lack of touch and feel, the machine only knows one thing, go from flat to formed. After this forming, the excess material of the sheet is cut away and you’re left with what looks like a bulbous, overly inflated trumpet bell split down the middle.

To form the bell’s seam the blank is put into another hydraulic press and bent to bring the two sides together. Again, no feel, no touch, just unbent and bent. Once the seam is brazed, the blank is already recognizable as a trumpet bell. It’s now that the hand hammering is done. However, since the bulk of the forming was done in the hydraulic press before a hammer was ever swung, it takes very little time and very few blows to achieve the desired shape. Less hand hammering means things move along much faster. It also means there is much less annealing needed. Think back, remember when I said the real key to a hand hammered, one piece bell was the hammering and annealing? All of that great tempering of the brass is sacrificed here for speed. Sadly, in the world of manufacturing faster equals cheaper and, in some minds, that means better. Now I guess you could argue that some hammering is better than none and you’d be right. Although, that’s like saying $5 is better than none, but wouldn’t you rather have $500?

How is the bell spun?

The Right Way: When it leaves the hammer room, a hand hammered, one piece bell looks more like a brass funnel than a trumpet bell. It takes a pretty good imagination to see the shape of things to come. The journey of turning this rough looking funnel into a full fledged trumpet bell comes with it’s first round of spinning.

Rather than being spun on a mandrel, like every other bell, it’s slid inside a special cup and hand spun to form a rough bell flare. This inside out spinning is used because of the rough shape of the funnel. This is the only way to ease it into a traditional bell shape. Trying to go from funnel right to a finished bell would expose the brass to damaging stress and metal fatigue. After this first spinning, the bell is pretty ugly, but it’s starting to shape up.

After one last pass through the annealing room, the hand hammered, one piece bell follows the path taken by every other bell we make. It’s hand spun on a steel mandrel mounted to a special lathe. Hand spinning is a key aspect of bell making. It’s all about the feel of the brass, the resistance of the tool, and the smoothness of the surface. Things much too complex for an automated system to monitor and react to efficiently. Yet again, the key to quality lies in the skilled hands of a trained craftsman.

The Wrong Way: Once again, superior craftsmanship is sacrificed for speed. Robo-spinners go from start to finish in one mighty pass. As before, there’s no feel and no touch, just unspun and spun. Their job is to smash the brass into place rather than smoothly easing it down to size. Think of it in carpentry terms. Say you’re building a table and need to cut a board to length. You can do it with either an axe or a circular saw. The end result might be the same, two pieces of wood, but the quality of the two pieces couldn’t be farther apart. What’s the old saying? There’s the fast way and then there’s the right way.

The real kicker in this whole thing comes when you realize that the “Wrong Ways” mentioned in this article are actually the best of the bunch. Some manufacturers completely skip the hammering process and rely solely on hydro-forming to go from brass sheet to the spinning lathe. Almost every benefit of a true one piece bell is lost. The worst offenders are those that hammer their bells for nothing more than show. Just so they can market them as hand hammered. I once saw an ad for a trumpet hailing its hand hammered bell. The ad featured a photograph of a finished bell on a mandrel being tapped with a ball peen hammer. Sure there’s a hand, a hammer, and a bell, but that’s not exactly the right idea guys.

Keep all of this in mind the next time you hear or read the term “hand hammered, one piece bell”. While the description might be technically accurate, there’s a lot more to it than mere technicalities. When a salesman tells you how great a trumpet is because of its bell, ask him some of the above questions. He might not know the answers, but if he answers them all with the “Right Ways” mentioned here chances are he’s trying to sell you a Getzen.

As many of you, dealers and retail customers alike, know some Getzen instruments are hard to come by these days. We face concerns about delayed delivery just about everyday. While building to order is better than having bloated inventory sitting on the shelf, people will only wait so long before they move on and buy another instrument. What’s the deal?

When you compare the last few years to 10-15 years ago, our production numbers are down. That’s despite the addition of new employees and the institution of new manufacturing techniques and processes. At the same time, our annual orders have been steadily increasing for almost every model. More orders plus less output equals long back orders. For a few specific models, we started the 2008 fiscal year with more instruments on back order from 2007 than we were able to build and ship in the previous twelve months. And I’m not talking about inexpensive student instruments. These are, unfortunately, higher end instruments. Eventually, many of these customers are going to go elsewhere. So what is the answer?

Just up production right? We could easily put the pressure on our people and start forcing horns through. Just crank them out as fast as we can. Maybe even cheapen some horns. We could take a cue from our competitors and cut corners to speed up student and step up production. Maybe even import some lines rather than building them in the US. Or, we could automate some of our production and let machines stamp out more of our horns. After all, a machine doesn’t need a break and you don’t have to pay it overtime. If we did all of these things, I’m sure we could out pace the last few years with ease and even approach record production highs in no time at all. It would definitely fill our back orders. Delivering on all of those orders means a lot more money coming in while the shorter production time translates to lower costs. Everyone knows what that means… higher profits. That’s what business is all about right? Then again, we’ve all heard some of the horror stories going around these days. “Trumpet X is great… if you can try enough to find a good one.” Or, “Every single Trumpet Z is the same… they just don’t have any character.” My personal favorite, “Sure it doesn’t perform like a trumpet, but it looks like one and it was sooooo cheap.” Maybe sometimes chasing higher profits isn’t the right answer.

Our philosophy is a simple one. Higher production is great and we strive for that every day. However, we will never sacrifice quality and craftsmanship in exchange for upped production and delivery. Could we save time by cutting short the lapping and honing time on student trumpets? Sure. Could we save time by eliminating some of the hand labor on our one piece trumpet bells? You bet. Could we get more trombone slides made if we lowered our standards on plating, barrel shaping, and hand straightening? Definitely. Would our instruments be any good? Nope, but we sure could build them fast.

Years ago, as I got more and more involved in the business, one of my main concerns was quality. I was, and still am, extremely frustrated and discouraged to hear from dealers and players whenever they purchase a horn that was sub par. It was hard not to take those complaints personally. Being the squeaky wheel that I am, I got the grease in the form of being put in charge of establishing our quality levels. I wasn’t very popular at times, but I refused to lower the standards I expected from every instrument we built. Having worked in the factory myself, I knew what we were capable of. It took a lot of work and persistence, but over time every goal I set was met and surpassed.

The quality of instruments being delivered today far exceeds those that we built back in 1991. There was a price to pay for those high standards though. Eliminating the pressure for volume and rejecting sub standard instruments will diminish monthly production output. It’s a tricky tight rope act, teetering between high quality and high production. In the beginning, we fell from that rope again and again. There were times that our quality took a step back. Other times, our numbers were far below demand. Over time though, we have gotten better at balancing things out. Now, with the addition of people like Jim Stella, we are moving ahead in leaps and bounds. Steps like refining our manufacturing, adding more people, and instilling in our existing employees just what they are capable of are adding up. Everyday we move closer and closer to filling our back orders. At the same time, our finished quality continues to rise. It’s a win-win for all of us.

Don’t get me wrong, we still have a long way to go. Even with our improvements we realize this is not a time to just sit back and relax. There are always goals to be set and broken. In some cases, even with higher production we don’t seem to make any headway. Just ask anyone waiting for a Custom Series tenor or bass trombone. The more we ship, the more that are ordered. Go figure. It’s like treading water with a weight belt on. As soon as you get strong enough to raise more than just your nose out of the water, someone adds a few more pounds and the struggle starts all over again.

This past year has taught us a lot of lessons and brought several advancements. New people, ideas, techniques, and equipment are bringing us closer and closer to where we want to be. It’s been a long and costly endeavor, but we are committed to it. Remember, at Getzen we only have to answer to ourselves, not a board of directors or sea of faceless stockholders. Cutting corners could benefit us in the short term, but in the long run it’s just going to drag us down. After all, what’s the long term benefit of quickly delivering a piece of junk to a customer? We’re committed to providing you with the finest quality instruments you can find at an affordable price. Most importantly, we’re committed to making sure that every one of our instruments is worth the wait. It’s my name on every bell and I wouldn’t accept anything less.

Showtime – Nicole Sasser

Nicole Sasser excitedly released her first album during the summer of 2008. Her CD, entitled Showtime, showcases her talents as both a trumpet player and singer. It is available for purchase on her website at www.nicolesasser.com.

Trombone Quartet

Mark Sheridan-Robideau, Peter Madsen, Doug Farwell, and Steve Wilson of the Continental Trombone Quartet proudly provided the musical accompaniment for the American Repertory Ballet this past October. The Worlds End/Worlds Begin show was held as a fundraiser to benefit the Highland Park, New Jersey group Artists Now.

Featured Custom Series Dealer

At Tulsa Band Instruments customer service and the personal touch are their top priorities. Unlike some stores, Tulsa’s staff is knowledgeable and ready to answer all of your band instrument questions. In addition to sales, they boast Oklahoma’s best, full service repair facility.

Tulsa Band proudly carries the Custom Series line along with a wide variety of other Getzen instruments in their Tulsa, Oklahoma store. For more information, visit their website at www.tulsaband.com.

We are proud to announce the addition of Dave Kaminsky to the Getzen sales force. For nearly 30 years Dave has been in the industry with both Leblanc and Conn-Selmer working in sales, educator relations, and establishing education programs. Mr. Kaminsky will be handling Getzen representation for the South-Eastern United States.

In April, we had some very special visitors stop by the Getzen factory. Members of the Stan Kenton Alumni Band under the leadership of Mike Vax stopped by on their way through South-Eastern Wisconsin. We treated the band to a tour of the factory and lunch. They treated all of us to a thirty minute concert in the Allied Supply warehouse.

Thank you to Mike and the members of the band for stopping by. Thanks also to Breber Music of Elkhorn, WI for loaning us a drum kit, keyboard, and amplifier for the performance.

There are now three ways to get your very own copy of the Getzen Gazette. Of course, there is the printed version and many have visited the Getzen Gazette Blog on our website. Now you can download a pdf version and view or print copies of it from your own PC. Past Gazettes are listed in the left column of this page. If you prefer the real thing, you can be added to the Gazette mailing list by mailing your request to:

Gazette Mailing List
c/o Brett Getzen
PO Box 440
Elkhorn, WI 53121

For several years Getzen has offered our Silver Trumpet Value Pack and we figured it was time for an update. The Value Pack still offers one of the best package deals around with a silver plated Getzen trumpet (models 590S, 700SP, or 700S). The Pack also includes a gold plated mouthpiece, leather hand guard, electronic tuner, select Getzen artist CD, trumpet care kit, and a special black, contoured soft sided case with shoulder strap. All of this for one low price. Contact your district manager or local Getzen dealer for more details.