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In the fall of 2005, I was contacted by Mike Vax. Not a big surprise since Mike checks in with us at the factory quite a bit. This call was different. Mike was looking for our help. Some friends in I.T.G. had passed a story on to him that he thought we would be able to assist with. A group of musicians were having trouble getting instruments. Specifically a piccolo trumpet. The musicians were members of the Brandt Brass Band of Saratov, Russia. A very talented group rapidly making a name for themselves. Up until that point, the band was forced to borrow a piccolo trumpet from a neighboring town’s band. Not at all an ideal situation. In an effort to alleviate this, the members of the band were able to scrape together a few hundred dollars. By no means was that enough to purchase a new piccolo. They were hoping that through contacts in I.T.G. they would be able to find a used piccolo at a reasonable price. Enter Mike Vax.

Mike called us after he heard the tale and asked if there was anything we could do to help. Trumpet players around the U.S. had heard of the band’s troubles and were donating money to the cause hoping to boost the band’s buying power. Mike wanted to know if we had an old or seconds piccolo around that we could sell the band directly. We did not. After discussing the situation with my father Tom Getzen, we came up with a better solution. Rather than selling the band an old horn, we decided to give them, free of charge, a brand new 3916 Custom Series piccolo. From our standpoint, we had been fortunate in life and this was a perfect opportunity to pass that along. At the time, Tom relayed a lesson to me that my grandfather had taught him. At some point in life, you’ll have the chance to help someone else. While the time, effort, or dollar amount may not seem like much to you, to them it will mean the world. This was a perfect example of one of those situations.

Immediately, I got a hold of Mike and told him the good news. He was ecstatic and quickly passed the development on to his friends in I.T.G. The news spread fast and I was inundated with emails and phone calls thanking me for our donation. That’s not the reason we did it, but they were all appreciated. As word spread of our donation, trumpeters continued to donate money to the band. The new plan was that the band could use that money to help pay for a quality recording of the band with a CD to follow. I’m personally excited for that since I have heard nothing but praise for the band’s performances and I’m anxious to hear them for myself.

Soon after we decided to donate the horn, I was contacted by Mr. Gary Mortenson. He had great news. Gary had arranged for Steve Chenette, a former President of I.T.G, to deliver the horn and cash donations to the band during a visit to Russia. This was great, as it would ensure the horn made it to the band in good condition. Once the method of delivery had been established I had the piccolo prepped and shipped it to Steve. I also sent along several care kits (valve oil, cleaning cloths, etc…) for the band.

Once the piccolo was on the way to Steve and all the arrangements had been made, the members of the Brandt Brass Band emailed me to express their thanks. They asked me to pass on their “endless thankful words to all the people who some how took part in our life and help us to work better”. A few weeks later they also took the time to send me a nice Christmas greeting. I was honored that they would take the time and proud that they were so excited to get the instrument.

Fast forward to March of this year. Steve Chenette made his way to Russia with the piccolo and donations in tow. He emailed me from Saratov to tell me how excited the members of the band were upon his arrival. In fact, they couldn’t wait to try the horn. Instead, they spent nearly a week playing and practicing on it so they could use it in a concert shortly after the “official” presentation. After having the 3916 for a few days, Oleg Abramov emailed me to pass on their feelings. “Our trumpeters now behave like children.” Oleg said. “Everyone is trying to play it and they are always discussing it.” He went on to say, “Thanks a lot for the wonderful gift! We haven’t had such a trumpet until this in Saratov! So I think now it’s the most beautiful treasure in musical Saratov.” When asked how the players felt about the horn Oleg said, “Our piccolo player, Nikolay Khudoshin, is very delighted with the instrument. It’s very beautiful, has reach and a wonderful sound. It reacts on every breath you put into it!” “As our guys are joking,” Oleg wrote, “we have a beautiful blond, but we haven’t chosen her name yet. An enormous huge Thank You! If you’ll need something someday you must remember that you have 3 friends in Saratov, Russia that have close relations with one of your girls.” You cannot imagine my sense of pride. Knowing that not only were we able to help, but that the piccolo was met with such high regard. That, after all, is the most important thing. In July, Oleg Abramov contacted me to say that Nikolay Khudoshin enjoys the piccolo more with each practice. He went on to say that they have chosen music for their upcoming recording. The band will be performing Mozart’s The Night Queen’s Aria from The Magic Flute. I’m sure I’m not the only one anxiously awaiting its release.

All in all, this was a very rewarding experience for the company as a whole and for me personally. It was great to see the trumpet world come together to help their brothers in need. I am just glad that we could have a small part in the effort. Hopefully the piccolo will serve the band for years to come. I wish them and everyone who helped them continued success in all of their future endeavors.

News Coverage Videos: Channel IST | Channel Russia

At Getzen, we pride ourselves on our industry leading quality and we are constantly striving to find ways to improve our products even more. In that effort, we have made two key advancements in our production.

First is a new, cutting edge, aqueous ultra sonic cleaning system. This process uses a combination of special cleaning solutions and ultrasonic tanks to remove oils and other surface contaminates left behind during manufacturing. The process leaves the surface clean and prepared for lacquering or plating. A clean surface is key to bright plating as well as preventing acid bleeds and other lacquer defects.

The second advancement is an all new silver plating system. Our constant strives for improvement led us to create a new solution and implement new plating methods. Together, this provides a stronger, more durable bond with a brighter, richer silver finish.

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The American Heritage Field Trumpet has served to show the proper respect to American’s veterans. Now a new case will also reflect those strong feelings of patriotism. The case features the same great protection in a lightweight package as before, but in red, white, and blue colors. Contact your local Getzen dealer or Bugles Across America for more information.

Everyone knows that trombones have a bell and a handslide. What a lot of players don’t realize is that all trombones also have a leadpipe. However, the majority of leadpipes are fixed (soldered) into the handslide. This is because most manufacturers do not want to offer options to the customer. To the manufacturer, options mean building more complex components with additional parts. This adds time and money to the construction of the horn. On the contrary, at Getzen we believe in offering the player a wide variety of options. These options are all intended to better fit each instrument to each specific player.

Getzen offers a large number of trombones featuring three interchangeable leadpipes included as standard equipment with the instrument. In fact, every Getzen Custom Series trombone model is designed with the added flexibility of interchangeable leadpipes. This flexibility gives the player more control over response and timbre by custom fitting the leadpipe to their specific playing needs.

The Getzen Custom Series line of jazz, tenor, and bass trombones were derived from the industry leading Edwards Instrument line. Edwards trombones were the first to provide interchangeable leadpipes as a standard feature with their instruments nearly two decades ago. The interchangeable leadpipe system fit perfectly with the modular design of Edwards trombones. In essence, the Edwards design allowed players to custom build a trombone for themselves in an affordable and timely way by simply choosing the components that worked best for them. Over time, the Edwards technology made its way into the Getzen line. Now, three brass leadpipes are included with all Getzen Custom Series trombones as well as with Eterna bass trombones.

Many players do not understand the basics of the interchangeable leadpipe system. Why are they used? What are the differences between the three? How do players properly choose which leadpipe is right for their situation? To answer these questions, you must understand the physical characteristics of the leadpipe and why it is built the way it is. There are only three parts to a Getzen leadpipe, but each is crucial to the overall performance of the trombone.

1) Receiver
Simply put, the receiver accepts and connects the mouthpiece to the horn. Great care is taken to ensure the proper fit between the mouthpiece and receiver. The fit is crucial because it allows for proper vibration transfers into the instrument. An incorrect fit would result in not only an annoying “buzz”, but also in a less efficient blow caused by air leaks between the mouthpiece and receiver tube.

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The receiver also has an external portion known as the threaded nut. It serves two purposes. First, the threaded portion screws into the handslide and “fixes” the pipe to the horn eliminating any vibration or buzzing. The threaded nut is also used to denote the different sizes of the leadpipes. Each receiver nut has either one, two, or three decorative cut lines in the knurling. This tells the player if they are looking at the smallest, medium, or largest size pipe.

2) Venturi
The venturi is the smallest diameter section of tubing after the receiver section. Since the diameter at the end of the leadpipe is the same for all three sizes, the initial diameter of the venturi dictates the rate of taper over the length of the leadpipe. With a smaller venturi, the rate of taper will be faster from start to finish in order to match the bore of the instrument. On the flip side, a leadpipe with a larger venturi will have a slower rate of taper into the instrument. The venturi is what gives the player the feeling of compression or something to push against to start a note. Think of the venturi as acting like your mouthpiece throat. If the venturi is too large for a player the horn will feel woofy and lack clarity. If the leadpipe is too small the instrument can back up and feel tight. The three venturi sizes we have chosen to use are the result of many years of development and experience with thousands of players.

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3) Tapered Tube
The tapered section of tubing within the leadpipe determines the sound characteristics of the leadpipe. Generally speaking, a faster taper will produce a more compact sound. A slower taper will create a broader sound and resonate with more width near the player’s face. As previously mentioned, it is easy to distinguish which leadpipe is which based on the cut lines in the receiver’s threaded nut.

When selecting an instrument, it is very important to find a compression level in your instrument that is right for you. When testing an instrument or trying to find the right leadpipe, you should be thinking of this compression. Compression within the instrument should be right at the chops. If compression develops too far into the instrument, you will have to correct it by tensing your chops in an effort to get clarity back into your sound. This will make any articulations much more difficult as you battle against yourself and the horn. If there is too much compression, it will begin to back up into your throat. You may feel a tightening in your throat because of this, which can/will cause tightness in your sound.

When testing leadpipes you should play a lyrical etude that covers most registers. This allows you to get a better feel for the leadpipe across a wide spectrum. It also gives you the chance to better study the sound differences between each pipe. You will also want to try a scale and a more articulate work that covers most registers. This is a great way to study how the leadpipe effects the articulation. All the while, you should be paying close attention to what you are experiencing with each leadpipe. Some differences are dramatic while others may be more minor and hard to notice right away. It is important to note that every player is different. The best sounding and most comfortable leadpipe should always be chosen, regardless the specifications of the leadpipe or what size one’s colleagues may prefer. Allowing a player’s preconceived notions to come into play may prevent him/her from choosing the leadpipe that fits best. Therefore, it is imperative that an individual “blind test” each leadpipe in the beginning. This creates an open mind and prevents a biased opinion from the start. It can also be very helpful to do a blind play test for someone else. Let them listen to an etude and scale on each leadpipe without knowing which is which. Get their input and opinions from the bell end.

Once all of this is done, you can put the information together to find the leadpipe that gives you the best compression, tone, and feel. Keep that leadpipe in the instrument. While experimentation is never a bad thing, you will generally not need to retest or change leadpipes unless you make a change to your mouthpiece. If that is the case, the same technique should be used to find the right pipe again.

The purpose of these leadpipes is to properly match the instrument to you as the player. While working with musicians as I have over the years, I have found that making a small change close to the face will result in a large change to both sound and overall response. Each person has his/her own resonating characteristics that make the matching of the horn to the player necessary. Everything from oral cavity, chest cavity, dental structure, and overall height/weight will determine how much air volume each player has and how that air works for them. An individual may be over 6 feet tall, but if they are not efficient with their air they may need a smaller diameter venturi on their personal leadpipe in order to give them the best compression, articulation, and sound.

At Getzen and Edwards, we know it is important to find the perfect instrument for you. An instrument that not only matches your playing style, expectations, and needs, but one that matches you physically. Matching your mouthpiece and personal playing characteristics to the leadpipe can give you a much better overall playing experience. Getzen has made the conscious decision to let you decide what is best for you. We want to help you find the perfect instrument for your playing style.

So what does all of this mean to you? It means that you now have the knowledge and tools to find a better instrument. One that can work with you instead of against. Finding a great instrument is not only important to you, it is also important to us at Getzen. We strive daily to provide you with that instrument. Why limit yourself musically? Give yourself the tool to do the job and find the enjoyment of a great instrument resonating with you.

About the Author
Christan Griego studied music performance at Texas Tech. under the tutelage of Don Lucas. He has worked as the Director of Development & Marketing at Edwards Instrument Company for the past 8 years. In that time he has fit thousands of trumpet and trombone players to their instruments. Some of which are: Joe Alessi, Dave Taylor, Mark Lawrence, Leonard Candelaria, and Christian Scott. Christan also owns Griego Mouthpieces which produces trombone and tuba mouthpieces.

by Milo Greene

1991: Bob Getzen (right) and his son Tom (center) celebrate the purchase with Tom’s sons Brett (left) and Adam (center)
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March of 2006 marks a great achievement for the Getzen family. That month they will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the family buying back the company bearing its name.

In 1991 the Getzen Company’s production and financial troubles finally came to a head as the company filed for bankruptcy. Finally, after 31 years, there was an opportunity for the Getzen family to once again own the company. After a few months of negotiation Allied Music Corporation, owned and operated by the grandsons of Getzen’s founder, purchased the Getzen Company’s name and assets. “It was a lot of work and a long hard process,” recollects Tom Getzen. “At times, it seemed like the purchase would never get done. When it was finally over though, it was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

Immediately after the purchase, things began to change. First, the majority of Getzen’s employees and equipment were moved from the facility on Centralia Street to Allied Music’s building on the other side of town. This doubled the size of Allied Music. In order to accommodate the sudden increase, an 18,000 square foot addition was built. The addition included a new bell department, buffing room, water treatment center, dent department, and several offices. As the Getzen employees moved into their new home the skilled Allied Music staff met them with open arms. They were also met with new and repaired equipment along with improved working conditions. It didn’t take long before they realized the general philosophy of the company had changed as well. “One of the first things we did was let the employees know that things were going to change,” says Tom. “We wanted to turn things around to make the company a leader again and we needed their help to do it. We couldn’t stress that enough.”

Reestablishing the company’s place in the industry was difficult. “For years, the overall quality of Getzen products had slipped,” Tom notes. “Our first priority and biggest obstacle was to change public perception about the Getzen name.” The new Getzen Company wasted no time as the entire product line was reevaluated. Models were closely examined with some being eliminated all together. Design tweaks and corrections were performed to improve the remaining instruments. New models were also added to incorporate instrument designs previously used by Allied Music. At the same time, every aspect of production was evaluated to improve not only labor time, but also finished instrument quality. As Tom says, “It wasn’t a smooth process by any means, but it had to be done.”

The drive to push the Getzen Company back to the top continues today. In the last fifteen years, the company has designed and offered several different generations of professional instruments. Although some didn’t make it to production or last long as models, they all taught their own valuable lessens. Lessens that allowed the company to make improvements across the board and brought the product line to where it is today. “Since buying the company back we have gone through a lot of R&D looking for the ‘right’ designs. Especially with our professional trumpets.” says Tom. “It took us awhile, but the pro horns we’re putting out now are better than anything the company has built in the past. Now when players think of Getzen, quality and craftsmanship are the first things that come to mind and we are once again an industry leader.”

“The last fifteen years definitely did bring along a lot changes,” remarks Tom. “Hopefully, the next fifteen will be even better for the family, the company, and our customers.”

by Brett Getzen

I suppose a better title would be “Us vs. Them”. Regardless, one of our proudest accomplishments is the reputation we’ve earned for having such great valves. Still, we’re asked why we use nickel plated pistons. Why not follow everyone else and use monel? The answer’s pretty simple. We use nickel plated pistons because they’re the best.

Are they cheaper to make? Nope. You could make a cheap plated piston, and some do, but that’s not how we do it. Are they faster to build? Not a chance. Over the years we’ve made both plated and monel pistons and the extra steps needed to properly make a plated piston almost double the labor time. In a business where labor is the biggest cost, that’s significant. So again, why do we use a more expensive and time intensive product? As I said, they’re the best.

When considering the quality of a valve section there are three factors to look at. First is overall build quality. No matter what material is used, poor construction will doom any valves. Second is the surface condition of the pistons. Ideally, a trumpet piston needs to be both smooth and hard. This determines how fluid the action is, how well it will wear, and even how much affect corrosion will have. The third factor is overall lifespan, which is generally determined by a combination of the first two. A well built valve section made from low quality materials won’t last nearly as long as one built with high grade metals.

I developed three tests to determine the quality of trumpet valve sections. The Getzen trumpet tested was a 390 student horn with nickel pistons I took right off the shelf. The second trumpet was a competitor’s student horn with monel pistons. For obvious reasons, I won’t name names and will just refer to this horn as Trumpet X. I will say many of you have probably had some experience with the manufacturer and leave it at that.

Test No. 1: Build Quality

Simply measuring key points of the valve section gave me a fairly good indication of the build quality. The three benchmarks I used were the outside diameter of the pistons, inside diameter of valve casing number three, and the amount of air pressure each trumpet held.

While the overall sizes were different, the gap on both horns was the same. However, Trumpet X held almost 1/3 lb less air, coming in below our standard for new horns. The low air pressure was caused by the lack of consistency in the piston diameters. Each piston on Trumpet X was narrower at the top than at the bottom. This allowed air in the valve section to escape from the top of each valve resulting in poor compression.

Test No. 1 Winner: Tighter fit and higher compression put the 390 on top.

Test No. 2: Surface Condition

The most important factor of piston quality is the surface condition. Valve action depends on how smooth the pistons are, durability is dependent on how hard the metal is, and corrosion resistance is reliant on both factors. Let’s take a closer look at the three.

Smoothness
First, it’s important to note that nickel plating is very dense which creates a lubricious surface. In plain English, that means the piston surface is so smooth that it feels wet even when completely dry. Now that’s smooth. Monel on the other hand has a very grainy surface once annealed. This graininess causes pistons to drag and provides a place for acids and dirt to take hold, which can cause rapid corrosion.

Second, one of the most time consuming steps in piston construction is the final lapping. This process of working pistons into the valve casings can make or break any trumpet. In an effort to save time and money, many of our competitors cut corners when it comes to lapping. In some cases, student and intermediate level instruments aren’t lapped at all. Proper fit and valve action are sacrificed to cost cutting. Another common trick is to use a low grit lapping compound. The benefit to the manufacturer is that the pistons can be lapped to size very quickly. However, the coarse grit leaves a surface covered with tiny intersecting scratches known as cross hatching. Cross hatching can cause uneven wear, sluggish valve action, and pistons depressed off center to actually bite into the casing wall. Cross hatching can also hold dirt and saliva, again speeding up the corrosion process. To prevent that from happening, we lap our pistons with a fine grit compound. This not only creates a smooth, even surface, but also a tighter fit. While it takes longer to lap this way, the finished product can’t be beat.

Hardness
Surface hardness is key to long lasting valve action. No matter how tight your tolerances are or how smooth the surface is, if the piston is soft it will quickly wear out. Most importantly, the surface needs to be consistently hard. Varying areas of hardness will cause uneven wear which not only slows the pistons, but can also damage the inside of the valve casings.

The common argument in favor of monel is that it’s harder than nickel. This may come as a shock, but that’s true. Monel is harder… in its original state. However, monel is very susceptible to annealing. That is softening due to exposure to high temperatures. High temperatures like those needed to braze in piston liners. That’s right, a process used to turn a piece of monel into a piston is the very thing that ruins it. You’re left with a surface that’s hard in some spots and soft in others, mainly around the ports. The soft spots wear faster than the rest of the piston resulting in a poor fit and slow, sluggish action along with air leaks and compression loss. Not exactly what you want from a trumpet piston.

Nickel on the other hand is much less susceptible to annealing. The temperatures required are much higher. What little annealing may occur is negated by the extremely hard nickel plating which creates a consistently hard surface. This provides you with even wear throughout the life of the piston. Not only that, but the hardness makes nickel plating an ideal bearing surface and allows it to be honed to amazingly tight tolerances. All ideal attributes for building trumpet pistons.

I had a local metal treater test ssome tubing for me. They tested the surface hardness of raw and annealed monel as well as raw and plated nickel. In the chart below, the higher the number the harder the metal surface. I think the results speak for themselves.

Now you may be asking yourself why not just nickel plate monel. Those of you that asked, pat yourselves on the back. That’s the only way to build a decent monel piston. However, nickel plating over monel is not as durable as plating over nickel. Starting with nickel tubing provides a stronger bond between the layers as well as a piston with a built in safety. That is, if and the nickel plating does wear, you’re left with an exposed section of nickel tubing. While it’s not as hard as the plating, the nickel tubing is harder than an exposed piece of monel would be. That means your pistons will still perform and hold up well until you can have them replated.

Corrosion
Any and all pistons can corrode. It’s just a fact. If they aren’t cared for, this corrosion happens sooner rather than later. The key is to prevent corrosion as long as possible, therefore extending the life of your trumpet.

So what causes corrosion? Basically, the answer is your spit. Acids in your saliva combine with dirt in your valve section to form a piston killing mixture of sorts. This mixture most aggressively attacks soft or worn areas on the piston’s surface. As the surface corrodes it becomes rough. The problem grows exponentially as more dirt builds up in these rough spots and causes more corrosion, which makes the surface rougher and so on. This corrosion and roughness can get so bad that, left unchecked, brass from the valve casings will actually begin to deposit on the pistons. Once this happens, the valve section is, for all intensive purposes, ruined.

Our pistons are built with this in mind. The hard, smooth surface created by the nickel plating protects the piston. The extreme density and corrosion resistance of nickel plating offers no place on the surface for acids and dirt to attach themselves. Think of the plating as a force field of sorts repelling the piston’s attackers.

Monel on the other hand doesn’t offer this protection. Not only the failings of the metal itself, but also the corner cutting of other manufacturers creates pistons that might as well be sponges. The soft areas caused by brazing quickly wear creating microscopic pits. These pits act as tiny little hooks grabbing on to acid and dirt causing corrosion to spread quickly over the piston. In the end, you’re left with a piston surface that’s more like sandpaper than a bearing. Not exactly what you want from such a crucial part of your trumpet.

Test No. 2 Winner: With harder, smoother, and therefore more corrosion resistant pistons, the 390 is obviously the winner again.

Test No. 3: Life Span

Finally, the most telling test of all was how long monel pistons lasted in head to head competition with our nickel plated pistons. After all, that’s the true mark of quality.

Pre-Test
The first thing I did was have both valve sections disassembled and cleaned. Each piston was oiled using standard Getzen valve oil, reassembled, and air tested. The whole point of this was to ensure that each horn was treated the same way and entered the test in the same condition.

The Test
The way I tested the piston life span was pretty simple. Each trumpet was mounted into a machine built for just this purpose. A small bench motor attached to an arm mechanism that moved up and down when turned on. The travel of the arm was set to the exact travel distance for the pistons being tested. When everything was set up, the machine ran the trumpet valves at 300 strokes per minute.

At this point, it’s important to keep in mind that the test was not intended to simulate actual playing conditions. It was more of an overall quality test. I equate it to automakers testing seat cushions. They repeatedly drop a 50 pound weight onto a seat to test its construction. That isn’t a real world test, but it does show the seat’s durability. That’s what this test was intended to do. Also keep in mind that, over the duration of the test, both trumpets were treated the same way. Both were only oiled once and each trumpet was exposed to breath and moisture after 100,000 strokes. As the machine ran, I blew through the horn for a few minutes to introduce saliva in order to test the pistons’ corrosion resistance.

At somewhat random points along the way, I stopped the test to take measurements of the pistons, casing, and compression. For the sake of space, the starting and finishing results are shown here.

Trumpet X was stopped after 128,800 strokes. At that point, the pistons were so corroded, that they locked in place while the machine was running. As soon as I pulled a piston, I could plainly see why. Corrosion covered the surface of all three pistons making it impossible to continue the test.

Notice the wear and corrosion on Trumpet X’s pistons, especially the large amount on No. 2 and No. 3. Also note the yellow discoloration of the pistons. This is brass that has been deposited on the pistons from the valve casings. At this point, all three pistons were ruined and no longer functioned.

It’s very telling to see what kind of wear took place on Trumpet X. The wear not only destroyed the valve action, but it completely ruined the compression of the trumpet. While it wasn’t up to our standards to begin with, the compression was still enough that the trumpet could be played with some success. However, after losing over 17% of its air pressure, Trumpet X was left almost unplayable. At this point, the only thing that could save the horn would be a complete piston rebuild

As you can see, the 390 lasted much, much longer. At the 128,800 mark there was almost no change to the pistons, casings, or compression. In fact, the only measurable difference was .0005″ worth of wear to the valve casing. Where Trumpet X was ruined, the 390′s valve action was still smooth, fast, and showing no signs of slowing down.

Now fast forward to 1,000,000 strokes. At this point there was some wear to the valves. However, the valve action was still smooth and fast. Most importantly, the trumpet still tested at over one pound of air. This means that the 390 trumpet still had enough compression to meet our new horn standards. Also, while the pistons looked used, they were still corrosion free with all of their plating intact.

There are two key factors to note about the test results. First, the nickel plating stayed corrosion free during the entire test. This is important because corrosion is like cancer for trumpet pistons. The monel pistons in Trumpet X quickly failed once corrosion started. All it took was a small amount of acids via saliva to expose the weakness of the monel.

At first glance, the 390 pistons appear to show almost no wear at all. It wasn’t until the pistons were measured that the minimal amount of wear was shown. At this point, the 390 pistons had been run for just over 1,000,000 stokes on one oiling and still performed almost like new.

The second thing to note is where the wearing took place. With Trumpet X the vast majority of wear was seen on the pistons themselves. Each piston lost .002″ – .0025″ from their diameter, but Trumpet X only lost .001″ from the valve casing. The majority of wear on the 390 occurred on the casings themselves while the pistons stayed relatively intact due to the hardness of nickel plating compared to yellow brass. With a bearing surface, it’s ideal for one to be surface be much harder than the other. This leads to consistent wear of both pieces and longer overall life. Harder pistons are preferred because worn casings are easier to repair. In the case of nickel pistons, it’s relatively easy to replate them slightly oversized and relap them into the worn valve casings to repair the valve section. Repair would be more costly and time consuming with worn out pistons. Your only realistic option would be to start again with brand new pistons refit to the trumpet.

Finally, I was amazed by the performance of our pistons. I knew they’d win, but I had no idea just how much longer they would last. The actual count on the machine was 1,009,100 strokes, which is no small feat. It’s difficult to put that into real world terms, but the fact that the nickel pistons lasted 10 times longer than the monel is very telling. In fact, the 390 could be run even longer. I only stopped the test because my point was made and it had to stop some time. Based on the amount of wear between 500,000 and 1,000,000 strokes I have a good feeling the 390 has at least another 500,000 strokes in it and that’s still with only one oiling.

Test No. 3 Winner: Obviously, without a doubt, the clear winner is the 390.

So what does this mean to you as a player? One million strokes on a piston may not be regularly achieved, but it’s nice to know that you could do it. The real lesson is that, despite what the “big boys” tell you, monel is not the superior piston material. It may function well for some manufacturers in the short term, but the overall quality is sub par in comparison to nickel plated pistons. In the case of some trumpets, you’re faced with low quality materials built with little or no craftsmanship leaving you with slow valves that may corrode in place overnight.

Another lesson to take away from this is that nickel plating is not the end all answer for piston performance. It’s possible to build cheap, inferior nickel plated pistons. Generally speaking, these pistons are made from monel and covered with a very thin or “flash” layer of nickel plating. As with anything, time and care must be taken to ensure the right materials are used and worked in the right way to create a superior finished product.

That’s the kind of quality and craftsmanship you’ll find in every Getzen trumpet. From student cornets to professional trumpets, every Getzen valve section is built from the same quality materials, using the same skilled techniques, and tested to the same high standards. After all, there’s a reason why we have the courage to cover our horns with a lifetime valve warranty while other companies only feel comfortable with a year.

Tom Getzen (far right) welcomed the Goteborg Brass Band to Elkhorn in October. The band members toured the factory and spent time play testing Getzen and Edwards instruments. The band and its members purchased several 3850 Bb and 3892 Eb cornets and 3895 flugelhorns to add to their impressive inventory of Getzen small brass.

For more information on the band visit www.goteborgbrassband.org.se.

Mike Vax (left) and Tom Getzen (center) listen on while Getzen artist Johnny Brit test drives the new 3001MV trumpet during the 2006 NAMM show in Anaheim, CA.

Dear Getzen,

Here are pictures of my son, Will Parker, playing his American Heritage Field Trumpet for the first time at a funeral.

Will has been playing Taps since the seventh grade for local funerals. He is now a tenth grader. The field trumpet was my gift to him this past Christmas. Up until then, he had been playing a Bach trumpet. The field trumpet sounds awesome.

Thanks for offering such a fine instrument to the Bugles Across America bunch. It will always be special to him.

Sincerely,
Gina Parker
(Will’s mom)

Will Parker (fourth from left) pictured with a United States Marines funeral detail. Will is a member of Bugles Across America and has been performing Taps for over three years. This was the first of many to come using his new M2003S American Heritage Field Trumpet. Thank you for all you do, Will.