GANTER rotary trumpets

[knatterbock]

Ganter doesn't make his famous rotaries anymore.He finished production several years ago and recovered from an illness as far as I know. His instruments were very good playing horns and used throughout the world. Didn't the Chicago Symphony trumpet section use his instruments as well? I remember a meeting with GANTER and CANADIAN BRASS in Munich years ago!
I have a matching B (G7a) and C horn: wonderful instruments, made in 1982, I love to perform with his horns up to this day: are there any other players out there who continue to play and love his instruments?
What are your experiences?
His pupils, among them DOWIDS Munich, BAUMANN Aschau, SCHAGERL Austria apparently continue to produce fabulous high quality rotaries in a style they learned with Ganter!

Regards to the trumpetworld..... Peter

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

This is like one of those messages you put into a closed bottle and throw into the sea; years and years later you might get an answer!
I used the search funtion and introduced one of my favourite rotary trumpet brands Ganter and found your never answered post.

Yes I have a Ganter trumpet and I love it! It is a rotary-C G3 (not the G3a), the lacquer is regular and it has been un-dented (very well done by the way!) at the leadpipe (tiny spot) and the bell (not so tiny spot). It didn't have a trigger, but I installed one that I took from a bad Ganter copy (a badly dented Musica Steyr) and that fitted so perfectly it was almost a joke to install it. I might send it away to have it re-lacquered.
The trumpet is beautifully made; the valves are still super-tight and quiet and better than the valves of many modern brands; the instrument is rather heavy and plays great. It has a very warm and dark sound (it is by far the darkest rotary trumpet I ever played) that never molests even when playing it very loudly. The tuning is absolutely FANTASTIC!
But like almost always there is a catch: the sound is so warm and round (yet open and not dead!), that listening to it in a concert hall, it is not always to be recognized as a (German) trumpet sound. Sometimes it blends so well, that it doesn't stick out, even if it should. If you try to fight this, you start to overblow the instrument. Therefore I only use it for choir pieces or with "obnoxious" conductors (we all know them...), who hardly like to hear the brass at all.
To brighten up the sound a bit, I sometimes use a removable soundpost (Schagerl) that I install between the leadpipe and the bell section. This improves the sound projection a lot!

But I've got some questions for you:
What are the differences between a G3 and a G3a, apart from the trigger?
Is the G3 the older version of a G3a? Or was the G3 just the cheaper line of the G3a?
What could be the year of construction, the late sixties, early seventies, like the seller told me? (He hadn't been the first owner either)
Was the Ganter "Royal" series still from Ganters own hand, or were they the newer and (from what I heard) worse version made by his successor?

I have the chance to buy a B-flat G7a, raw brass, and I am seriously considering to buy it, because it would make a nice pair with the G3. The G7a B-flat seems to be a bit less dark than my G3 C-trumpet, which I find a bit strange...

Measurements of the G3: bore 10.75mm, bell 125mm.

Thanks for reading this, with warm regards, Maarten.

[trumpetera]

I also play Ganter rotaries!

I have a G7a Bb and a G3a C. The Bb flat is fantastic! Nice sound and easy to play. The C, I have to get some more playing done on it to get in to it. It has its issues intonation-wise, but the sound is beautiful, and I agree with Marten- funnily enough it seems darker than the Bb! My C was bought new about 5 years ago, and the Bb is probably 10-15 years old.

Is there any way of finding out the age from the serial numbers?

A few years back, the Ganter firm made me a 3rd valve slide that lowers the instrument a major third as opposed to the normal minor third. Great in Wagner and Strauss on the lower trumpet parts!

All the best
Johan Åkervall
co-principal trumpet Gothenburg opera orchestra, Sweden

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

Great, yet another Ganter player!

Johan, I understood that Ganter himself didn't use serial numbers (quite normal on German trumpets) and stopped making instruments around 1992/1994. If yours have serial numbers they should be from after that year, like you more or less stated already, but to be more specific maybe "knatterbock" or someone else can help you out here.

Anymore Ganter fans out there?

Best regards, Maarten.

[loudog]

Just bought a Ganter G3a C trumpet...love it. My undergrad trumpet teacher has two Ganter Cs, both G3a's, and a Bb...not sure the model number. All great horns.

Louie
_________________
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Dr. Louie Eckhardt, trumpeter
http://www.LouieEckhardt.com
Associate Professor of Music
Hastings College

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

[trumpetera]

Is there a link available to that auction? I'd like to see the pics!

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

Johan, I only saw it for 2 or 3 days (because I had to leave), people were asking about shipping to Europe, but no-one had pushed yet. After that I went away for a couple of days and when I came back it wasn't there anymore so I guess it has been sold. Is there a way to trace back a closed auction?
The start-bidding-price was $1000. IMO considering the shape of the instrument a very fair price.

[jdh]

Sorry boys, but I was the one that picked up the 3a on ebay last week. It's the same model we used at Juilliard, so I felt pretty comfortable buying it before I was able to try it. I still haven't played it yet, since I'm playing in Korea, but I'm anxious to try it next week when I get back to the states. Here's a link to the auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=001&item=110019127968&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

Jeff

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

So the price went up quite a bit, but you'll be VERY happy with it.
Just look at the pics , what a beauty; congratulations Jeff!

Best wishes, Maarten.

[jotrpt]

Hi, as far as I know (and as was anticipated already before), Ganter himself stopped manufacturing in the beginning of the nineties, but the brand was still continued for many years by "Music Hieber" in Munich. The label "Royal" is also from these times I guess. As I understood from other people/players, trumpets from these last years were not so highly regarded any more compared to the older Ganters, at least production was not so consistent any more. But this is just what I heard, I never played one of those. Ganter also made high-G and D rotaries, and I also once saw a Perinet piccolo by him. If someone is interested in purchasing a used Ganter, I recommend to have a look at a German marketplace under http://www.vioworld.de/index.htm. Go to "Kleinazeigen" and then to the "B" at "Trompeten". There is also a search function ("Suchen"). From time to time, an interesting Ganter (as well as other horns of course) is showing up there.

Cheers, Jochen

[loudog]

Nope, I bought mine from Jon Dante.

Louie
_________________
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Dr. Louie Eckhardt, trumpeter
http://www.LouieEckhardt.com
Associate Professor of Music
Hastings College

[trumpetDS]

I own a G7a Bb and really enjoy playing it. I had it overhauled and silver plated at Dillon Music earlier this year. It looks absolutely brand new and plays just as nicely as before the overhaul. I use it for jazz in a trio setting and it is the perfect trumpet for the gig.

[guenni-trumpet]

Several years ago I owned a silver plated Ganter G3a C-Trumpet. i was not satisfied by that horn because fo its bad intonation and narrow, fusty sound. As far as I can remember the horn was very hard to play.

that were my experiencies with ganter horns. But I know several trumpet players that love their Ganters.
_________________
greetings from Germany
guenni-trumpet
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Ricco Kuehn B, C
*Canadian Brass C
*Yamaha Custom D/E flat
*Schilke P5-4
*B&S Challenger II
*Mouthpieces: Bach 1C, Bob Reeves 43 MPC

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

[loudog]

Could be a mouthpiece issue.

My Ganter plays awful with a Bach piece, but I use a Josef Klier on it, and boy does that bring the horn in tune. It's intonation is great...especially in the mid and upper register. The low register is a bit sharp, but is an easy adjustment.

Louie
_________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Louie Eckhardt, trumpeter
http://www.LouieEckhardt.com
Associate Professor of Music
Hastings College

[David Harbuziuk]

I had some experience with two Ganter C trumpets over the past three years. My school also had two Monke C trumpets which I felt were far superior instruments in every aspect except for one: the Ganter was an easier switch from piston because the resistance was closer to a piston horn than on the Monkes we had. The color of sound, weight of sound, projection, intonation, even the craftsmanship seemed better on the Monkes.

I tried various mouthpieces and different acoustical settings but was never happy with the Ganters when comparing them with the Monkes. The Monkes were the 11,3 bore size (made within the last 5+ years) and I am almost sure that the Ganter's were the G3a model (made in the 70s or 80s, I believe). The Ganters were lacquered and had the nickel-silver garland on the bell.

My previous school also had two Monkes that I felt were better than the Ganters I played, but I didn't like the way these Monkes (11,5 bore, one yellow brass bell and one gold brass) played as much as the two Monkes I've most recently had experience with.

About three years ago I was looking at a Ganter on ebay and a professional whose opinion I HIGHLY respect (and trust) told me that amongst his group of peers the concensus was to look elsewhere for a rotary.

No disrespect meant to a good product, just offering my personal experience.

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

[matzentrpt]

I too, have a Ganter G3a C. I believe it one time belonged to a set owned by the Minnesota Symphony. I bought it about 2 years ago. It plays really great and even, and I bought it with the last of my student loans, my wife likes to remind me of that on a daily basis ...

[guenni-trumpet]