difference in Bell materials ?

[soulmanpete]

Some Trumpets have copper bells some nickell , what difference would this make when playing the trumpet?
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[camelbrass]

Bell's are made from all sorts of alloys and metals (and other things). I think that, generally, the type of material and the way it is constructed effects the predominance of either the higher or lower overtones (or their balance) in the sound of the trumpet, ceterus paribus. The way the bell is constructed effects the response and feed back to the player and the shape of the bell the resistance and dispersal pattern of the sound. Therefore there are lots of variables that ultimately shape the sound. As a very, very broad answer I've found the following:

1. Bells with a high copper content (or are copper) tend to sound warm but in my experience the response is not quite as crisp as yellow brass . The rule's not hard and fast though...the Schilke berrylium bells (not really berrylium but electroformed copper) are very bright because they are very thin and respond really quickly.

2. Sterling silver bells in my experience tend to have a very complex sound that is almost 'brittle' sounding. Very nice though..the ones I've played have responded really nicely.

3. Some bells are bronze or are made of bronze alloy. I've yet to try one but if somebody wants to lend me their Blackburn for a bit I'll take real good care of it.

I'm sure there's others.

I'm not sure about Nickel. I don't think I've ever seen one. I'm sure that somebody who has tried a wider range of instruments than I have will chime in and either correct me or add to it.

Regards,


Trevor

[_dcstep]

Bell material has an impact, but I think that the flare and weight of material are the most improtant factors in the sound out front. The material seems to have more impact on what the player hears. For instance, I don't hear my "silver brass" 80J's sound near as clearly as my "yellow brass" Concept TT. Of course, they have different flares, but I think that the silver brass (high nickel content, I think) may put a higher percentage of the sound out front.

It's hard to generalize because flare and weight are so big.

Dave
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Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
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Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

[oldlou]

How about a rose brass bell with a 1" nickel silver garnish ring? Why the ring, just structural reinforcement? I know that the finest trumpet I had ever played, until just recently was a Getzen Super Deluxe with what they called, a "tone ring". I have long felt that the ring was added to their old model 90 Deluxe, because of the fragility of the Getzen bells, which, by the way, were some of the best playing trumpets of their era, just a bit prone to dramatic bell crumpling.


OLDLOU>>

[_dcstep]

My Selmer K-Modifieds all had "tone rings" and I think they all sounded fantastic. I'm not sure if it's the tone ring, the brass alloy or just age, but there's something special going on with many of those old trumpets.

Dave
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Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

[oldlou]

The trumpet that I mentioned first is an old, (1946), York Master Model made by Boehm and Meinl of West Germany. The tone with just about any mouthpiece is dark but with myriad overtones, making it a joy to listen to. It is currently raw brass. The lacquer was stripped quite a long time ago. I don't like the labor required in trying to keep it looking decent, but, I doubt that I will have it lacquer coated, because I like the way that it sounds.


A fellow band member of mine, ( a trombonist ), told me that he solved the corosion on his rose brass bell by coating it with a silicone auto finish polish/protectant. I am tempted. Any others try this idea yet?


OLDLOU>>

[J. Landress Brass]

[Getzen]

Here's a good rule of thumb on bell material. Generally speaking, the darker the metal, the darker\warmer\richer the sound. Granted, there are exceptions to this, but that is a good standard to start from.

I don't think you can say any one spec of a bell has a bigger difference on the play of a bell than any other. They all have an equal effect on the tone, response, projection, etc.... at least that's what I think.

Brett Getzen
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[plp]

[chopissimo]

There is an interesting article here about trumpet materials:
http://vanadium.rollins.edu/%7Etmoore/research1.htm
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