Getzen's vintage Marching F Trumpets (Frumpets)

Asian Man

Hi, I was wondering if anyone played one of these before. They are in the same key today's marching Mellophones. Is it true that they played really poorly? How about their sound?
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Robert Rowe · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:33 am Post subject:

I have 2 1/2 of these notorius horns. (The 1/2-horn is a "project horn", missing parts).

Never used them in a marching band, although I believe they were designed for such.

Interesting instruments; one must have facility with French Horns to be comfortable, as they require a French Horn mouthpiece.

A different "voice" ... would explore other applications, besides marching bands.

Yogi Robt

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Robert Rowe · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:34 am Post subject:

Oh, BTW -- there is generally a second set of slides, to pitch in Eb.

Yogi Robt

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Tony Scodwell · Heavyweight Member Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 1960

When I played first Mellophonium with Stan Kenton in 1963, I was closely tied with the Getzen Company, both play/endorsing their trumpets and visiting the factory as much as possible. My section had the Conn Mellophoniums of course, and after a visit to my old friend Reynold Schilke's shop in Chicago for mouthpiece consultation [and WAY better results with the Farkas cup/trumpet rim combination] the Mellophonium section was really sounding wonderful. About that time, I contacted my good friend at Getzen wishing to try the Getzen F Alto Marching Trumpets in place of our Conns. Stan gave me the OK, and we played them in concerts for two nights. Pitch was even better, and the horns played easily on the difficult charts. Johnny Richards would write in octaves for us with two up and two down, always in the C and D above the staff range. For some reason Stan did not like the sound of these horns compared to the Conn and we didn't pursue it any further. For what it's worth, a couple of years ago in Pasadena at a Stan Kenton Tribute to the Mellophonium band concert that I played in, I had a Kanstul Marching Mellophonium with me along with my old Conn. No less than Zig Kanstul was there and told me that the sound of the Conn was much better than his horn. I played the Kanstul all night with the section because it was such a superior instrument, but on my old solo on "Misty", I grabbed the Conn. There was something about the sound with those old Conns I guess. I sure would get a french horn cup with your trumpet rim made along with a shank and backbore to fit the Getzen F Alto Marching trumpet before I dismissed them.
Tony Scodwell
Scodwell USA Trumpets and Flugelhorns

scherzando · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:08 am Post subject:

I was given an old Getzen trumpet in F, but I don't think it's the one being discussed here. This one takes a trumpet piece (at least, it seems to fit well), is marked "300 series," and looks like a regular trumpet with REEEEAALL long slides (stretched, not doubled). It looks like the "Alien" version of a trumpet. Anyone familiar with this weird beast?

Chas

spitvalve · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:18 am Post subject:

Tony Scodwell · Heavyweight Member Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 1960

French horn mouthpieces, even with an adaptor, don't seem to work on these horns. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough about what Schilke came up with for us. He used a Phil Farkus french horn cup with a shank that fit the receiver with our trumpet rims. What he came up with for a backbore I couldn't say. I do know that DEG Music Products in Lake Geneva [ask for Dan Getzen at 1.800.558.9416] and tell him you want a ML 6V mouthpiece. It's based on the one Schilke made for us. You might have to have the shank turned down to fit your receiver.
Tony Scodwell
Scodwell USA Trumpets and Flugelhorns

ConnFreak_andDaughter · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:59 am Post subject:

Hey Tony,

I had one of those old mellophoniums (stolen, unfortunately) and I couldn't come close to fixing the intonation, sometimes sounding almost a half-pitch off. Before I buy another one, did the special mouthpiece you recommend help with that, too? Or, as professionals, were you just good enough to fix the problematic pitches by ear and lip?

Thanks!
Bill

Tony Scodwell · Heavyweight Member Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 1960

The Conn Mellophoniums were the most out of tune instruments ever. That said however, they really were meant to be played in Eb, and did play a whole lot better in tune than in F [I've been told] . I don't ever recall seeing the Eb slides anywhere though. The Conn Master catalog lists the Eb/F Model 16E Mellophonium at $440 w/case up to $490 w/case depending on finish in their 1971 price list. The Kenton band had four fairly good horns [and one lousy Reynolds] on the bus. I played them all at one time or another, but used the horn I inherited from Ray Starling all the time. We managed to play them in tune after the Schilke mouthpieces were built, and I will match the intonation of my section with any section in the band from that point on. There is a fine recording made live in England during the bands final tour there that proves my point. [Astral Jazz CD JCD-104 "Kenton '63.Concert In England"] The horn will never be an in tune instrument in modern terms, but it still is the horn of choice for that music. I'm still looking for a false fingering to play an A above the staff that's closer than a 1/4 tone away, but that's just the horn that I have. Maybe the one I'm restoring will be better.
Tony Scodwell
Scodwell USA Trumpets and Flugelhorns

spitvalve · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:38 pm Post subject:

My high school marching band used a bunch of those Conn mellophoniums. We used to go to Miami once a year to do a halftime show for a Dolphins game (this was in the Don Shula/Bob Giese era). Back then the talking heads in the press box didn't talk through halftime shows, and featured bands actually got to be seen on national TV (my grandmother in Missouri swore that she was able to pick me out among forty trumpet players in a long crane shot). My junior year, as we were coming off the field onto the sidelines, one of those dish-shaped directional microphones was right in front of the mellophone section and picked up one particular girl blasting out the second horn part, loud and grossly out of tune. I guess you had to be there. We watched the videotape the next week in our band hall and nearly busted a gut laughing at how gross she sounded. She was really a pretty good French horn player--but you've heard the expression "trying to make a silk purse from a sow's ear."

We did Kenton's (okay, Bill Holman's) "Malaguena" in our jazz band my senior year, and since I was doubling on horn in the concert band and we had six trumpet players in the section I moved over to play one of the mellophonium parts. I tried the alto horn mouthpiece that came with it, but it was too big, so I ended up using a french horn mouthpiece, as did the other three horn players drafted from the concert band. We thought we were hot stuff, but when I listen now to the LP we made, I cringe in horror. I think the band director retired those horns a couple of years after I graduated and got some decent marching instruments. After a dozen years of marching band abuse some of those mellophoniums were starting to look like they'd been used as catchers' mitts.
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Bryan Fields
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1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1979 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
Eastlake Benge 4PSP piccolo trumpet
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Asian Man · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:19 pm Post subject:

a month ago I bought a Elkhart, Couesnon import, Mellophonium. To my knowledge anything above G# above the staff is just squeals. Perhaps it plays better with a Horn, or Alto Horn, mouthpiece with an adaptor instead of a Curry TF? It came with a Eb attachment and I can't fit it! Makes me angry. I like the more "French Horn-like" Bell flare for a broader sound compared to Yamaha's "Piccolo Trumpet-like" flare. It's intonation is iffy with normal fingerings, which is ashame.
_________________
Bach Strad (lacq.) 37
Yamaha C Trumpet (silver) YTR6445HS
Couesnon Monopole Flugelhorn circa 1970
7 rims (Curry)
www.myspace.com/whistlingbarofsoap

jhaysom · Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:12 am Post subject:

I've got a Getzen frumpet, which I have played mostly in Eb with a french horn mouthpiece someone gave me. Pretty hard to play in tune (although it lo.ks cool). Now, on the rare occasion when I want an Eb horn, I'm more likely to reach for my antique Hoton mellophone.
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Canada
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