Olds Contempra

radial · Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2003 7:41 pm Post subject:

An older fella showed up last night in the community jazz band with an Olds Contempra which he said was a 1951. I'd never heard of it, but it was equipped with a first valve trigger, a third valve ring with a stop and it had a Tone Ring around the bell. It played very nice. It was light and seemed like it might have been a small bore.

I couldn't find any info on it. Anyone heard of it? Phil

livertwist · Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2003 7:46 pm Post subject:

Phil,

What you saw was a Reynolds Contempora. They were made in a very similar design to the Olds Supers at that time. Great horns. If you want to know more about Olds and even some about Reynolds, go to Alan Rouse's site here: http://rouses.net/trumpet/olds.htm.

They were very nice looking and easy to play (I had one for a very short while). Tom Turner knows a lot about these, so look for a response from him.

Oliver

man, I know Alan's site by heart now... is that sad?

nacog · Veteran Member Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 232

That's actually a Reynolds Contempora. If it is a '51 then it is a model that was made during the roth-reynold years. I have several vintage horns including a Olds Recording cornet, a King Silvertone Cornet and I feel that My 1950's Contempora cornet is the best one of the lot. Some people have said that it compares to the Olds Super (due to the tone ring , no doubt) but with the rose brass bell I think it compares more closely to the Recording or the earlier Super Recording model. I Think the vintage Reynolds horns, especially the Contempora's are real gems that are not getting noticed very much.

ARB · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 4:42 am Post subject:

nacog have you had any work done on your vintage horns (e.g. re-lacquered, valve work etc)? I just got an Olds Recording and would just like to know the best process for getting the horn refinished. The finish is in good shape overall, but there is some minor pitting and lacquer loss around the lead pipe.

I seem to recall some one saying that if you have the horn stripped and lacquered it reduces the value of the horn.
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BeboppinFool · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 5:17 am Post subject:

I have a Roth-Reynolds Contempora, and it is, indeed, a fine horn.

Where can I obtain more information about the Reynolds and Roth-Reynolds instruments?

I have a matching Reynolds cornet and trumpet (they only say REYNOLDS vertically on the bell . . . read vertically if the trumpet is on a trumpet stand) and they are both 14,xxx serial #'s and I'd love to find out when they were made.

I don't know how to date the Roth-Reynolds Contempora, either . . . it's upstairs & I think the serial # is 56,xxx but I'm not 100% sure about that.

There was an Argenta on eBay a week or so ago that I bid on . . . it didn't make it to the reserve price, which was a bummer. It was quite poorly listed (in my opinion, anyway) and not many people saw it. Those are supposed to be on a par with the Contempora, but I don't know this first-hand as I've never played one.

I'd love to learn more about Reynolds instruments if anybody out there has information.

Thanks!

Rich
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nacog · Veteran Member Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 232

In response to arb's question, no I haven't had any restoration work done on any of my horns. I want to have my olds recording refinished too but I'm holding back till I can find somebody I really trust because the bell ingraving on the Recording is so awesome I don't want that screwed up. As far as the pitting on your lead pipe, I guess it depends how bad it is. It seems to me that since the lead pipe is a major factor in how a horn plays you would want to be careful about how it was repaired. In response to Rich's questions, I am trying my best to gather all the info on reynolds that I can. Between my brother and myself we have 10 reynold horns spanning from 1936 to the late sixties. I also have a couple of cataloges , one from about 1954 and another from 1966. The trumpets you have that just say reynolds on them are known as the professionsal models. When Reynolds started in 1936 he didn't have different models, just different trim levels. e.g. from plain laquered brass all the way up to sterling silver bell and gold plating with several steps inbetween. I have a 1936 Sterling bell trumpet that (in my own opinion) played better than a 1935 NY Bach Strad that I had at the time. I've come to a rough dating system of about 2000 horns a year until the late 50's or early 60's when RMC bought the company from Roth Band instruments. ( Mr. Reynolds sold his company to Roth, also of cleveland, in 1948 and then started working for Olds where he designed the ambassador and other Olds horns). At 14xxx your trumpet should have a vertical engraved reynolds with an F and an A on either side of the R. I have some that are that the engraving is rather simple and others where it is quite elaborate( very similar to the way the King horns were done at that time which is no surprise since Mr. Reynolds was in charge of the King factory before he started his own company). Reynolds also supplied instruments to the armed forces during WWII and every so often you'll run into ones that have U.S, engraved on the bell also. As far as I can tell the professional model lasted until the end of the road for Reynolds in 1979. I used to have a mid 70's model and that one was a very fine horn despite some negative comments you hear about Olds and Reynolds quality during their last few years. In the mid 50's the professional model went from a vertical engraving to a script engraving like the contempora engraving but it is still the same model. Whenever you see a Horn made by Roth-Reynolds that says Reynolds on the bell, that is the pro model. When you see Roth on the bell, that is the student line ( it eventually became the medalist). I seem to remember a post by tom turner in which he refered to the Reynolds Argenta as the nickle -silver version of the Contempora . I have never heard that before but it sounds reasonable. In any case, the Argenta is a beautiful horn, and is currently my favorite player. It has a nice dark tone and yet it seems to really project above other horns.
the argenta was only made from the early 60's to the late 70's so you don't see many of these for sale but I would highly recommend them if you do run across one. One last note, one of my dreams to to eventually put up a website dedicated to Reynolds trumpets and cornets so if anybody has any additional information , cataloges or unusual horns I would appreciate hearing it.

Jeff

tom turner · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 5:45 pm Post subject:

Hi,

I have a 1961 Reynolds Argenta large bore cornet that I'll be taking to the Mobile horn fest next weekend (so Rich can play it alongside his Recording).

I looked and looked for years for an early Argenta, then got one on e-bay a couple of years ago. Naturally, it received a valve alignment and new corks . . . and it plays like a dream.

Big, rich and noble cornet sound along with great valves and a super-easy upper register, the Argenta was done in nickel-silver (German silver), as opposed to the yellow brass of the identical wrapped Contempora.

I guess you could call the Argenta an early "heavy wall" trumpet and cornet. Even the valve caps are nickle-silver . . . just like some of the heavy valve caps sold as options today! For whatever reason, I've always loved the sound of the Argenta most of all.

Bore sizes of both these models were, if memory serves me right, .458 for the "M" bore and .462 for the "L" bore. The bore sizes of both the trumpet and cornet models were the same too.

The workmanship on these horns, including serial numbered valve parts, is rarely encountered today.

Gee . . . I hate to write too much about those great Reynolds Contempora and Argenta horns . . . for soon people will "discover" this sleeper line is as good as the Olds stuff . . . at least in the two models we are talking about here!

I'd love to get my hands on a pristine military horn from the WWII era. Reynolds landed quite a contract with the military to build a lot of their horns. However . . . if they are like the early Selmer Bach trumpets my Army band unit had in 1972 they are probably pretty well worn out!

I look forward to seeing a new website dedicated to the fine horns of Foster Reynolds!!! Starting with the early 20th century York company, Foster influenced King and Olds also, as well as starting his own company. This man even still influences the trumpet world today . . . as Olds plant manager, Foster taught a young Zig Kanstul his tricks of the trade in the 1950's too!

Sincerely,

Tom Turner

[ This Message was edited by: tom turner on 2003-09-19 20:50 ]

livertwist · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 11:44 pm Post subject:

Tom,

Thanks for the input. I knew you owned an old Reynolds but couldn't remember which model. I'd love to find myself a Reynolds as well. I just bought a 1933 Olds Super and am loving it. I'm taking it in tomorrow to get chem cleaned, after which I'm goin' mouthpiece shopping. I will post some links to pics on TH tomorrow for everyone's viewing pleasure. I bought it from Carlos Saloio through the Marketplace - a great guy to deal with who is honest and has some great stories. To whet the appetite of anyone interested, I'll tell you that I've got the original warranty card and the case is in so close to mint, I've decided not to use it at all for fear of ruining it. Now to find me a Reynolds Contempora - I love those red brass bells!

Oliver

david johnson · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:01 am Post subject:

there's a contempora 15 mi from my house. a protrumpeter lives up the road and has one in his collection.

dj

BeboppinFool · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 6:51 am Post subject:

I double checked . . . yes, my old Reynolds trumpet & cornet have the F & A on both sides of the R in Reynolds. Also, they're both serial #12,xxx . . . so what year might that make them?

Also, my Contempora is serial #46,xxx and only says Contempora on the bell. The tone ring says Roth-Reynolds . . . now I forget what that makes it -- student or pro. I'll have to go back and look.

Thanks Jeff & Tom for all the invaluable information you posted about these fine Reynolds instruments!

Rich
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nacog · Veteran Member Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 232

Hi Rich, I would guess that the 12xxx Reynolds horns are around 1940-42. The Contempora is a professional no matter what year made. In my (and many others too) the contempora is on par with the Bach Strad, Olds Mendez or any other top of the line trumpet from that era. In fact, I think that in the fifties the Contempora listed for more than the Strad and if you look at the cataloges at the Olds Central site (look at the 1977 Olds and Reynolds cataloges) you'll see that the Contempora and the Mendez were very close together in price. With a serial number of 43xxx my guess is about 1955 to 1957. Roth owned the company from 1948 to about 1960 so it most likely was made in the fifties.
One last note on the earlier Reynolds, every so often you see the Name on the bell not inthe vertical configuration but in a horizontal, sort of banner style, engraving. I have no idea why but it is kind of interesting.
Tom, thanks for your interesting post. I don't post a whole lot but I enjoy reading and your posts are always informative. Part of me agrees with you about talking about the Contemporas and the Argentas. They are supurb horns that few people pay much attention to when they come up on ebay. I struggle when I try to describe the sound of my contempora and argenta but I know that they are my favorite players and nothing has displaced the argenta yet.
One last thing if and when an Argenta cornet comes up on ebay, nobody bid on it! it's mine
(Pleeeese)

Jeff

radial · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 10:40 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info folks. I didn't look hard at the horn to see what the make was. The guy told me it was an Olds and I believed him. The first valve trigger and the adjustable third valve slide with a stop screw made it unlike any of the Olds of that era that I'd seen. Won't see him for a couple of weeksm but will look harder at it the next time.