One piece bell or two

trumpetchops · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 2644

I don't understand what the difference is with the two piece or one piece bell.

I have a Monette trumpet. Monette is supposed to be one of the best. My trumpet has a two piece bell.

Bach brags that they have a one piece bell. Blackburn also has a one piece bell.

A lot of student horns have two piece bells, so why would Monette use two pieces?

Does it really make a difference?

trumpetmike · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 4:09 pm Post subject:

When they were desigining the new Besson Prestige cornet they actually made two bells at the start, identical in proportions. One was a two-piece, one was a one-piece. They did blind testing with a large number of the very top end cornet players and every one of them went for the two piece, which is what is now on the Prestige cornet. Talking to some of these players (and the makers) they all were saying that the resonance was improved, the tuning was better and the general playability was better with the two-piece bell.
I know that this is the horns forums (usually for trumpets), but I thought this was a relevant moment for a cornet to be mentioned.

Benge Loyalist · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 5:41 pm Post subject:

It was the liquor industry which discovered that the more they charged, the higher the perceived quality of the product. So it stands to reason that the higher the price of a trumpet, the higher the perceived quality.

Since a one-piece bell appears to be more costly to manufacture, it will command a higher price. Again, perceived quality is improved.

Until this post, I'd not heard of any testing to compare a one-piece to a two-piece bell. It is very interesting that the two-piece bell was preferred in the above mentioned test.

Just think - if UMI (makers of Benge trumpets, among others) hears this, it can ruin the Benge trumpet even more by switching to the cheaper two-piece bell, saving millions in production costs, and improving profits by keeping the price the same. Even better, use the cheaper construction method, charge more, and call it an improvement!

_________________
Benge Loyalist (aka UsedBits) owns the following instruments:
Benge Bb, 5x, ml, #8162 (Burbank 1969), gold plated
Benge C, 2x+, mlp, #7481 (Burbank 1968), silver plated
Benge D/Eb, ml, #6579 (Burbank 1965), raw brass
Stomvi piccolo, m1

[ This Message was edited by: Benge Loyalist on 2004-01-24 20:44 ]

oneeyedhobbit · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 6:02 pm Post subject:

They aren't UMI anymore, its Conn-Selmer

And, although I do realize they've killed the real Benge trumpets, they are churning out some good things-Conn 8D french horns are the Strad of the horn world, Conn Trombones are also widely recognized and loved by their respective players, and let us not forget the Vintage One. Now that Fred Powell is with them, perhaps they'll improve Benge.

The comparisn between the one and two-piece bells is certainly interesting, though.

[ This Message was edited by: oneeyedhobbit on 2004-01-24 21:03 ]

Lo · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 6:52 pm Post subject:

Hi all!

I was just thinking about bells when I realised I have no clue what mine is. I play on a Kanstul Custom class trumpet (CCT 900) and in the description it says it is a "E-bell" I think. What does this mean? Thanks!

Trptbenge · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 7:45 pm Post subject:

It would be great if Fred Powell would get involved in returning Benge to its place as an excellent horn. I don't know if that will happen since he has been designing and manufacturing a horn to meet players needs (the V1).
Also, the original mandrels and equipment that the benges were made on were never moved to Eastlake Oh but kept by Zig Kanstul. He used these to create the Burbank line of trumpets.

Mike

plankowner110 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 3620

Just think how much better Harry with his King, Miles with his Martin, Mendez with his Olds, and Maynard with his Conn would have sounded if those old trumpets had been made with one-piece bells! I don't think the bell construction makes a whole lot of difference.
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C. G. Conn 60B Super Connstellation
Getzen 800S Eterna cornet
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bigbrowncow · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 11:47 pm Post subject:

I believe that the two-piece method is used for the manufacture of bells on French Horns. It allows the manufacturer to put more metal on the bell - a one piece bell will have very thin metal at the rim. This is a real problem on the French Horn because of the enormous difference between bore size and the bell diameter.

That said, I can't comment on the difference it would make to playing or listening...

Steve
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Bach 43 custom

camelbrass · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2004 2:47 am Post subject:

Hi,

Actually my Taylor has a 2 piece bell. When I asked Andy Taylor why he didn't use a 1 piece one he said that firstly that's how he learned to make bells (he made French horns..still makes the bells) and secondly he didn't think it had any effect on the sound.

Just my 02c

Regards

Trevor