How are the OLDS Special Trumpets like?

bman94 · Regular Member Joined: 01 Jun 2011 Posts: 11

I'm a middle school band director and my primary in college was Euphonium. I played Trumept for seven years (in conjunction to playing Euphonium Euphonium) before I defaulted to Euphonium only.

Now that I am out of college I'm looking to pick up Trumpet again just to practice at home. I have a few Trumpets that I own and two cornets but they are all student models.

There's a few OLDS Special Trumpets floating on eBay at reasonable prices. How are these horns? I have a OLDS Studio Model Euphonium that I love but I've never played one of their Trumpets. How is the upper register? Is it free-blowing? What's the tone like? Anything else I should know about these Trumpets before I jump?

Evinerate · Veteran Member Joined: 15 Nov 2016 Posts: 154

For some reason, many sellers would call them a "jazz trumpet" or a trumpet great for jazz but I feel it's just a very solid and even playing instrument for many playing situations. As an Olds horn, they're very sturdily built. They do vary though, through the different decades the design changed.

Pre WW2 Olds Specials are lightweight horns similar to the Olds Standard/"The Olds" but have the feel of the prewar Olds Supers.

WW2 Olds Specials from early 40s had recieverless lead pipes and were heavier than prewar versions. Mostly brass with slight touches of nickel silver on the slides.

Post WW2 Specials had a nice mix of brass and nickel silver.

Mid/Late Fullerton Specials had "tri-color" design, with their bells having different materials, nickel bell with red brass ect. These horns are great playing horns too but different than the past Olds Specials. They play darker too. Heavy horns.

Vintage trumpets are as good as the condition that you find them in but otherwise, I would say they do center nicely in pitch, have an interesting sound color. There are a lot of players who commit to the Olds Special as a main horn. I would say that they're great playing trumpets, not too pricey and they deliver as players, try to find a nice one that doesn't have worn valves or and leaking problems and you should be happy with one.

bman94 · Regular Member Joined: 01 Jun 2011 Posts: 11

JetJaguar · Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 9:16 pm Post subject:

I've had two from the year 1955, and still have the second one. It's a great horn. The nickel upper valve casings cause the horn to feel the valve strokes "harder". But I believe the reason for the nickel casings is to enhance bell vibration due to the hardness of nickel. Some say it is the same as a Super, but with less doodads.
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Christian K. Peters · Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 11:31 pm Post subject: Olds Specials

Hello all,
My dad purchased his Olds Special used in 48 or 49. It was only a year or so old at the time, and it is one of the receiverless horns with the newer slide tube bracing. It really plays well. Only in the last 10 years have the valves shown any wear. Back up a few years...He gave it to me to play in beginning band and I played it into my sophomore year in high school. I continued to play it in college marching band and then played it off and on through the last 30 or so years. I also picked up a matching cornet with the receiverless leadpipe this last year. Mine is a great horn. I have not played any newer, though there are a number of kids I know that play early 50's Ambassadors for lead horns...
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VetPsychWars · Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 4:41 am Post subject:

taylordiving · Regular Member Joined: 27 Jan 2013 Posts: 66

I've owned two Specials, mainly for the same reason that you may be asking which is that they are fairly priced and are well built horns. My first one was a late 50's Fullerton model, before they went to the tri-color design. It was a good horn but nothing particularly outstanding and I didn't feel it was any better than the Ambassador nor Conn 22B that I had at the time. My second one was one of the post WWII receirverless leadpipe models and it was as open and free blowing as you'd want, a truly "special" horn. I ended up selling it but is the only horn I've ever had pangs of regret about letting go. Thus, my advice (for what it's worth) is to find one of those post war models and see what you think as I don't believe you'll be disappointed.