1957 still a good year for Martin Committee? Possible trade.

[abundrefo]

Hello,

I've been offered something that may turn into an interesting deal.

I own a 1525 Kanstul flugelhorn and a collector who owns a ML 1957 Martin Committee is offering me a trade. I payed $2,000 for the Kanstul back in 2008. I offered to add a few hundred bucks as this guy is asking roughly $2,200 for his Martin.

1- What are the odds of this still being a great horn, considering the 1957 year?
2- If there are no problems with the horn, would you say this could be a good deal?
3- What possible flaws should I look for while examining the Martin?

Thank you.

[VetPsychWars]

Quite honestly I would tell you to not drink the Kool-Aid but that's a lost cause.

The horn could be wonderful or it could be crap. There's no way to know. It could look brand-new on the outside and the valves could be worn out. You're talking about some serious money so find a way to play the heck out of it ahead of time and also to get an inspection by your local technician.

Can't do that? Walk away.

Tom
_________________
1950 Buescher Lightweight 400 Trumpet
1949 Buescher 400 Trumpet
1939 Buescher 400 Cornet
GR65M, GR65 Cor #1

[abundrefo]

[VetPsychWars]

[zackh411]

[abundrefo]

[VetPsychWars]

[yourbrass]

Abundrefo,
Here's my checklist for a Martin:

A. Open series notes, our C, G, C. Are they comfortably in tune? G above the staff, does it play sharp?

B. Ab on the staff, is it low?

C. Does the horn feel "easy" to play, fleet, you can get around quickly?

If all those check out, it's a possible winner. Some Martins aren't worth bothering with, the year 1957 isn't very important either.
_________________
"Strive for tone." -John Coppola
Edwards X-13
ACB MV3C /ACB A1/26 backbore
https://yourbrass.com/

[Hugh Anderson]

Look carefully at the valves. A new plating job is seriously expensive. (Lesson learned the hard way).

[trumpaholic]

I have owned 4 Martin Committee horns from the mid 40's. I have played about 5 from the fifties. In my opinion, the fifties horns are not nearly as good in intonation or quality of timbre as the 40's horns.
_________________
Have horn, will travel!

[lipshurt]

with martins from the 50s here is what you look for...
1) the middle G in the staff can be sharp. Thats weird, and can be hard to get used to, and not all them are that way. its really hard to get ironed out too. Alignment doesn't do it, or any of the other things like inserts, etc. I think it a product of a distorted bell tail. Lots of them are oval shaped or have had dents removed, or have dents there.
2) If the Ab is flat, its because the 3rd slide is cut long. That is a feature, not a problem. At a certain point they cut the slide shorter. Serial numbers in the 40s and early 50's have the long slide. I had an RMC martin that the serial number said should be late 50s, and it had the shorter slide. I know that does not add up, but i know that number 155XXX had a shorter slide, and 135XXX had the longer slide. Its fairly easy to shorten the slide. I do it on all my 22B conns that have the longer slide.
3) High B natural can be flat, and so to too the middle B. The second slide needs to be tight. Easy fix usually
4) Burbley low register when playing fast notes. Middle register too. Caused by tension in the braces or body. Hart to fix, but adding a brace helps.
_________________
Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[abundrefo]

[plankowner110]

Or, you could buy a brand new Schilke Handcraft.
_________________
C. G. Conn 60B Super Connstellation
Getzen 800S Eterna cornet
Bach 5C (Jens Lindemann is right)
https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26763

[scipioap]

Or you could buy a brand new Adams A9. Just played my #3 bore with a new ACB 3C-FX deep hybrid piece. What an outstanding combination. It's like trumpet nirvana. Trent's a genius.

Muito Obrigado!
_________________
1963 Martin Committee #3
1962 Martin Committee Cornet #3
1961 Martin Custom Committee C
1941 Martin HC Committee #2
1945 Martin Committee #2
1942 Martin HC Committee Cornet
1941 Martin IBICO Indiana
2012 Kanstul 1525 SLB
1977 Olds CT Flugel

[abundrefo]

[kehaulani]

I'm a comeback player, currently mediocre but formerly not bad.

I had my '56 Committee in the shop for a minor repair and when I got it back, the brass repairman said he loved the horn, not only as a combo horn, but as a lead horn, as well. Don't trust me, but you can trust him.

FWIW, I got it from a guy in Austria for around €800.00 ten years ago. The horn was/is in perfect playing condition, and cosmetically it's just fine.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[abundrefo]

Well...

This story headed to the most unexpected and exciting outcome.

I contacted the seller and checked some pictures of his 1957 Committee and it seems the lead pipe was bent a bit, in a strange "wavy" way. This really affected a great part of my curiosity.

Meanwhile, I visited a friend who collects horns and he offered me his 1951 Olds Recording for my flugel. WOW!!! What a great horn!

I didn't play my flugel this much and I really have a sweet tooth for old horns, so this made me so very happy!

Serial is 638XXX, with (what seems to be) a nickel-silver lead pipe and a rose (red-ish) bell... Re-O-Loy bell???? So, is this right? Is it a 1951 horn? Anyway...

Apart from a few dings along the bell tube, it is in great shape. The original lacker is about 85% good. Compression is pretty good! ...and the tone is amazing! I tried it with a few of my favorite mouthpieces and it sounded particularly good with my Curry 3TC. It is the best match ever for my 1-28 Al Cass as well...

I did try a few other Martin Committees at Dillon in 2011 and a couple of late serial Martins at J. Landress' shop. By that time, I didn't get along with the loose slotting feeling and funky response of those particular horns. Nothing wrong with the horns I guess, specially with the ones I tried at Josh's shop. Actually I liked some of his Conn horns a lot better...

But this Olds Recording sort of gives me the best of both worlds!

Thanks for all the advice, guys!

[TrumpetMD]

It sounds like the OP has made a decision, but here's my 2-cents, even though it's maybe a day late.

For me, buying a Committee might be like buying a house. Of course, I want a house that I personally like. But I also want a house that others would like, in case I want to sell it someday.

So an important aspect of the OP's original question is what other's think of 1957 Committee in general, to assess whether it would have any resale value in the future. In other words, are Committees from the late 50's as valuable as the earlier models?

Mike
_________________
Bach Stradivarius 43* Trumpet (1974), Bach 6C Mouthpiece.
Bach Stradivarius 184 Cornet (1988), Yamaha 13E4 Mouthpiece
Olds L-12 Flugelhorn (1969), Yamaha 13F4 Mouthpiece.
Plus a few other Bach, Getzen, Olds, Carol, HN White, and Besson horns.

[scipioap]

I have a related question. Here's a 1956 Deluxe Committee being auctioned which the seller is touting as a Large (.468") Bore. Consequently, the bid has initially skyrocketed. But it's missing the '3' engraved above the serial number. Is it possible Martin made Large Bore Committees without the 3?

Vintage Martin Deluxe Committee Ex Large Bore Trumpet w Holton Heim 2 Mouthpiece | eBay


_________________
1963 Martin Committee #3
1962 Martin Committee Cornet #3
1961 Martin Custom Committee C
1941 Martin HC Committee #2
1945 Martin Committee #2
1942 Martin HC Committee Cornet
1941 Martin IBICO Indiana
2012 Kanstul 1525 SLB
1977 Olds CT Flugel

[yourbrass]