Sterling Silver Bells-Worth the Extra Money?

rebelatheart · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 10:55 am Post subject:

I am looking for input from anyone who has played a horn with a sterling silver bell. I've looked through past posts and the descriptions are all over the place. Some have decribed the sound as bright, others flat, still other say they sound very rich with great overtones. So, WHICH IS IT? Bach's and Conn V1's both offer them, but nobody around here has any to try. Anyone out there tried Strad's or V1's back to back with sterling bells vs. say yellow brass?
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trumpetchops · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 2644

I played one a wile back and liked it. A guy in the store herd me playing and came in to listen. He played the trumpet and said it was terrible.

I would get one from the Brasswind and try it. If you buy it you can get your money back. If you take it on trial they will charge you a restocking fee. I learned that the hard way.

Jonny Boy · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 11:22 am Post subject:

I have a Bach sterling silver bell trumpet and absolutely love it!
I think it has a slightly fuller sound than the normal Bach strad. You can really push it, the sound remains focused and really sings.
Check out the Bach demo CD recorded by Charley Davis. He plays a normal Bach and then a Bach sterling silver bell trumpet so you can compare the difference between them.
A few studio players in L.A. use them because they record well. If you're after a bright sound, then check out Teddy Mulet's playing with Gloria Estefan.
Some people think they don't feel responsive on the chops but I've never had this problem.
The Conn V1 is a heavier trumpet than the Bach and may feel very dead with the sterling bell. Having said that I haven't tried this set-up so would recommend you play them both before deciding.

[ This Message was edited by: Jonny Boy on 2003-11-30 14:27 ]

trumpetmike · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 11:27 am Post subject:

I have tried a few Bach Sterling Silver bells and not been overly impressed by them, but two of my Bach addicted colleagues swear by them.

Saying that, the finest of the Vintage 1 trumpets that I have played was a Sterling Silver bell - and I like the Vintage 1s a lot!

If you can get the chance to try one before you but, do so. It may cost a little more getting the instrument to you to try, but it could save you a large amount if you decide that this sort of bell is not for you. How desperate are you for the new trumpet? My recommendation would be to attend a TrumpetFest or the ITG conference where you can try these things out.

SHS_Trumpet · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 11:51 am Post subject:

One of the best bach's I ever played was a sterling bell horn. If you can find one used then go for it, they are awfully pricey new.
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oneeyedhobbit · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 11:58 am Post subject:

I absolutely love my Sterling Belled CV1. To my mind, the sound was much richer and warmer than that generated by the yellow brass-the yellow brass was quite a bit brighter in comparisn. Having said that, you would still be wise to try it yourself, and definitely get a second opinion (i.e. have someone listen to you, do a blind test (them play and you choose which you like, vice versa)).

kerouack · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 12:13 pm Post subject:

I tried a stomvi with silver bell, different material = different sound, and more expensive material does not mean that the sound is "better", the sound is just different, may be you like it better, may be not. I dont like it better than gold brass or red brass. just try it.

pjtpt · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 5:23 pm Post subject:

I tried a sterling bell V1 a couple of days ago and you really had to "step on it" in order to get to ring or resonate well. I liked the sound once you cranked it up but I wouldn't call it a gentle playing horn. [I was playing with the 'square' tuning slide and w/o the valve cap weighting system.] The salesman at the store said much the same thing, that the sterling bell was "dead" unless at high volume levels.

hazmat · Heavyweight Member Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 669

I have a sterling silver bell on my Bach C trumpet. It has much better resonance than the plain C trumpet. It plays much louder and has a better sound as well. Supposedly it is supposed to help the overtones come out more.

BADBOY-DON · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2003 4:57 pm Post subject:

Hummm? My old Selmer has a sterling bell that my director picked up for me on his trip to Europe in 1960. Long story short...Donald had a pretty hard sell trying to convince them, that he had a player in Forest Grove Ore. that was "worthy of such a horn" as in those early days...so many traveling rich ugly Americans were trying to buy these speciality horns with "speciality bells. In those days Selmer took huge pride in making custom horns for only a few "worthy young American artists" and because of Donald T's smoooze'-job, he was able to "glean me this little small bore DeVille designed trumpet that later made it to the Amercian market under the intermediate label and was mass produced and sold for all kinds of "unworthy "Ugly American spoiled brat kind of BadBoy wanna be trumpet players. However these state side horns had the gold brass bell and lighter weight lead pipe and mp. receivers. However compared to many American horns and other mass produced horns of the 60's, even that little state sides DeVille was a huge value and had a beautiful sound.
I was fortunate enough to test my custom belled DeVille with the heavier leadpipe, against the new breed of mass produced Selmer DeVilles...and to my amazement...these new cheaper DeVilles had a huge sound...even bigger than mine with the Sterling bell. The only difference seemed that the Sterling bell had not only a brighter sound...but also a more musical regal sound if played at softer volume. My individual Sterling bell horn...just didn't seem to like being pushed with more air and sounded harsh or a bit raspy or metallic, compared to the ones with the brass belled versions. However it could have been the the leadpipe...as the one on my DeVille is extremely small in dia. due to the thicker gauge metal in the leadpipe?

However playing softly and with regular volume...the resultant or overtones and timbre' of this Sterling bell....is truly regal and easy to hear the difference. Better in Sterling..Hummm????? Not necessarily so...just different.