Milliens trumpets

kmm0805 · Regular Member Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Posts: 99

Does anyone know anything about Milliens (Paris) trumpets? Or can you point me in the direction to where I can find out about this brand? Thanks!!

ConnArtist · Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:54 am Post subject:

I would try the folks at horn-u-copia. There is a lot of knowledge there on funky, rare, and unusual horns.

http://www.horn-u-copia.net

ravel · Veteran Member Joined: 22 Oct 2005 Posts: 127

Mr. Milliens died in the mid 1980s. His nephew took over the company. Mr. Milliens bought all the tooling from the thibouville Co. sometime in the early 1950s. I was at the factory just before he died and it was truely amazing. They built a beautiful C trumpet for me. The factory was just several blocks away from the new paris opera rue Crespin du Gast. Like stepping back into a time capsule. The trumpets were mostly custom built to order, but not many. Mostly they made money by making bugles for the french army. They now are mostly concerned with making hunting horns. You don't see many of these horns arond and that's what got my attention of this post. Dave Hickman has a beautiful Milliens F trumpet. I don't think they make trumpets at all any more.

kmm0805 · Regular Member Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Posts: 99

Thanks ravel!

The reason for the post is that I was given a Milliens long bell B-flat three valve piccolo trumpet a little over a year ago and am just now trying to find some info on it.

Since you mention they did mostly custom work, is it possible that the stamp on the side of the bell that says "model voisin" could've been a custom build?

ravel · Veteran Member Joined: 22 Oct 2005 Posts: 127

Roger was a friend of Mr. Milliens and lent him some of his horns to copy, and Roger would play test some of them when he was in Paris. Specifically, his Thibouville-Lamy c trumpet and his couesnon Bb picc. They also worked together on an f/g. I suspect the picc you have is from that collaboration. I have a brochure somewhere that has a four valve picc but not the three valve. What you have I'm sure is a fairly rare beast, as I don't think they sold or made all that many horns. For many years they were the bugle makers for the french military.

feev · New Member Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

I just came across 2 milliens tpts. silver plate

C has 7 8 9 on valve and the Eflat/D has 22 23 24

what do I have on my hands?

Steve Lefebvre feev@earthlink.net

Thanks

robcs · Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:20 pm Post subject:

I'm going to revive this thread because I've just bought a J Milliens flugelhorn

I'm curious to see how it plays. As a vintage French horn, I'm hoping for something approaching the Couesnon sound.

I'll post a few comparison videos once I get it (though there may be a brief delay while I get a mouthpiece lol)
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MRtpt · Regular Member Joined: 20 Feb 2011 Posts: 58

I have what I believe is a Milliens piccolo trumpet. The name on the bell is mostly gone but it certainly could be. It’s a 3 valve long model in Bb with the bell and the leadpipe on the same side of the valves. It looks similar though not exactly like some the old Couesnons.

Mark
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Mark
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