How to Purchase a TrumpetThe Bell
One-piece bell
The bell is made from a piece of flat sheet brass, cut with shape of a flair, that is wrapped around a mandrel. This necessitates a seam that needs to be brazed. The metal is then reshaped by hammering and stretching to form the tapered tube and bell. The metal hardens during this process and can become brittle. To avoid cracking the metal is softened by heating it to a red hot and then rapidly cooling it. This is called annealing. The final shape of the bell is obtained by burnishing on a spinning mandrel.
Two-piece bell
The bell tail is drawn as you would make a flute headjoint for example with no seam, or it is made the same way as the one piece bell by starting with a flat sheet of brass. The flair is spun from a disc that is brazed onto the bell tail and then burnished on a spinning mandrel.
In both cases the rim of the bell is rolled around a wire to provide stiffening.
So what is the acoustical difference between these 2 bells? Trumpets are generally 1 piece, Trombones can be either and French Horns are two piece. In the one piece bell the thinnest part is the bell rim and in the two-piece it is in the flare where the bell tail and flare are joined. Vibrations will differ even if the two different bells have the same shape.
Red Brass versus gold Brass versus Yellow Brass Bells
A Red Brass Bell (which is softer) sound is often described as a dark, warm, broad tone. A Yellow Brass Bell sound is said to be balanced with a quick response. They're just different. One is not better than the other. it just adds to the options and choices and confusion we face choosing an instrument. Yellow Brass Bells are the most common.
If you were to compare the sound of a trumpet, one with a lead bell and the other with a stainless steel bell, which do you think would have the biggest sound.? Many people test a bell by tapping it with their finger and listening for the ring. In this situation the steel bell would have a very ringing sound BUT when played would sound dead. The lead bell on the other hand would have an extremely brilliant sound. In the case of a silver versus a silver plated flute headjoint, the plated headjoint would 'ring' when struck with our fingernail and the silver one would not. Of course the silver headjoint has the better sound.
Lacquer versus silver plated
The silver plated and the UNlacquered instrument play very much the same whereas the lacquered instrument doesn't. This can be explained by the fact that lacquer is much thicker than the plating. Good lacquer is baked on, is as hard as glass and can actually double the thickness of the brass bell (the bell is lacquered on both inside and outside surfaces). Many of our customers bring their instruments to us for lacquer removal!! Of course brass doesn't stay shinny if left to the elements
Leadpipe
The lead pipe is tapered from the receiver to the main tuning slide. It is often referred to as the venturi. Varying tapers can change the tone, volume, timbre etc. of the instrument. The rate of taper has the biggest effect. A fast taper results in a warm tone and the slow taper results in a bright sound. The rate of taper of the leadpipe also defines the resistance in the instrument. A shorter taper is freer blowing.
Reverse leadpipe versus standard
The reverse leadpipe allows for a longer leadpipe as the main tuning slide goes over top rather than inside the leadpipe. It can therefore increase the length of the taper. The airflow is smoother as the airsteam does not bump up against the edge of the male end of the tuning slide like it does on a standard leadpipe. Many players prefer the reverse leadpipe as they say it plays more evenly.
Often leadpipes are made of 'Gold Brass' and not Yellow Brass like the bell. Gold Brass has less Zinc in it making it more resistant to zincification (see article 'All About Brass').This is important as the leadpipe is the first place on the trumpet to corrode.
Bore Size
The bore size of a trumpet can be determined by the size of the inside slide tubes of the each of the valve slides. A small bore is .450, a medium is .459-.462 and large bore is .468, with XL being .472.At the end of the day most players play medium bore. Large bore are generally professional orchestral instruments. The smaller bore for jazz.
Valves
Monel plated valves (monel is 67% nickel, 32% copper and 1% iron) are more common than nickel plated these days. Originally valves were just plain brass but they corroded too quickly. Nickel plating resists corrosion and many manufacturers use nickel, however, it is susceptible to flaking off .Monel on the other hand is far more resistant to corrosion. It is a very hard and wear resistant alloy.
It is recommended that monel valves be oiled everytime they are played and before being stored.
Conclusion
Just a few more interesting bits:
- Metal valve guides can darken the sound
- Differences in bell size and leadpipe design will have more effect on the sound than bore size
- A thicker leadpipe can give a better tone and response.
- Heavy weight trumpets have thicker metal throughout and deliver more power, better control and a richer sound.
- Larger Bells produce a darker, freeblowing feel and smaller bells offer a more controlled brilliant tone.
Manufacturers are generally pretty good at matching up leadpipe with bore size with bell etc. This article is intended to enlighten you as to what 'makes' a trumpet and what those descriptions of trumpets in the sales brochures mean.
Experimenting with different leadpipes and bells (and waterkeys!!) is definitely something that can be done at the high end of the market and we can guide you through this process.
We can adapt your trumpet so that you can interchange bells and leadpipes. As well if your leadpipe is attacked by corrosion we can replace it with the exact leadpipe.
