~1920 Barendsen “Symphony” Bb-A-C Trumpet
Trumpet envy is a powerful thing. At one point, Chris had procured a 1920’s Conn 22b and I was hit with a potent case of it. I decided that if he was going to get a great vintage horn like that, then I wanted one too. So, I set out looking for a relatively inexpensive antique horn in marginally good shape to mess around with. When I came across this horn online, the seller had polished the bell but the rest of the horn was black with tarnish, making it very difficult to see what kind of shape it was in. It was also a no-name brand, likely a stencil horn of questionable lineage, and not likely to be a superstar player. Still, the price was right and I wasn’t looking for much, so we welcomed it into the fold. It’s a very unusual horn with a strange wrap and it plays in three keys. I don’t know if it’s supposed to play in C, but with the extender slide out, it does a really good job of it. We cleaned it up and polished it only to find it in very, very good condition. It is finished in satin silver, with hand engraving in polished silver and gold wash in the bell. Boy, were we wrong to think this thing wouldn’t be a great player! It sounds absolutely amazing, beating an almost brand new Bach Stradivarius and a Yamaha Xeno in a blind play test. It’s got a gorgeous ring to the tone, and the valves are like melted butter. We later found out that this trumpet was manufactured by a man named William Frank, who made some of the most innovative and high quality instruments and components of his day. Needless to say, even though the Conn
22b (and the one I eventually bought for myself to match Chris’s)
ended up on the auction block, this little horn will never be sold. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to, and I doubt I’ll ever find another one as special as this one.
Click images for full view
