| Hi all,
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
First to answer a couple of questions for MPM:
Dave Trigg's Calicchio - Med. bore / 3L or 2s leadpipe cut slightly under 13 and 1/16th inches long ( he's deciding about leadpipe as we speak - both have a .340 opening ) / 1s-Z bell / Reversed Leadpipe / very minimal bracing ( ala Schilke )
very litewight valve casing and tubing. It's a real " Flame Thrower ".
As you know, the shorter the leadpipe ( within reason ) the farther down the bell the nodal pattern ends up and the closer the slots become when you play high , but it's alot easier to crack also. A very fine line.
Maury Harris's trumpet - Maury played a Olds Super Recording and Olds Studio when he played the Tonight Show ( he owned several Calicchio's , but because he played 4th trumpet on the show, he like what his Old's did for him there ). He's the trumpet player that sat on the camera end of the section. ( Johnny Audino, Snooky Young, Conte Candoli and Mauriy Harris )
Johnny Audino mentioned to me on several occasions, that the section always sounded better when Maury was playing in it. A good player is still a good player no matter where he sits.
Maury also played " the Hollywood Palace Show " for many years which was a live broadcast with a trumpet section that was made up of Maury , Jimmy Zito ( Calicchio player ) , John Audino and Mannie Klein.
F.E. Olds ( Anaheim )was very generous with their product when they were still in Anaheim with the LA Players. If you remember, Bobby Shew endorsed the Olds " Studio " before his tenure with Yamaha.
The Anaheim F.E. Old trumpets are a very under-rated , high quality line of trumpets, in my opinion. ( they finally was bought as a division of Chicago Musical Instruments and moved to 7373 N. Cicero Ave, Lincolnwood, Ill.in the early 70's ) and should be more sought after.
Back to Calicchio bells:
In Dominic's day , he used 2 alloys for his bells . Standard Brass and his " B " bell which was a bronze type alloy. His " B " bells would be slightly lighter and would have that Beryllium quality to it, projecting farther.
I do have a couple of old Calicchio's with " B " bells on them and I always wanted to have them tested for exactly what alloy he used.
Dominic actually made Stainless Steel bells , which are recorded in his register , but I can't tell you why ( Chris or Irma didn't know either ) or what it sounded like. I imagine it would sound very metallic and sound would compact and travel very well.
We can call this one the " Marching Band " bell ( correct me if anyone has better information on a SS bell uses )
Tulsa - Calicchio now uses 3 thickness of metal gauges and 5 different alloys These are the thickness of the flat brass they use for forming the bells.
The Calicchio bells now are made up of different metals ( still using Dominic's original mandrill's ) from the " Z " bell which is bronze / copper / brass mixture close to Dominic's " B " alloy bell but without any so-called toxic components, Regular Brass,
, Gold Brass , Solid Copper and Sterling Sliver.
" L " bell - under 15 gauge flat brass - sometimes as low a 10 gauge for very special orders. Oh course, the thinner the initial flat brass the more likely the bell will split when being put thru the bell making process.
Regular bell - slightly under a 20 gauge
" U " bell - this is 25 gauge or better.
They are all still hand made at the factory in a very time consuming process. Formed from flat brass and brazed with a single seam down the length of the bell, I.e.: one piece bell, drawn , annealed , cooled and hammered many times over and over before the final product. Also, not always in that order.
John is also getting back to the very lightweight casing that Dominic's Calicchio produced.
I have been told many times, by some old-timers around town ( not old guys ) that their favorite Calicchio's had such a thin brass valve casing , that if you squeezed them too hard while playing , your valves would actually " hang-up, but " Oh, what a sound " they'd say.
I don't believe John is going quite that far with his designs, but he intends to get as close as he can to the original versions without this " valve " problem occurring.
More to come,
Larry
In comparison, the Bel Canto used a 24 gauge flat brass sheet and the Scodwell uses a 25 gauge flat brass sheet. I do have a par of digital calipers and micrometers that can make measurements after the finished product , but as you well know alot is done to the thickness of the metal after the bell making and buffing process as occurred , not to mention lacquering, sliverplate or goldplateing adding to a final measurement. |