| From what I have heard and read, Cannonball trumpets are probably made by B&S in Germany, shipped over either as parts, or horns that have been basically assembled, but the final assembly and hand tweaking happen in Salt Lake City.
The stone? I doubt if the stone itself has anything to do with the sound or focus, but I do believe that the added weight at that location could possibly alter the way that the trumpet resonates, so while I believe the semi-precious stone part of it is more or less a gimmick, I think that the mounting where the stone is located could be the real McCoy.
I've chit-chatted online with a guy who has played one, a college student majoring in music, and he swears they play great, (his favorite model was the raw brass model) so I don't think they are just for show.
To me, from what they look like, it looks like a Strad with a stone on it. If they really have gone to great lengths to make sure they are assembled with care and adjusted for best resonance, they could very well be real players. Just for comparison's sake, we've all heard the stories about someone who took an old Strad, had it more or less rebuilt, (disassembled and reassembled with care) and it turned into a wonderful horn once the process was complete.
That's my take - the Cannonball is more or less a handbuilt Strad that plays very well, and has a gem stone stuck on it as a gimmick to make it distinct.
__________________ Patrick Gleason
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"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
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