dbacon

I recently purchased Mel Broiles CG Benge from Dillon Music. He played this trumpet the last ten years or so of his career, and this is a very fine instrument. The sound is full with plenty of brilliance, projection. Slotting is very smooth. Response, pitch excellent with just a couple of notes needing attention (E, Eflat at the top of the staff. Just a bit flat. F is right on, the rest of the scale is very good.). It definitly has it's own character, plenty of color to chose from with such a light weight instrument.

Slides and valves a plenty tight. The main tuning slide was re-fit, no leaking at all.

He modified the valves by opening up the bottom of each valve with a small punch, the shape of a small screw driver. This allows the air to not compress much as you depress the valves, slowing down the action. I think the original vents were too small causing the air to compress under the valve and between the cap.

This trumpet will be played a lot, and well taken care of. I just hope it's not too disappointed by how I play!

yaynor

Hi Dave
I read your post with interest as I have a wonderful L.A. Benge 3x ml bore.This trumpet has the vents as you describe them on it's valves.I often wondered what that was about. The machining is clean and looks like it was done at the factory. This trumpet has the spring boxes plated with the serial number stamped on each valve. Very nicely done.It's well in tune and is a joy to play.
I also have a5x which only has a hole at the valve bottom and the spring boxes are not plated and not stamped.This a later L.A Benge probably made by King.
Good luck with the Broiles horn.
Yaynor

lonelyangel

Hi Dave sounds like you got yourself a great horn - I always prefered the ML Benges myself and played a 1955 ML Burbank Benge for about 20 years.

What really got me excited about your post was the mention of Mel Broiles. I have come across very few people who are familiar with him over here. Was he with the NY Met? I am intereseted in any biographical information about him, primarily because I love his books - Studies and Duets books 1, 2 & 3.
These form the mainstay of my classical practice on a daily basis. I think they are amongst the most intelligent and musically written studies i have come across. The pieces are very demanding and yet everything about the writing makes sense. The notes really fit onto the horn, fall under the fingers and facilitate improvements in various technical disciplines in a beautiful way. If I follow carefully the dynamics, expression markings, phrasing and tounging suggestions and play with commitment and passion then you find yourself able to execute passages which at first seem beyond me. Almost every piece would, IMHO be worthy of inclusion in a solo recital. He must have been a fantastic player and a giant of a musician.

The Duets in the books are so much fun, extremely hard but beautifully written. Each part is as important as the other and they seem complete pieces of music in their on right - no sense of missing an acompaniment.

I have used these books with my students for several years now - and I wondered if he published any other material which I might enjoy getting to know?

All the best, Noel.

Sol

Yes Noel, he was 1st trumpet in the Met Orchestra in New York for over 40 years I believe. He was a fantastic trumpet player. I studies with him in the 70's. I remember that he was really into playing piccolo trumpet back then. He called it "the instrument of the future". We used to play the St. Jacomes etudes together. I would be struggling to play the etude, while he would play the same etude an octave above me!

He also used to compose etudes all of the time. He would hand them out to us during our lessons. Only God knows where those photocopies are today.

He was part of the NY school, along with players such as Vacchiano (who taught Broiles) and John Ware. Very strong, powerful players, with scintillating sounds. He believed that one's embouchure should be "as high as possible" on the upper lip so it could "withstand the beating that it would surely recieve". He changed my embouchure. I think it ended up working out...somehow.
w