Paul Ayick Vintage Brass
Trumpets, Cornets, Brass, Misc Other Winds...
I buy, sell, and trade vintage trumpets, cornets, and other brass and wind instruments as they become available. Some of my satisfied customers include players from the Chicago Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. More and more, players seem to be discovering the joy of playing and owning some of these wonderful vintage instruments. The workmanship, detailing, and tone can be astounding.
To view my items currently being offered for sale click on "for sale" button above.
I currently am offering some really nice horns check them out in the "For Sale" section!!! If something on my site you see interests you but is not in the list e-mail me.
(bulos@earthlink.net)
I strive for accuracy in the descriptions of each horn I sell, and all horns are shipped securely packaged, fully insured and sent promptly. If you are someone who just discovered "Uncle Harry's" old horn in the attic, well then, you are just the kind of person I would like to hear from! I work entirely from my home in South Florida where I also work as a trumpet player. I enjoy hearing from anyone with a question, comment, or just to say hello, I always have time to "talk trumpet", however I am not a free appraisal service so please don't e-mail me asking what your horn is worth; I can provide this service however.
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MY COLLECTION
Once you go to any particular directory it is a simple matter to view all the images therein as thumbnail sized images.. To accomplish this merely click on the fileman.htm file and wait for the thumbnails to load.
Here are some shots of some of the horns in my collection. To see all the photos and all the horns pick the appropriate horn from the "my collection" area above. Lots of horns to see!
KING Master Model Trumpet
Pre-WWI trumpets are rare and these two old King Master Model Bb trumpets date from around 1905 and 1910 repectively. The silver one is a small (.445) bore was made probably around 1910 and the horn came to me in mint condition with all the accessories. The original mouthpieces are more like old cornet ones probably due to the fact that the "trumpet sound" had not fully caught on yet. The woman I got this from told me it was her husbands and that whenever Louis Armstrong was in their area he would go sit in with him on this horn. The gold one was made earlier perhaps around 1905 or even earlier and is a medium (.455) bore horn.
Conn 2B Gold Plated Bb Trumpet Extra Fancy Engraving
This gorgeous late 20's gold plated 2B Conn was the top of the line in it's day and it still plays good I think even by today's standards.It is a very responsive horn and I play it in big bands and small group settings. The engravings extend to inside the bell, I've never seen this on any other Conn before. It is a ML .458" bore and rather light, similiar in blow to a vintage French Besson Brevete or or later period Meha.
W.C.Handy and his Conn 2B!
Conn 2B Gold Plated Bb Trumpet
Another late 20's gold plated 2B Conn This one plays a bit darker and more open than the one above but I like them both, these 2B's are one of the best designs Coinn ever produced in my opinion. Check out the great engravings.
Conn Gold Plated Bb Trumpet 1921
This 1921 Conn was in excellent condition when I found it. Quite by accident it received a beautiful gold refinish by Anderson Silver Plating. They did an incredible job and the horn looks much as it would have in 1921. It is a really nice open blow and the sound is fat. I guess you have surmised that I like these vintage Conns! They were an incredible company and some of the designs they introduced in trumpets through the first 60 years of the last century were radical and still hold their own. They put money into research and development and it showed in the quality of the instruments. It's no wonder so many of the great players of the past favored them.
One of a kind fabrication Bb Trumpet; Buescher-Pilczuk-Conn.
This is a horn I fabricated from various component parts; a Buescher body, Conn "Coprion" bell and a Pilkzuk copper leadpipe. Anderson did the cosmetics. I use this as my main trumpet and it has some nice characteristics, I especially like the dark but not edgeless sound which I attribute to the copper leadpipe and the bell. I have a few more of these "Ayicks" and I will probably have them refinished and sell the ones I can part with without enduring too much pain and heartbreak.
Custom fabricated Olds/Conn
This is a custom fabricated horn I assembled using a Conn 5 1/8" bell, Pilkzuk leadpipe and an Olds valve section. A first valve saddle and full pinky ring was added. This horn plays great in a big band setting, it is loud, fat and the big bell makes hearing yourself a bit easier. Finish is brushed lacquer with lacquered silver plate trim done by my friends at Anderson Silver Plating in Elkhart, IN .
Custom fabricated Olds/Benge (sold)
This is another custom fabricated horn I assembled using an LA #2 Benge bell and a Olds valve section. A red brass leadpipe replaces the original Olds pipe and a first valve saddle and full pinky ring was added. This horn plays great, it is a real joy and one of my best experiments, it's playing characteristic are reminiscent of a good old Besson.
Rare French Besson "Fabrication" Bb Trumpet Circa 1935
This French Besson trumpet was made sometime in the mid 30's probably and rather then me bore you with opinion I will post what I learned from noted authority Niles Eldredge: "Two concerns were importing Besson trumpets to NY in the 1930s---- both without the Besson name, as it was ilegal to import Bessons from France then (because the English branch kept anglophone export rights when they bought out the French family in 1895-1896).Both said only "Fabrication Francaise Perfectionée"; Later, there was the diamond Meha stamp added. One was the Leisch boys (Oscar, predominantly)--- who brought in what would have been a normal "Grands Prix" trumpet (i.e. with the medals), --set up with third slide tuning--with the throw ring below and the stop rod on top; this is the ax that Bach copied (but with the ring on top--the stop rod on the bottom) (Besson thought you shouldn't have your left hand in contact with the bell--so they set it up lower).The other was Joseph Rapuano--who brought in a model we have never seen for sale in Europe--but which is a throw back to their earliest days (I have a 1888 "Rapuano): long third valve slide, no tuning; first valve tuning (again underneath--). "...........Thanks to Niles.. This one is a Rapuano that I was able to restore recently. .445 bore but surprisingly free and powerful.
Before:
After:
I am trying to decide how, or even if, to refinish this horn ; it looks kind of nice like this what do you think?
Rare French Besson "Brevete" Bb Trumpet Circa 1935
The standard by which all other trumpets are judged is the orignal French Besson trumpet. Bach, Benge, Schilke, Olds, Conn, King, etc; they all studied and tried to copy the designs of these great old horns. Besson had a few different models; the "Fabrication" , the "Meha" (named after one of the Besson family daughters) , and the "Brevete", (which actually just means patented), like the one pictured here from my collection is a .464" bore. Information on these old pre-Boosey & Hawkes (pre- WW II) Bessons is hard to come by, but, noted vintage brass expert and master technician Robb Stewart told me this; "The large bore (.468") MEHA didn't appear until after WWII. The Rapuana versions are usually medium bore, but this one (a pre- WWII Meha he has) is ML (.460"). I don't believe that there was a .464" bore." Anything Robb tells me I take as fact, he is the man, along with Niles Elderedge who has compiled the best Besson dating chart I know of. The Benge MLP, long a favorite of lead players, is a direct copy of these old Besson "Brevettes." A truly sensational trumpet to play.
The English Besson 2-20 Bb Trumpet ( All SOLD)
I don't believe I ever met a more knowledgeable, nicer person in my years of online trading of vintage trumpets then one Mr. Roger Steward. Roger had a wealth of experience as a player, his career of some 60 years included playing in the Oklahoma City Orchestra for 20 years, Rochester Philharmonic, Clyde McCoy and more. I remember telling him how much I enjoyed playing my old Brevete and he asked if I had ever played any English Bessons. I said no, not really, and he said, "get your hands on an English Besson 2-20 and move the leadpipe brace forward to the tuning slide, (ala the French Besson Brevete), it will play great !" Well I found one, did what he said, and he was right ! These are very nice horns, great for jazz. They are light, easy blowing, responsive and you can get a bright or dark sound from them. I now have three and will put two of them in the "For Sale" section. They all have nice original cases and I added first valve slide saddles as well as completing the brace alteration per Mr. Steward. Thanks Roger and RIP.
Very Rare Conn "French Style" Bb Trumpet Circa 1923
This is the only Conn trumpet from this time period that I have ever seen with the forward facing 2nd valve crook and hanging 3rd valve slide ring. Both of these features are specific to the old French Bessons; perhaps Conn was copying them? I have never seen this horn listed in any of the old Conn catalogs either. If anyone has any information I'd love to hear about it. This is a .458 bore finished in satin and burnished gold.
Conn 10A Cornet Converted to a Trumpet (SOLD)
I have found that by changing the leadpipes on these mid-late 50's Conn Victors, (10B, 6B, and in this case a 10A long cornet) these horns seem to play easier, slot nicely, the blow opens up, and they produce a very big, dark, tone. Even with the stock pipe these are very nice players. I think this is the real "Conn Vintage One". A real nice horn to play provided you are after a broad sound.. It's easy to see where the current crop of horn makers get their horn design concepts.
Conn 40 B circa 1932 (SOLD)
This gorgeous old Conn features heavy burnished gold plate, art-deco streamlined design, and wonderful engravings al the way up the bell. It is also a very nice horn to play with a very brilliant, easy upper register. The second photo is a close-up of the pan flute player engraving on the bell.
Conn 48B Voca Bell Wide Model
This is the "bigger brother" of the 40B introduced some 6 years later. They were made from 1938-1951 while the 40B was in production from 1932-1941. . it is the same .458 (Conn's # 1 1/2) bore as the 40B but has a wider bow and a less brillant, more dense sound. This is one of my favorite Conns to play.
Conn 2B circa 1925 (SOLD)
I fully restored and then had this one custom plated by Anderson Silver Plating. They also re-fit the valves. This is one of the prettiest trumpets Conn ever made with all the nice stop rods and very romantic styling. I couldn't let this old beauty die a grizzly death, just didn't have the heart . Hats off to Anderson for some great work.
