1952 New York Bach Stradivarius Medium bore Bb trumpet

This is a 1952 New York Bach that is being sold for the son of the original owner, whose name is on the shop card. It is not a closet queen/collector trumpet but still has a lot of life left in it and is in very good playing condition.  This trumpet plays very well with a full vibrant sound and a singing upper register.  We rarely hype how well a horn plays, but this one is an impressive player.

The shop card shows a medium (.453) bore and there is an "M" stamped on the valve casing and the bore measures .453 at the second valve slide, but the bell is marked on the shop card as a 43 mandril and the bell is stamped “Mount Vernon” so since this trumpet was made about a year before the first Mount Vernon models were produced, this bell has been replaced, but there is no history regarding how or why the bell was replaced. There is no number stamped on the bell, but we have taken measurements and determined that it is a 37 bell.

The leadpipe is not marked, so it could also be a replacement, but by this era of production, Bach was not consistently stamping the leadpipe number on the receiver, so it could be the original 7 leadpipe. The leadpipe and tuning slide show signs of dezincification, so they may need some attention at some point in the future, but are still functional at present.

The trumpet has been relacquered in the distant past, perhaps when the bell was replaced. The lacquer shows some wear as shown in the photos.  There has been some professional dent work on the bell tail.

The valves do not appear to have been replated but they are smooth and fast and the compression is  good.

Another interesting feature of Bachs of this era is the gold brass balusters (upper part of the valve casing).  Other than the bell, all parts appear to the original on this trumpet with matching serial numbers on the piston spring barrels, top caps and valve stems.

This trumpet comes with the original case in good condition, but with latches that no longer spring (but they do catch). Also included are a nice collection of vintage mutes and three well used mouthpieces:  a vintage Rudy Muck 17C, a raw brass NY Bach 10 ½ C and an unmarked mouthpiece.

As noted above, the trumpet plays well as it is, so one option for the new owner would be to enjoy it as it is for now, knowing that the leadpipe and/or tuning slide have a limited life span and the valves may need to be replated in the future.