super evoLution

My love affair with Olds trumpets began in 1977 when my dad handed me his 1946 Super trumpet to use in High School.  Many years later, when looking for a good student trumpet for my son, I rediscovered Olds trumpets and have been fascinated by the innovation and longevity of these finely crafted American brass instruments.  

This document builds on work that Eric Hamelin did more than a decade ago as a part of the Olds Register.  I assisted Eric with chronicling some of the changes associated with the Olds Super trumpet during its 40 plus years of production .  There have been some new discoveries since this original document was prepared in 2008  as well as some revised estimates for the years of production of  early Olds trumpets.  Although no additional entries can be made, the information collected from Eric's work with the Olds Register can be found here.

My thanks to Ron Berndt, Dale Olson, Charlie Melk, Robb Stewart, Alan Rouse, John Trayer, and Paul Ayick  for assistance with this project. The photos are credited when known, but several were saved from eBay listings and other internet sources over the past 20 years.  Often nothing is known of the history of a particular instrument, so an occasional anomaly is to be expected when dealing with instruments that are 60 to 70 years old.  Sometimes it is easy to identify a modification, but other times it is hard to know if a Super left the Olds factory with some unusual feature or if it was modified years later.  Pages from some of the catalogs from Olds Central are included to track design changes along with the related marketing efforts.

Due to some errors in dating the Olds catalogs featuring some of the early trumpet models, the Super was thought to have begun production in 1932; however, more recent estimates by Robb Stewart now  place the first production of the Super trumpet in 1937 with the first published catalog showing the Super (shown above) to be from approximately 1937. 

It is likely that some of the design/material changes that occurred in the Super model before, during and after WWII can be useful in revising some of the dates of production.  

This new model certainly combined a number of features to create a unique trumpet in an era where there was a lot of innovation underway in brass instrument making.  There isn't a single feature that sets the Super apart  from other Olds models or those of competitors, but rather the combination of design and function  that made this new model so popular. 

Alan Rouse (Olds Central) made this comment as we were discussing the Super trumpet... "I've always felt that the features that make a horn great are not obvious to the naked eye.  Tapers, tempering of the metal, precision of dimensions, etc are not readily visible.  Many of the features that we use to recognize a model are mostly cosmetic.  In many cases the distinguishing features served a marketing purpose."

 Even though a series of design changes occurred over the years, the Super trumpet remained a fixture in the Olds lineup as other models came and went or were completely redesigned.  Super trumpets were still being made up until this great American brass icon closed its doors in 1979.  

 Shown above is #39xx a testament to Olds' genius! (photo by John Trayer)

The German silver (also, called  nickel-silver) "spun reinforcing band around the bell" was a new take on "garland" or "kranz" that had been used by European brass makers. Nickel-silver  is a major feature used extensively on the Super for the outer slide tubes, ferrules, upper balusters, and tone control band. Nickel-silver is a copper alloy with nickel and zinc (but no actual Silver).  

   This same nickel-silver band was used on the Recording model Super Trumpet (today known as the Super Recording) when it was introduced in 1939, but not continued when the Recording model with the Re-O-Loy bell (another example of the creativity of both  product design and marketing) was introduced in 1949.  Re-O-Loy is brass with a higher copper content.

 The photo above is from an eBay listing for Super Cornet #5745.

After the introduction of the Super, later marketing efforts referred to this as a "Tone Control Band". 

 The Tone Control Band remained a unique feature  of the Super Trumpet (and cornet) within the Olds line up of trumpets.  The distinctive hand engraving continued in the iconic  artistic and style shown above until approximately #13000. 

The engraving style is a push or carved method perhaps using a template on the nickel-silver band.

 The photo above is Super 39xx courtesy of John Trayer.

The leadpipe of the Super trumpet has a unique taper among Olds models and some have speculated that this contributes to the open blow and intonation of the Super.  The Super was the first Olds model to include a tuning slide brace. 

From reviewing entries in the Olds Register, it is clear that Olds made models in batches.  The earliest recorded Supers are #3724 and #3725, but this batch could have included additional Super trumpets.  There is a report of a lower serial number, #3699, but this has not been verified.  The next Super is #3924, followed by a batch that includes   #3938, # 3947 #3954, #3958  and #3961.  These  are the only Supers  recorded in the 3xxx range.  The number of 3xxx range Supers documented has grown in recent years.  Certainly, others are out there in private collections, so hopefully more early Olds Supers will be identified. 

 #4866 (photo by Centex Brass)  is shown above  with the tuning slide brace and spacer on the bottom connecting tube to the tuning slide.

Some attributes are related to trumpet design and others are cosmetic.  The Super included several attractive features like the extensive nickel-silver trim and the mother-of pearl inserts on the 1st and 2nd slide nibs.  Also notice in the photo shown above that the connecting knuckles between the valve casings were also nickel-silver.    This photo was provided by John Trayer of a 5xxx Super.