Burbank trumpets

[delano]

Maybe I can purchase a Burbank trumpet. It must be quite old (more than 40 years) but in very good shape.and carries the Burbank adress on the bell. Further there must be somewhere on the trumpet: 1.S (bell) and ML 1851 (I presume on the valve-casing).
It's very difficult to get further information because of indirect contact with the seller.
Anybody any idea about this horn? And what price would be right?
Delano

[Maarten van Weverwijk]

I used to own a ML 5* Burbank with serial number #1480 from around '85/'86, so yours must be younger; definitely not 40 years old...
A very good trumpet that I sold to a friend of mine for 850 Euro (extra tuning slide included).
It was tarnished but in perfect shape. The new owner keeps telling me he's extremely happy with it.
Here you can find some basic information you might be looking for: http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72636
http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=55511

MvW.

[Craig Swartz]

If you are referring only to the Burbank brand and not a Benge made in Burbank, you're off quite a bit on the age of the trumpet. If memory serves me correctly, these came out after UMI took over the Benge operation. I believe they were made in the mid 1980s. I had an old friend with one for a while, I think this was right before Kanstul just started putting his own name on the trumpets.

You might also check with Mike:
http://michaelthomasmusic.net/t-Burbank_Trumpets.aspx

Personally, I don't think they were ever really sought after or held a particularly high resale value. I know I sold my friend's horn here after some time in the market place and he only got about $450 for it. This was probably 5 years ago.

I checked Bing and there are tons of references to them. Good luck.

[ggoodknight]

Yes, there are confusions to be had here. Let me wade in, I'll try not to muddy the waters while keeping it simple.

Elden, and later son Donald, Benge made trumpets at the family home and shop on Burbank Ave in Burbank. These are the Burbank Benges. A great history of the Benges can be had from Joe Lill who started the research for a doctorate and I guess just can't stop:
http://www.musicbyjoelill.com/benge/index.htm

Donald Benge sold the trumpet business to Leisure Time in late '70 the shop was moved first to downtown Los Angeles and later to Anaheim. These were LA Benges.

At some point after the sale to UMI, production was moved to the midwest. Zig Kanstul stayed behind, and in association with Donald Benge, produced the first product of Kanstul Musical Instruments, The Burbank Trumpet, which had some small differences with the original Benges. Donald Benge

At some point, Donald Benge's involvement ended, and at some point The Burbank Trumpet (still made by KMI) was marketed only by Michael Thomas Music.

From the outside looking in, the Kanstul The Burbank Trumpet, the Custom Class trumpets and the F.Besson trumpets seemed very similar in quality and design except for trim, and sold for similar prices new in the mid '90's.

Not targeted by collectors, they are solid professional quality instruments at decent prices.

[trpthrld]

I worked for Mike Thomas for several years after leaving the AF Band at March AFB in 1988. Play tested a vast majority of the Burbank trumpets that he sold during that time.

btw, Mike Thomas is the same "Thomas" of Roche-Thomas valve oils. He is still an active freelance player in the SoCal area. If you ever watch the Diana Ross / Richard Pryor movie "Lady Sings the Blues" Mike is a guy in the band. His big scene is on the band bus, giving face reactions to Diana. Warren Roche (yes, that Roche) is also in that band, and was a very active freelance trumpet in the 60s & 70s.

The Burbank Trumpets are made using the original mandrels that Eldon used for the horns he made in Burbank, CA. Obviously Donald couldn't call them "Benge" trumpets because that name was sold when Leisure Time bought the line & name in early (not late) 70s. The original mandrels were copied and beefed up for mass production, leaving the originals in Donald's possession.

The Burbank horns have "1122 W. Burbank Ave" stamped on the bells (hence, the name "Burbank"), which was the address of Eldon's house / shop. That house is just down the street from the Costco in Burbank.

The Burbank trumpet line was expanded to include a short and long-bell model piccolo, a flugal with a 6.5" bell, a fixed-bell C/Eb trumpet, and a very limited run of Burbank C trumpets (I believe only 10 were made). I played 9 of them & picked the best of the bunch out for one of my (at the time) students.

Again, I play tested a whole lot of those horns before they were shipped. All of them played really well. Anyone looking for a good trumpet and who has a chance to try a Burbank should do so with no reservations about "is it a good horn or not?" - they are def worth giving a try.
_________________
Tim Wendt

www.trumpetherald.com/marketplace.php?task=detail&id=147567&s=The-Best-Trumpet-Lead-Pipe-Swab-EVER-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPWAJqghk24&feature=youtu.be

[ggoodknight]

Tim, I have one The Burbank Trumpet, a large bore pocket, and it has a great sound. Bigger, sound and a bit more free blowing than my 3X ML Burbank Benge and seems as well made.

[delano]

Thanks everybody. I learned quite a lot about Benge and Burbank the last days and now I first want to try and compare thr 3X, the 3X+ and the 5X to make up my mind. I still don't know which type the trumpet offered to me is.

[ggoodknight]

[dr_trumpet]

Zig Kanstul also stamped some horns for them in the late 80s, early 90s. My piccolo trumpet is a Kanstul made Burbank Piccolo trumpet, the exact same model as the Besson that was for sale in the same time frame, and the CC-920 Kanstul, still available for sale.

I bought mine in 1990. August to be precise. Zig was making them and shipping them to whoever ordered them with whatever stamp was on the bell and trim. Mine says Burbank. A buddy got one that says Besson on it, and my trumpet teacher at IU had the Kanstul stamp, I think.

All three played well.
_________________
Dr. Albert L. Lilly, III DM
Artist/Clinician for Vincent Bach Trumpets (Conn-Selmer)
Principal Trumpet, Hendricks Symphony (Avon, IN)
Arranger/Composer; Lilly Music

[ggoodknight]

Let me be clear, Mr. Lilly, in my last post I was referring to the Benge stamp with the Burbank street address, not The Burbank Trumpet stamp which was one of the stamps used by KMI.

[dr_trumpet]

[ggoodknight]

Mr. Lily, as I wrote earlier "From the outside looking in, the Kanstul The Burbank Trumpet, the Custom Class trumpets and the F.Besson trumpets seemed very similar in quality and design except for trim, and sold for similar prices new in the mid '90's".

[dr_trumpet]