Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:19:19 EST
From: RDALEOLSON@aol.com
Subject: [TPIN] Olds
Ambassador vs. Olds Mendez Trumpets, An Assessment
Information regarding the relationship between the Olds Ambassador and
Olds Mendez trumpets has recently appeared on TPIN, and I
am posting this in response to suggestions from several members.
For many years, I have gathered a now large collection of information
concerning Olds instruments. Within the past year it has been my good
fortune to have obtained an impressive amount of photographs,
literature, and original factory documents related to Olds.
From 1961 until 1968, I served as Director of Research for Olds and
remained as Consultant for several years after my formal departure. I
was not, however, with the firm when it closed in 1979, nor in 1947
when the Ambassador and Mendez models were developed.
Conclusive assertions are worthless unless supported by hard evidence.
In comparing two trumpets, mechanically, it is a necessity that an
experienced individual engage in very time-consuming measurements of
the instruments. Even with the inferential evidence I will mention in
this post, I would not make any definitive claims about the
similarities, or differences, between any two trumpets without actually
engaging in measurement of representative samples, and a very close
analysis of the resultant data. Although I have measured hundreds of
trumpets, many being made by Olds, I have not measured the Ambassador
and/or Mendez.
The development of the Mendez and Ambassador appears to have occurred
simultaneously. As has been documented in their work on Mendez
biography, Lyren and Hickman have discussed the circumstances
surrounding Rafael Mendez endorsement of Olds products. From original
Olds Company materials in my possession, I have documented that
Reginald Olds (then President), Jack Levy (Sales Manager, F.E. Olds and
Son, Inc.) and Maurice Berlin (then President of parent company,
Chicago Musical Instrument Company), met in August, 1947 in Los
Angeles, and agreed that the firm should enter the so-called school
market.
This was, indeed, a far sighted, and correct, assessment which became
the cornerstone for the great success later experienced by Olds and
CMI. It was probably late in 1947 that Maurice Berlin engaged in
communications with Mendez concerning Ralph's involvement with Olds.
The two agreed on an endorsement arrangement and Mendez began working
with Olds factory personnel to develop a new model Olds to be called
the Mendez. It is generally assumed that the original Mendez trumpet
was a copy of the French Besson, but this has never been firmly
established through an accurate measuring process. Ralph did not have
an intimate working knowledge of the subtleties of trumpet design, and
probably functioned as a tester of prototype instruments produced at
the factory. These prototypes were presumably copies of the French
Besson.
As part of their plan to develop a student model trumpet, it was
decided that the new model would be called the Ambassador It would
essentially be the same as the Mendez, but would have to sell for much
less. There was great concern among Olds management that the new
Ambassador could not be inferior in quality to any other Olds trumpet.
The differences between the Ambassador and Mendez are largely
observable; the Mendez has two triggers, the Ambassador has none; the
Mendez has a more expensive claw type bracing system, and a more
expensive case, etc. etc. The essential tapered sections which govern
the basic musical characteristics are thought to be the same. It is Zig
Kanstul's recall that the leadpipes may be somewhat different.
Notwithstanding myth, both trumpets were constructed using the same
thickness brass for the bell. The Mendez model did not have a thinner
bell. At the beginning of the Olds/Mendez relationship, the individual
probably responsible for measuring Ralph Mendez French Besson, assuming
such actually occurred, would have been Harper A. Reynolds, brother of
then Vice-President of Olds, Foster A. Reynolds. Harper joined Olds at
the same time as Foster (1947), and served as Assistant Factory
Superintendent. During my tenure with Olds, there existed a very large
set of discs (several thousand), constructed in increments of .002 ,
which could be inserted into the bell or leadpipe of a trumpet to
obtain the interior dimensions of the part. To my awareness, this set
was probably not in existence when Harper would have measured the
legendary Besson. The method he may have employed is unknown, but was
probably less accurate than the graduated disc tools later made by Olds
machinist, Bob Baltes, and extensively used by both Zig and me for many
years.
Olds was, for its entire history, a one-tolerance shop. That is, all
instruments were made to the same level of quality. Therefore, the
Ambassador was subject to the identical quality control as the Mendez.
The Ambassador was never a lesser version of the Mendez, nor was the
Mendez a sophisticated version of the Ambassador. Those players
sufficiently astute to ignore the stigma of the Ambassador being a
student trumpet are well aware of this.
Rafael Mendez played a stock Mendez trumpet, often trading his personal
trumpet with a student also playing a Mendez. Ralph indeed preferred
pistons which were over lapped, having a larger tolerance than typical,
so the trumpets which were actually sent to Ralph underwent extra
lapping. The only time Ralph demonstrated an interest in playing
something other than a standard Mendez was when he became attracted to
the Custom line of trumpets Zig and I developed in 1964. These were
light weight trumpets, and Ralph asked to use my personal Custom on a
concert tour. This idea was quickly dismissed by CMI. Ironically, the
second day of the tour, Ralph's Mendez model was inadvertently damaged
and sent back to the Fullerton factory for repair. Zig quickly made a
duplicate Custom for me and I shipped mine to Ralph for use on the
remainder of the tour. I still have a French Besson trumpet Ralph gave
to me as a gift for this favor. CMI personnel never found out about his
escapade!
All Olds trumpets, during the 1961-1968 era, were very, very consistent
in performance. This consistency attached to the Ambassador as well as
the Mendez.
Over the years, there may have been modifications in the Ambassador,
and probably less in the Mendez. It is possible that a 1947 Ambassador
may possess slightly different internal geometry than one made in 1977.
Again, this has never been documented with hard data. The proliferation
of customized Ambassador models in our contemporary trumpet community,
is an unfortunate, though logical, progression in the world of ersatz
trumpet design so prevalent today in the United States. Ambassadors are
relatively inexpensive to purchase. Repairmen can easily use their
mechanical skills to modify these horns and attempt to sell them at a
premium. Over several years I have inquired of several individuals who
customize Olds (and other) trumpets, of the differences between the
original instrument and their modifications. Why is the modification
better? Specifically, I have requested hard data such as comparative
intonation charts, etc. Never has anyone been able to supply this
information. Although it is assuredly possible to produce a trumpet
with some performance characteristics superior to the Ambassador, most
of the well-informed authorities with whom I have discussed this
matter, agree that it is best to leave the Ambassador as an Ambassador.
It is easily defended to describe the Ambassador of Foster, Ralph
Harper, Reg, Jack, and Maurice as the most popular trumpet in the
history of our art.
R. Dale Olson
