TromboneChat

When I was back in HS, I remember my teacher telling me that Giardinelli also made trombones in addition to their mouthpieces. This was prior to WWBW purchasing them, and prior to them becoming a stencil brand for Eastman.

The images I've seen online of them seem to be of small-bore horns, perhaps 8" bell, .500 bore. Apart from that, not much info out there. Does anyone have one floating around, have an old catalog, or know more about them?

I don't think they actually made any instruments in-house - I never saw any in the years when I lived in NYC and was a regular visitor to the store. The horns you're talking about may have been stencil horns that had their name stamped on the bell - probably student-line models. They also did something similar with some cheaply-made sackbuts.

Jim Scott

Good to know, Jim. Makes sense that they'd be stencil horns. From what I'm reading, part of the business was moved upstate (Liverpool, NY), and then was purchased by Musician's Friend (not WWBW like I'd thought). Musician's Friend was in turn purchased by Guitar Center (also didn't know). WWBW was also purchased by Guitar Center in 2007 - I'm learning a lot about the music retail business today!

Years ago, when I played sackbut, I almost purchased a cheap Giardinelli sackbut. Glad I didn't.
Now I have a cheap Wessex sackbut. Any better? Probably not much!
What I really want is a Brad Close tenor sackbut - marvelous product - but I have no place to play it.

Yes, I was already here in Calgary, a few years into my job when they moved upstate. I remember hearing from friends in NYC who knew some of the people working for the store that the move upstate happened with little or no notice to their NYC employees (except for whatever few moved with the company). Some of them showed up to work to discover the store was empty and padlocked.

Too bad - that was the end of an era. It's rare now to find a major musical instrument retailer right in the heart of a major city. People used to stop into Giardinelli's between shows, or when their orchestra was on tour and playing Carnegie Hall. You often saw famous brass players there when you stopped in for some slide cream. Some good mouthpiece makers and instrument techs got their start at Giardinelli's.

Jim Scott

CalgaryTbone wrote: ↑Fri Feb 11, 2022 10:50 am People used to stop into Giardinelli's between shows, or when their orchestra was on tour and playing Carnegie Hall. You often saw famous brass players there when you stopped in for some slide cream.
Jim Scott

Exactly how I discovered Giardinelli. It was a great experience back in the day (~1971) - music, instruments, accessories, ...

I still have a couple of vintage Giardinelli mouthpieces in my rotation.

Ah, the good old days ...

Taking a closer look at the Giardinelli horn I saw on eBay, it shares the same sort of slide braces as an old Getzen Super Deluxe. Doesn't mean that the horn was made by Getzen: someone may have just purchased parts from them. But there's a strong resemblance.