TromboneChat

I was reading about Elliot Mason and it’s been mentioned a couple places that before he was with BAC he used a 3B, then played a Taylor bell with his 3B slide. Then Mike built him a custom lighter slide before they created the full BAC Elliot Mason model horn.

My question is what are/were these phantom Taylor bells that I keep reading hints about? I haven’t been able to find anything concrete about them online.

Taylor trumpets as Doug states!
Also Elliot's bell was a one off special order.

Cool! So they don’t really “exist” like that?

Does anyone play on a Taylor trombone bell today/still?

I’m curious as to what became of Elliot’s old bell. I vaguely remember someone on here saying they have it but I’m not sure.

Nobody but Elliot had a Taylor bell.
He still has it!

That's not quite correct.

Andy Taylor was originally a bell maker at Paxman horns in Covent Garden London.

He left Paxmans and set up on his own supplying various small makers with bells and developed his own range of trumpets that where very much in the Monette mold shall we say........

He also made some heavy gauge trombone bells in Medium , Large Bore and Bass that he mated to ( I think ) Bach handslides, however they never really took off as for most people that concept doesn't work as well on trombone as trumpet maybe.

He did make a Bell for Elliott Mason's King 3B and added a solid sheet of brass as the balance wieght. I would guess this was in part down to location as Andy's workshop is in Norfolk UK near Norwhich, and Elliott grew up and lived not far from there.
Elliotts dad was/ is also a trombonist who I had the pleasure of meeting both him and his mum when I bought some old Giardinelli mouthpieces off him a few years back.

If anyone wanted a heavy gauge bell I'm sure Andy still has the mandrells and would happily supply one.

BellEnd

I remember seeing the Wichita Band Instrument Co. advertising a couple of Taylor trombone bells for sale in the 1990s. They were advertised as “large bore heavy gold brass bells” in the ITA Journal. That was back in the days when the Wichita Band Instrument Co. was routinely buying full-page advertisements in the ITA Journal.

I played one. It was compatible with a 16m slide. It was extremely heavy. I didn't dislike it but there wasn't anything remarkable about it for me.

Crazy4Tbone86 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 09, 2022 5:56 pm I remember seeing the Wichita Band Instrument Co. advertising a couple of Taylor trombone bells for sale in the 1990s. They were advertised as “large bore heavy gold brass bells” in the ITA Journal. That was back in the days when the Wichita Band Instrument Co. was routinely buying full-page advertisements in the ITA Journal.

I played one at Wichita Band Instrument Company. It sounded good and was extremely heavy.

I wonder what the draw was for a super heavy bell like that. Better projection? More direct sound but maybe fewer overtones?

TromboneSam wrote: ↑Sat Sep 10, 2022 10:24 am I wonder what the draw was for a super heavy bell like that. Better projection? More direct sound but maybe fewer overtones?

All of that. There were several years - from about the early 90s into the 2000s - when heavy bells were very much in fashion.

The Edwards brand started by selling only bell sections, built around the Thayer valve, to be used with Bach slides. The bells on them were typically significantly heavier than the Bach bells people were putting away in their closets. The 987 - an absolute tank - was among the most popular Edwards bass bells for years.

The Shires company was founded in the middle of that time, which is why Shires "regular weight" is so much heavier than a typical Bach or Conn bell. The tide turned in the mid-2000s, and medium and lightweight bells became much more popular with Shires customers. I think Edwards has found the same thing.

Heavy bells tend to absorb more energy, and radiate it around the player. It "feels" like you're playing louder. But since more energy is staying within your immediate vicinity, less is actually projecting out. That sound tends towards the thicker/heavier end of the spectrum

A trumpet player in the big band I was leading had a Taylor trumpet. It was by far the heaviest trumpet I've held. He would switch back and forth with another "normal" trumpet. I don't remember hearing a big difference in sound between the two. i suspect he used when he was playing lead to add more stability.

hornbuilder wrote: ↑Sat Sep 10, 2022 11:26 am Heavy bells tend to absorb more energy, and radiate it around the player. It "feels" like you're playing louder. But since more energy is staying within your immediate vicinity, less is actually projecting out. That sound tends towards the thicker/heavier end of the spectrum

I have to say I would agree with this statement.

I remember watching a sound check for a professional big band gig a few years back and the sound engineer was having the sections do a built up chord to check for balance.
One of the trumpets ( who were all seasoned pro's) was playing a Monette and his 'voice' was barely there compered to the rest of the section even though you could learly see he was giving it one .

Personally I have never been a diciple of 'Heavy Metal' there being I feel, a distinct element of 'The Kings New Clothes' surrounding the whole thing if you know what I mean?

Can't help the feeling that every one who plays one would sound at least as good (to say the very least) on something more conventional.

Just my two cents.

BellEnd