Steven Terry custom large bore F-attachment circa 1980
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:35 pm
I acquired this unique bespoke horn during the pandemic, but in the process of moving it went into deep storage and remained there until just recently. Now that I've finally been able to spend some time with the horn, I thought I'd share the story of how this horn came to be made, along with some images and impressions.
The only mention of the Terry Trombone Company that I could find on the web was a brief reference by Kurt Heisig, a woodwind and brass instrument maker located in Monterey, CA (https://www.kurtheisigmusic.com/). So I called up Mr. Heisig (a colorful and interesting character who LOVES to talk shop and music history), and over the course of an hour-long conversation on a Sunday afternoon, I learned a great deal about Steven Terry and his short-lived trombone building venture.
While attending San Jose State back in the early 1970's, Heisig was running a brisk business distributing Buffet woodwinds and Benge trumpets from his college rental house, and as a result of of his frequent trips to the Benge production facility, he developed lasting relationships with both Claude Gordon and the man who was building the Benge CG trumpets at the time, bass trombonist Steven Terry. Heisig described Terry as a hulking 6'5" tall bearded pony-tailed Harley-riding mountain man who was deeply involved in some sort of sun-worshipping cult. Terry was apparently a meticulous but not particularly fast builder, and his slow production rate eventually led to friction with the Benge shop foreman, Zig Kanstul, who was demanding a rate of production that Terry felt was compromising the quality of his work.
So in early 1980, Terry left Benge, retreated to his home and workshop in McKinleyville CA, took out some rather hefty bank loans for machines and tooling, and began making horns as the Terry Trombone Company, with Heisig serving as the company's sole sales representative. During the company's brief two month existence, Terry produced seven .511 bore straight trombones, at least one trumpet, and the .547 bore F-attachment that is the subject of this post. One of the .511 bore horns was driven by Terry and Heisig to LA, where they proudly presented it to Dick Nash and Charlie Loper, who tried the horn and politely told them to come back when they had a.500 bore. (At least one of the .511 bore horns is still being played today by Dan Marcus).
According to Heisig, the business was seriously handicapped from the start by Terry's rumored issues with heavy Benzedrine use and the distraction of frequent visits by Terry's Hell's Angels associates. With loan payments overdue and no real income on the horizon, Terry's wife gave him two choices: get a real job or get a divorce. Terry chose the first option, going to work as a machinist for PG&E. The bank repossessed the machines and tooling, which were liquidated at auction, and the Terry Trombone Company never produced another horn.
The .547 bore presented here was purportedly designed and built for LA Philharmonic bass trombonist Jeff Reynolds. The unmarked 9" gold brass bell clearly has a bass stem taper. The slide is essentially an 88H blueprint using nickel silver outers and crook, with a Remington taper receiver. The main tuning slide is yellow brass, while the neck pipe and Bach-style F-attachment tuning crook are nickel silver, with a mix of nickel silver and yellow brass F-attachment tubing. The ebony wood water key tip and trigger paddle are nice touches, while the amount of time and labor invested in the mother-of-pearl inlaid "counterweight" suggest the work of a man more focused on fulfilling a personal vision than running a profitable company.
The unique and innovative feature of this horn is the compression ring used to support the bell stem. The diameter of this ring can be increased or decreased via a thumb screw, altering the amount of pressure applied to the four small push-in rubber bumpers that support the bell stem, which in turn alters the amount of damping effect the bumpers have on the resonance of the bell. The ring can even be expanded to the point that the rubber bumpers don't contact the bell stem at all, allowing the bell to float just free of the bumpers for maximum resonance. To the best of my knowledge there's no patent, so if any horn builders out there want to experiment with this approach, have at it. My experience with this horn leads me to believe that the concept of variable bell damping has merit.
Mr. Heisig stated that Terry's approach to horn design was strongly influenced by his many discussions about flow dynamics (defined by Heisig as "the effects of venturi relationships on the compression and release of air through the length of the horn") with Claude Gordon, who had learned about flow dynamics from the master himself, trumpet maker Dominic Calicchio.
There's some real magic in the way this horn plays. Slotting is incredibly tight and precise, inspiring a real sense of confidence and security. Playing the horn with my usual Schilke 52 long shank (which, according to Heisig, was also Terry's preferred large bore tenor mouthpiece) intonation is spot on, even in the extended positions in the highest partials, something I've never quite experienced in any other horn. Articulations have a satisfying "ping". The sound is rich and warm, focused and controlled at all dynamics.
If anyone has more information about Steven Terry, the Steven Terry Trombone Company, the six "lost" Terry trombones, or corrections to the information provided to me by Mr. Heisig, please post that information here.
Thanks for reading this long-winded but hopefully somewhat entertaining and informative post.
The only mention of the Terry Trombone Company that I could find on the web was a brief reference by Kurt Heisig, a woodwind and brass instrument maker located in Monterey, CA (https://www.kurtheisigmusic.com/). So I called up Mr. Heisig (a colorful and interesting character who LOVES to talk shop and music history), and over the course of an hour-long conversation on a Sunday afternoon, I learned a great deal about Steven Terry and his short-lived trombone building venture.
While attending San Jose State back in the early 1970's, Heisig was running a brisk business distributing Buffet woodwinds and Benge trumpets from his college rental house, and as a result of of his frequent trips to the Benge production facility, he developed lasting relationships with both Claude Gordon and the man who was building the Benge CG trumpets at the time, bass trombonist Steven Terry. Heisig described Terry as a hulking 6'5" tall bearded pony-tailed Harley-riding mountain man who was deeply involved in some sort of sun-worshipping cult. Terry was apparently a meticulous but not particularly fast builder, and his slow production rate eventually led to friction with the Benge shop foreman, Zig Kanstul, who was demanding a rate of production that Terry felt was compromising the quality of his work.
So in early 1980, Terry left Benge, retreated to his home and workshop in McKinleyville CA, took out some rather hefty bank loans for machines and tooling, and began making horns as the Terry Trombone Company, with Heisig serving as the company's sole sales representative. During the company's brief two month existence, Terry produced seven .511 bore straight trombones, at least one trumpet, and the .547 bore F-attachment that is the subject of this post. One of the .511 bore horns was driven by Terry and Heisig to LA, where they proudly presented it to Dick Nash and Charlie Loper, who tried the horn and politely told them to come back when they had a.500 bore. (At least one of the .511 bore horns is still being played today by Dan Marcus).
According to Heisig, the business was seriously handicapped from the start by Terry's rumored issues with heavy Benzedrine use and the distraction of frequent visits by Terry's Hell's Angels associates. With loan payments overdue and no real income on the horizon, Terry's wife gave him two choices: get a real job or get a divorce. Terry chose the first option, going to work as a machinist for PG&E. The bank repossessed the machines and tooling, which were liquidated at auction, and the Terry Trombone Company never produced another horn.
The .547 bore presented here was purportedly designed and built for LA Philharmonic bass trombonist Jeff Reynolds. The unmarked 9" gold brass bell clearly has a bass stem taper. The slide is essentially an 88H blueprint using nickel silver outers and crook, with a Remington taper receiver. The main tuning slide is yellow brass, while the neck pipe and Bach-style F-attachment tuning crook are nickel silver, with a mix of nickel silver and yellow brass F-attachment tubing. The ebony wood water key tip and trigger paddle are nice touches, while the amount of time and labor invested in the mother-of-pearl inlaid "counterweight" suggest the work of a man more focused on fulfilling a personal vision than running a profitable company.
The unique and innovative feature of this horn is the compression ring used to support the bell stem. The diameter of this ring can be increased or decreased via a thumb screw, altering the amount of pressure applied to the four small push-in rubber bumpers that support the bell stem, which in turn alters the amount of damping effect the bumpers have on the resonance of the bell. The ring can even be expanded to the point that the rubber bumpers don't contact the bell stem at all, allowing the bell to float just free of the bumpers for maximum resonance. To the best of my knowledge there's no patent, so if any horn builders out there want to experiment with this approach, have at it. My experience with this horn leads me to believe that the concept of variable bell damping has merit.
Mr. Heisig stated that Terry's approach to horn design was strongly influenced by his many discussions about flow dynamics (defined by Heisig as "the effects of venturi relationships on the compression and release of air through the length of the horn") with Claude Gordon, who had learned about flow dynamics from the master himself, trumpet maker Dominic Calicchio.
There's some real magic in the way this horn plays. Slotting is incredibly tight and precise, inspiring a real sense of confidence and security. Playing the horn with my usual Schilke 52 long shank (which, according to Heisig, was also Terry's preferred large bore tenor mouthpiece) intonation is spot on, even in the extended positions in the highest partials, something I've never quite experienced in any other horn. Articulations have a satisfying "ping". The sound is rich and warm, focused and controlled at all dynamics.
If anyone has more information about Steven Terry, the Steven Terry Trombone Company, the six "lost" Terry trombones, or corrections to the information provided to me by Mr. Heisig, please post that information here.
Thanks for reading this long-winded but hopefully somewhat entertaining and informative post.
