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More Info. on Herseth C

This is a copy I made of Adolf Herseth’s favorite Mt. Vernon Bach C trumpet. Background on Herseth’s Trumpet:

In 1955 Vincent Bach made a group of C trumpets for the inspection of Herseth and the Chicago Symphony trumpet section. The CSO purchased the best 4 of them, and Herseth picked his favorite, and played it 40+ years in the CSO. If you own a recording of the CSO you know what kind of sound Herseth could make on it! The “CSO set” of Mt. Vernon Bachs have achieved a legendary status among many trumpeters, and Herseth’s C is sort of the "best of the best" Bach trumpet.

What I think most people don’t realize about this horn is that it is unlike most other Bachs… even other Mt. Vernons. Here are the essential features (in my opinion) of the Herseth C that make it different from other Bachs.

1. Small “New York Bach-like” bell braces. These are the old small stubby ones like on some old N.Y. Bachs. Mr. Herseth requested them specifically. I asked him about them last year at a Master Class he gave, and he said that they had a big effect on how the instrument played.

2. Narrow span from leadpipe to bell. The bell to valve casing, and leadpipe to valve casing braces are also narrower, giving the horn less width (like N.Y. Bachs or Benges).

3. Old Mt. Vernon style finger hook.

4. New York style tuning slide crook. Like other early Mt. Vernons, it has a slightly more rounded crook that is narrower in span, than later Mt. Vernon or Elkhart Bachs. The tuning slide brace feet are longer than a modern Bach (like other Mt. Vernons).

5. Small brace in the 1^st valve slide.

6. Shorter outside lower tuning slide tube than on Elkhart Bachs.

7. French bell bead.

8. Possibly a shorter 3^rd valve slide.

9. Special leadpipe (with short Elkhart length receiver).

In order to make my copy I enlarged various photos of Herseth’s trumpet to life size to take measurements. Then I started with a 1970s Bach and made some modifications. Using the list above as a guide, this is what I did to the horn:

1. Bell braces were made by hand from a chunk of brass to look like Herseth’s.

2. These braces were also made by hand.

3. Same for the finger hook. (I hope to never make another!)

4. I don’t like the sound of most modern crooks. What works great as an early Mt. Vernon crook replacement, believe it or not, is a vintage Olds Ambassador crook. They have a very similar shape. The problem is, you have to move the water key hole (which involves carefully brazing the old hole shut, and re-drilling the hole) and you have to expand the bore to .462” (which involves pushing a series of balls through the crook, and re-annealing it several times). I made the longer brace feet by brazing 2 Bach pieces together (I tried to use old Bach parts whenever possible). Modern crook reproductions that have a more rounded shape, but with a wide, Elkhart span are not a good substitute.

5. I made this by hand.

6. Cut down the existing tube.

7. This is a tough one. Mt. Vernon 229 bells with French beads are pretty tough to come by to say the least. I used an early 70s 229 bell from a different horn. Even if Bach started making a 229 bell with a French bead now, I think I would still go with a 70s 229—they were great bells!

8. Based on the pictures, I thought the 3^rd slide was about 1/4” shorter than a modern Bach (like the 3^rd slide on Monettes). I know Herseth sometimes uses 3^rd valve for high A, and I figured there was a good chance that the slide was a little shorter than a modern Bach (maybe he had it shortened?)

9. The leadpipe (and tuning slide) measurements were taken from a leadpipe and tuning slide that were taken off of one of the other trumpets in the CSO set when a Malone leadpipe and tuning slide were installed on that horn.

All in all, a lot of work! The end result for this horn was a trumpet that is different from any other Bach C I have played. It is very even and focused. Every note has a “ring” and brilliance. It has a very clean sound and articulations are great.