On Monday, December 23, 1996 at 2:00:00 AM UTC-6, Robert Eye wrote:
Jammmmmm wrote:
There are many players who swear by this horn for lead playing. They have
a distinctive sound and play pretty easy in the upper register. I have owned two, and let both of them go, as I prefer my Calicchio 1S2, but If I had to choose something else to play on, I'd take the CG. The CG is a larger horn than the 3x+. They probably made more of that (3x+) horn than any other. The new Benges, IMHO, suck- when compared to the LA ones.
They are heavier and a bit stuffy. The extreme light weight of those old horns is what gave them their feel. The real old Chigago Benges aren't
all that hot, but fetch a hefty price from some collectors. They were improved versions of the old fabled French Bessons (note they both have
the "backwards" 2nd valve slide, as does the more recent Selmer CG) . If you really like the old light weight Benges, try a Burbank, they are true to the old Benge designs, although for some reason I think they have stopped making their version of the CG. I believe it was a 5*.
Benge (UMI) stopped making their version of the Claude Gordon horn
because Selemer started making a CG horn (NOT the same design, I think)
well before Claude's death. In fact, the Benge CG was never made by
the Benge family (although they may have worked with Claude); rather, it
was made by Benge after King bought out Benge in 1971.
The Benge CG was a 0.470" bore horn with a 0.464" "choke" in the bell
tail; hencethe idea that it is a "dual" bore instrument. The current
UMI Benge model 7 has the same specs.
Burbank Trumpets (NOT Benges made when they were in Burbank) has a model
6 that they list as a 0.470" bore (my model 6 L.A. Benge is a 0.468"
bore). I have played a model 3 Burbank and it plays very well. They
are made by Donald Benge usinbg the original Burbank Benge designs, and
are manufactured at the Kanstul factory in Anaheim, Calif. They also
make a model 3+, a model 5, and a model 6. They do not make a CG horn
for the same reason UMI Benge does not. Try a model 6 in the Burbank if
you are interested in a large bore horn.
Regards,
Bob Eye
r-...@ti.com
Note that the Benge CG was a 0.468" bored instrument with the aforementioned 0.464" restriction at the start of the bell tube. Claude had wanted it to be 0.470" but at the time Benge didn't have tooling for that bore size so a compromise was made. That
compromise was the main reason Claude eventually made the deal with Bach/Selmer to produce his final design, the Selmer CG trumpet which was an even closer emulation of Claude's beloved Pre WWII French Besson Meha that he used during his Studio career.
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