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"Galaxy" trumpet, is this a decent horn?

4K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  raindog 
#1 ·
Both of my saxes being away for an overhaul, I couldn't resist to have something silly to play & practice with. Something to keep my head off work stuff even for small moments - sax mpc practice doesn't really cut it for that purpose.

So, I found a cheap (50e) junker trumpet from a fleamarket. It's in surprisingly good shape - the valves work smoothly etc. I can even play some little tunes, occasionally with a pleasant sound even. That's a lot considering my only experience with reedless horns is a couple of days with my russian junker tuba. The trumpet certainly plays better than the tuba...

I'm curious about the details of manufacture. The trumpet is otherwise in great shape, but some support posts are detached, and the body is bent near the mouthpiece. The nickelplating is almost flawless. Again, I'm pretty clueless about brass, but the valves seem to be in good shape. As are the removable sliding U-tubes. Would this be a repair-worthy horn?

I can't find any manufacturer stamps, serials or other info. Do brass instruments always have those, like saxes do? Makes me suspect it is a no-name asian or russian horn.

On the other hand it does have a "Galaxy" engraving that looks hand-made. Is there any chance this could be a Holton Galaxy (60's)? I read those should be very fine horns.

I would think, if it is trying to be a copycat Holton, any pirate manufacturer would rather do a pro model instead of the intermediate Galaxy...

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#2 ·
#3 ·
I would think that Galaxy is used here as a generic name and especially because there was a Holton model Galaxy if this trumpet doesn’t clearly say Holton it is then almost sure that it isn’t an Holton and the makers (or seller because selling stencils under an assumed name is not something that was invented yesterday) were trying to capitalize on the possible mistake.

Orsi made instruments called Kings (also trumpets) precisely for the same reason.
Engraving a name was cheap (takes minutes) and even more so in the years when this was probably made.

The fact that it is nickel plated would possibly point in the Bohemian Direction but might be very well be Italian too.

I really don’t think there is any special value in this instrument.

Anyway for all we ever know It might have been made anywhere. I doubt that it would be possible to identify it.
 
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