Vincent Bach Trumpet & Trombone Bell Mandrels
Vincent Bach benchmarked various manufacturers’ brass instrument bells before manufacturing his instruments. He kept meticulous records of each bell’s measurements, taking every 1/2 inch and measuring to the 1000th of an inch. In the 1940s, Vincent kept his benchmarking analysis on preprinted notepads, with bell diameters and valve bore noted, along with measurements of every 1/2 inch. This extensive benchmarking was used to create bell mandrels, which Vincent numbered. It is estimated that Vincent spent multiple years doing this benchmarking work.
Below is the list of known bell mandrels from shop cards, instruments in the BachLoyalist database, and various research materials.
Trumpet Bell Mandrels
Trumpet, Bb
- #1 (T) , #2 (B) #4 (D), #6, #7, #10, #7-10, #11, #12, #25, #26, #29, #31, #32, #33, #37, #38, #39, #42, #43, #46, #52, #63, #65, #71, #72
Notes:
- #1 bell was originally known as the T bell. (T = Trumpet?)
- #2 bell was originally known as the B bell. (mfg. by Wm Frank Co., Chicago)
- #4 bell was originally known as the D bell. (mfg. by Wm Frank Co., Chicago)
- The first #7 bell was used with a #7 mouthpipe on Feb. 1930.
- #10 bell mandrel was measured from a Besson trumpet #88xxx.
- The mouthpipe from that same trumpet was the #10 Bach mouthpipe.
- #15 bell mandrel does not exist. It appears Vincent skipped #15.
- #25 bell combined the #7 & #10 bell.
- First known example is serial #2766 from June 1935.
- #37 bell was first introduced in May 1938.
- #63 bell was measured from a Wunderlich trumpet bell. (Siebenbrunn, Vogtland, Germany)
- #65, #72, #238, #245 bells were used on Mt. Vernon-era Rotary Trumpets.
- #63, 65, 71, and 72 bell mandrels were built in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Bb, Bell Examples
Trumpet, C
- #202, #205 (early NY designs)
- #210, #211, #212, #220, #227, #229, #230, #233, #236, #237, #238, #239, #241, #242, #243, #244
Notes:
- #202 bell was used on Bach’s earliest C trumpets (Serial #145, #153); 1925-1926
- #205 bell was used on Bach’s earliest C trumpets (Serial #155); 1926
C, Bell Examples
Cornets
- #101, #103, #106, #108, #111, #112, #116
- Special Large Bell (Serial #54)
Notes:
- The first known Bach Cornet (1925, Serial # 28) used a B bell.
- Bach Cornet Serial #: 54, used a “Special Large Bell”
Cornet, Bell Examples
Flugel Horn / Fluegelhorn
- #154, #155, #158, #159, #164, #165, #173, #174
- #317 (Eb Soprano Flugel)
- #362 (Eb Contralto Flugel)
Notes:
- Vincent’s first flugelhorn used a #154 bell
- #158 bell was first used in 1932.
- #173 bell was used on a military issue flugelhorn in 1938.
- #317 bell was used on a Eb flugelhorn from 1955.
- #165 bell was first used in 1959.
- #174 bell was formed as a Flugel bell in 1965, but never mounted.
Flugelhorn, Bell Examples
High Trumpets
- #302, #304, #306, #308, #311, #312, #313, #325
Notes:
- xxx xxx
Other
- Bugle (#47)
Notes:
- Benchmarked from a Wurlitzer bugle in G. From Vincent’s bell mandrel benchmarking manual.
Trombone Bell Mandrels
Alto Trombone
- #492
Notes:
- xxx xxx
Tenor Trombone
- #401, #405, #414, #415, #425, #431, #434, #435, #436, #440, #446, #449
Notes:
- Bach’s first trombone bell mandrel was #401.
- #401 bell mandrel = Model 6, 6i
- #425 bell mandrel = Model 6ii, 6iii, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16
- #431 bell mandrel = Model 6iv, 6v
- #435 bell mandrel = Model 5
- #436 bell mandrel = Model 6vi
- #440 bell mandrel = Model 6vii, Model 4
- #446 bell mandrel = Model 34
- #449 bell mandrel = Model 7
Bass Trombone
- #451, #453, #465, #492
Notes:
- #451 bell mandrel = Model 40B
- #453 bell mandrel = Model 50
- #465 bell mandrel = Model 45/46
source: Bach loyalist research
source: various posts on TromboneForum, TromboneChat
