Making Mouthpieces with the Bach Brothers - 1926
This industry publication from Musical Merchandise provides a unique perspective of the Vincent Bach Corporation factory on East 41st Street in November 1926. This article describes fully automatic lathes and mouthpieces being created every minute. Also, in the mid-1920s, the use of the back of each letter for advertising was unique. An example of this back-of-the-page advertisement can be found on the back of the Viribus Unitis letter here.
Making Mouthpieces with the Bach Brothers
How the Vincent Bach Corporation Makes Each Instrument Individual.
By Allen L. Ross
” Recently, the Vincent Bach Corporation adopted a novel idea in letterheads. When a letter goes out from this concern now, it carries not only the trademark and picture of the factory but also an interesting group of testimonials for Bach instruments written by musicians in all parts of the world. On the space usually wasted by letter-writers, the Bach brothers tell the world what fifteen leading artists think of Bach trumpets, cornets, and mouthpieces.
When a musical merchandise manufacturer draws such a load of testimonials, it is illuminating to go through the factory and see how this unusual quality is built into the instruments. Accordingly, we went down to East 41st Street, New York City, where Vincent and Hans Bach have their factory and offices. We found them exceedingly busy; in fact, both of them were rushed helping the regular staff and it seemed to use the Bach Corporation must be developing excellent sales.
“How do we keep so busy?” Mr. Bach repeated our question. “the same way anybody can keep busy. We have no slack times, because if our orders aren’t up to what we think they should be, we go out and get more. Just the same as any live dealer. He’d always have good business if he’d go out and make it when sales don’t walk in his door. No use for a man to excuse himself by saying things are slack. There’s always sales if you dig for them.”
The quality of the Bach instruments is perhaps another of the reasons for the activity in the Bach plant. These have been enthusiastically endorsed by so many musicians that repeat orders are a matter of course. When an artist finds such an instrument which perfectly suits him, he’ll reorder the same kind. And he’ll tell his friends about it.
The Bach brothers not only manufacture high-grade musical instruments, but they also design and make the tools for their own work. In mouthpieces, this is particularly true, and Vincent Bach has taken the unusual pains to be sure and that the fount of musical sound should be absolutely accurate. He has drawn his own designs for this important adjunct and his own tools shape the brass. It is amazing to watch one of the lathes in the
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Bach plant. A long solid brass bar is seized in the teeth of the lathe, the power switched on and then automatically the bar is turned into mouthpieces. The first lathe shapes the exterior of the mouthpiece, cuts it to the right length and feeds itself. Another lathe is used to drill and shape the inside, turning out a unit everything minute and each exactly the measurements designed by Vincent Bach. Then the finishing process turns the inner surfaces and polish the surface and the mouthpiece is ready.
Similar efficient and precise activities are going on all over the factory simultaneously. The intricate joints of cornets are made and covered with silver. Slides are fashioned and polished. A separate branch of the factory is devoted to polishing the finished instruments, the more delicate work all done by hand, until Bach product is wrapped up and declared perfect.
At all times. the Bach brothers are personally supervising every process in the factory. They realize that the name they have built for quality can only be maintained by constant vigilance and they are making sure of that vigilance. In this manner, every bach product goes out to the trade the same as though Vincent and Hans Bach themselves had made it.
Interesting takeaways
- A unit (mouthpiece) every minute
- Described a semi-automatic lathe for the outside & inside of each mouthpiece
source: Musical Merchandise, November 1926
source: BachLoyalist research


