1934 F.E. Olds - Super

1934 F.E. Olds - Standard

1936 F.E. Olds - Super Recording

1952 F.E. Olds - Recording 

WANTED
I am especially interested in any Olds cornet with hammered bell.

F.E. Olds & Son
Olds was an extremely successful brassmaker, nearing Conn in total number – most of which was made in the years following WWII.  There are quite a number of collectors particularly interested in Olds instruments – including me!  The prewar horns were practically hand-made, and the quality shows.  Also, the cornet designs differed widely from model to model, making them interesting to collect.

All images and text, ©1999 Nick DeCarlis/DECA Design, Inc.   All rights reserved.  Use of these images to aid in the sale or auction of your similar instrument is strictly prohibited.

NEW! 1928c F.E. Olds - Hammered Bell  7XX  collection  Tom Meacham

NEW! 1931 F.E. Olds - "The Olds"  4,0XX

1934 F.E. Olds - Super   6,6XX

1934 F.E. Olds - Standard   7,2XX

1936 F.E. Olds - Super Recording  8,2XX

1937 F.E. Olds - Special 8,9XX

1947 F.E. Olds - Super   19,8XX

1949 F.E. Olds - Super Recording  45,8XX
(restoration by Rich Ita's Brass Instrument Workshop)

1951 F.E. Olds - Special Trumpet 62,XXX
(my Father's trumpet, restoration by Rich Ita's Brass Instrument Workshop)

1951 F.E. Olds - Recording  72,8XX
(restoration by Rich Ita's Brass Instrument Workshop)

1953 F.E. Olds - Ambassador   90,7XX
(restoration by Rich Ita's Brass Instrument Workshop)

1956 F.E. Olds - Mendez M-5 Cornet   185,5XX

NEW! 1961 F.E. Olds - Opera  333,1XX  (first version - the Opera was almost entirely nickel-silver, with brass details)

1966 F.E. Olds - Special   561,5XX

NEW! 1968 F.E. Olds - Opera  630,1XX  (second version - the Opera was almost entirely nickel-silver, with brass details)  

1978 F.E. Olds - A-6S Ambassador Short Shepherd's Crook  A35,1XX  Note: this is a factory-built professional cornet, which was originally made for export to Wales.  The use of the name Ambassador may seem confusing, but was selected as being more appropriate for the English market, as in "British Ambassador".  The design had nothing to do with the popular student instrument.    Note the first and third triggers, as seen on the top-line Mendez!

NEW!  The Olds Guarantee covered a lot of things, but lacquer was not one of them!  See how Olds explained it on this page from gurarantee booklet from the mid-50s.
"LACQUER IS NOT GUARANTEED"
 

Olds Wide Shank Mouthpieces

One of the few drawbacks to Olds cornets is that the early models used a receiver that required a special wide shank mouthpiece.

All Olds cornets with serial number 189,611 or ealier, utilized the wide-shank mouthpiece (source: 1962 F.E. Olds Catalog).  There are exceptions to this, which are probably the result of a custom order, or a retrofit with a standard receiver.  If you have the wide shank receiver, it will be fairly obvious when your usual mouthpiece goes in way too far, or fails to fit snugly.

You have four options:
1) Use an original Olds wide-shank mouthpiece.  These are hard to find, if not with the horn already, and it seems like 98% of them are the #3 which is very shallow for a cornet.  In my opinion, they make what would have been a great-sounding cornet sound like a trumpet.  There are, of course, exceptions.  At least one of my Olds cornets sounds dark-toned, apparently regardless of the mouthpiece depth.

2) Use a flugelhorn mouthpiece.  Yamaha flugel mouthpieces and others fit OK, if not great.

3) Terry Warburton makes a replica mouthpiece which looks just like the Olds, has a wide shank, plus you can order the cup to match what you currently play.  These are really nice, and I use one myself with a deep-V cup.  Contact Warburton directly and ask about this.

4) Selmer/Bach will make any mouthpiece they offer with the wide-shank on a custom-order basis. The only drawback here is the limited number of deep or V-cup options.  Click Here
 

Early F.E. Olds Serial Numbers and History|
This webpage and serial number research is through the efforts of Alan Rouse. The History is courtesy of Robb Stewart, a well-known vintage horn maker, restorer and collector.  Click Here

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