The Edwards Story
The Edwards Instrument Company was established in 1989 to meet
the needs of professional musicians who have very specific ideas
about how their instruments should sound and feel.
Edwards Trombones
Professional trombonists have experimented extensively by modifying
existing instruments. To make the "F" register respond
like the open instrument, they have converted the "F" attachments
to open wrap configurations and have added new types of valves.
Also, mouthpipes have been changed to alter the response and
intonation of an instrument. Bells have been exchanged, lead
has been added in braces, and duct tape has even been put on
bells to alter the sound.
However, there are inherent problems with this approach to instrument
design:
THE END RESULT IS AN UNKNOWN. Many good instruments
have gone through extensive modification, only to be less satisfactory
than their original condition. Other modifications have enhanced
one aspect of an instrument while severely compromising another.
CONVERSIONS ARE EXPENSIVE. Having good custom
work done on an instrument is costly in parts and labor, even
if the first experiment is satisfactory. It is certainly not
efficient to purchase an instrument and then alter or replace
many of its components.
To address the needs of professional trombonists, Edward Getzen,
the third generation in a family of musical instrument builders,
began researching the idea of producing a factory made custom
instrument.
Extensive experimentation has been done in acoustics and metallurgy
by Edwards. Invaluable assistance was also provided by leading
artists from across the country.
The Edwards Company offers the professional artist a truly individual,
personal instrument, incorporating just the right balance between
state of the art precision manufacturing techniques and hand
craftsmanship. The highest quality premium grade materials are
used to ensure consistency.
Edwards Trumpets
Edwards Instrument Co. began building trumpets in 1994. Andrew
Naumann joined the Edwards design team in 1998 and established
the first generation of Edwards Trumpets. These instruments were
offered in B flat as well as C. The Generation I trumpets were
constructed as an interchangeable instrument. Since 1998, improvements
in design led to the introduction of the Generation II models.
These trumpets offer an integral leadpipe design as well as one-piece
hand hammered bells. The integral leadpipe design offers a more
efficient way of changing leadpipes and creates a perfect alignment
from the end of the leadpipe to the beginning of the tuning slide
tube. This alignment is critical because it allows a smoother
transition of air flow which creates improved intonation and
stability when playing the instrument. One-piece hand hammered
bells offer the player the highest quality of sound in the industry.
All Edwards bells are made at our factory by a small team of
expert craftsmen.
In the Fall of 2000, Edwards introduced the Generation X Bb
and C trumpets. These instruments were designed to create an
extremely stable, rich tone. The Generation X models still offer
all the flexibility of the Generation II Models. There are a
variety of bells, leadpipes and two bore sizes to choose from.
All Generation X Models come standard in 24K gold plating.
Edwards offers a two week trial period when credit has been
established. We also highly recommend that you visit the "Edwards
Pro Stop" in Elkhorn WI. We offer a large selection of Valve
sets, Bells, Tuning Slides and leadpipes for your trial. Generally,
instruments can be tested, adjusted and assembled for the customer
to purchase at the time of the appointment. If components need
to be special ordered or happen to not be in stock, the waiting
period is no more than 10 weeks.
Please call (800) 562-6838 or (262) 723-4221 to schedule an
appointment at the Edwards Pro Stop!
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