Edwards

Click image for larger version

Imagine that you are in the market for a new trombone. You begin your search by learning as much as you can about the current trombone market. Eventually, you narrow your search to a few top brands. At this point, you dig a little deeper to find out what makes each model unique. Every manufacturer says their product is the best, offers better response, minimal distortion, beautiful tone, etc.

In the world of large bore tenor and bass trombones, valves are a big factor in determining the sound and response of an instrument. Using the Thayer valve, Edwards has always pioneered improvements in valve technology. Our competitors have tried time and again to improve upon the original design, yet the Thayer remains the industry standard as the other valves come and go. In this blog entry, I want to go over why the Edwards Thayer valve is a superior design and has resisted the test of time.

Click image for larger version

In order to understand valves you must first examine the tubes leading in and out of the valves. Conventional rotor designs direct the air 90 degrees to the right and then through the wrap before the air bends another 90 degrees into the neck pipe. This second 90 degree turn is achieved only if the valve knuckle is set correctly. On certain trombones the knuckle comes in straight from the top (parallel with the neck pipe), which causes the air to bend 180 degrees. This creates a major pinch in the airstream that changes the horn’s resonance in the valve register. This brings us to an essential point — the most important trait of a good valve is the ability for a player to sound the same on the open horn and when the valve is depressed.

Some manufacturers vent their valves in order to get rid of valve “pop”. While good in theory, venting a valve in between the ports can cause half-valved effects. Even more importantly, it can cause airflow interruptions and disrupt the aperture of the player. As a result, technical valve passages become all valve noise and note lengths are compromised, leaving more articulation and air than tone. Now add another valve for bass trombonists and the problems with this design are magnified.

Certain vented rotors also present the player with mechanical problems. On these valves, one needs to be careful with the removable bearing plates. If the valve with the stop arm mounted to it moves the ports will move as well. The ports will then be stuck in purgatory, no longer engaged or not engaged ( i.e. a half-valved position). Traditional conventional rotors have the bearing plate (with stop arm assembly) soldered in place. With this design, the bearing plate presses in on just one side, leaving the stop arm in the correct position. As a result, your ports will always line up correctly with the valve knuckles.

Click image for larger version

The beauty of the Thayer valve is that the air only bends 30 degrees when you engage the valve. The disruption is the least of any valve on the market and leaves the player with a very natural sounding — and feeling — instrument. The largest bend is on the back side of the wrap where the tubing goes back into the Bb side of the horn. Even with this turn in the wrap, the Thayer valve still allows the player to color the trigger-side notes and even increase the breadth of the notes in the extreme low register. No other valve on the market will allow you to do this.

You may be asking yourself why I’ve decided to write a blog on the subject of valves. Well, I felt a need since many of our competitors continue to state that the Thayer valve is inefficient. This is a falsehood brought on to increase their bottom line. ALL VALVES LEAK (if a valve did not leak it would not move). Talk to any good repair tech about valves and ask how they bring pressure up in conventional rotors. For decades these magicians of brass have “swedged” conventional valve bearings to tighten up the compression in the valves. Any moving part is subject to wear and valves are no different.

At Edwards, there are certain tolerance allowances we maintain in manufacturing our Thayers in order to keep each valve moving smoothly. We “air pressure fit” every valve to ensure a certain feel and sound in our instruments. There is a balance in valve tolerances. If the pressure gets too high, you might experience tightness in the low register (when the valve is depressed) and excessive back pressure in the high register, causing physical discomfort in the neck and body. For years we have talked about stress-free mounting of instruments; when tolerances within the valve become too high, this is no different than building stress into the valve.

Thayer valve recalibrations are easily done by replacing the bearing and adjusting the top plate. With this simple repair, even the oldest Thayer valves can play and feel is if they are brand new. Edwards continues to produce the benchmark of professional instruments through our careful attention to every detail. The Thayer valve is a major part of our trombone design because it offers zero distortion and free-blowing qualities that our competitors have tried to copy (which, we have to say, makes us feel a little flattered).

Happy Holidays!

The Dease-Madsen Quintet CD is finally out! You can listen to selections and purchase the album through paypal at www.mikedease.com.

The current buzz word in US instrument manufacturing is “outsourcing”. In recent years, we’ve seen a rapid increase in the number of Chinese-made instruments and components being sold in the US. Manufacturers are taking advantage of cheaper labor and materials by allowing valves and other components to be built in China. The only problem? The customer is left with an instrument of inferior quality.

Take care when buying a new instrument. Even if a trumpet or trombone looks like a pro line instrument, that may not be the case at all. Play test the horn and then compare it to the quality and build of instruments from Edwards, Getzen and other family-owned builders that care more about quality than what the company stock sells for at the end of the quarter.

Edwards is committed to innovation and quality. We build and finish our trumpets and trombones one at a time in order to maintain the highest standards. The end result is an instrument that our customers can count on to be of the highest quality.

The trombone world lost a great musician and friend with Brian O’Neill’s passing on December 15. The New Orleans trombonist will be remembered through his musical recordings and personal relationships shared throughout the world. We offer our condolences to his family and friends. Know that his presence and music will be missed.

ITF2005 seems like a long time ago; so much has happened since we gathered in New Orleans to celebrate the trombone. To everyone affected by Hurricane Katrina, know that we have you in our thoughts and prayers this holiday season.

The Edwards Team

The Edwards offices and factory will be closed the week of December 26 – 30. We will be working on inventory as well as inputting every bit of Edwards data into our new computer system. We hope this new system will help us to become more efficient and improve delivery.

The best way to reach us over the next week or two is through our contact form. Our offices will reopen again after the first of the year. Have a great Christmas and New Year!

All went well at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago last week. It was great seeing many of our past customers and meeting so many new ones.

We are attending a few shows this year and I thought it would be good to let everyone know where we will be.

IAJE
January 12 – 15
New York City

TMEA
February 15 – 18
San Antonio, TX

Eastern Trombone Workshop
March 16 – 18
Ft. Myer, VA

MusicMesse
March 29 – April 1
Frankfurt, Germany

ITF2006 – site coming soon
July 20 – 23
Birmingham, UK

Click image for larger version

In our never-ending quest to improve, Edwards is now supplying every new axial flow valve with metal rod ends. These rod ends have an exteneded life and offer smooth, quick action. For those wishing to upgrade their current instruments, the rod ends are $25 a set and may be purchased in the Edwards Online Store.

Our newsletter has served us well for the past few years, but as spam encroaches on all of our inboxes more and more, we’ve decided to use this blog to relay news and information to our readers. We will still send out newsletters when necessary, but be assured that we won’t be adding to your bloated inboxes very often!

For those of you unfamiliar with blogs and syndication, I recommend reading Understanding RSS to learn more. In short, setting up an RSS reader allows you to stay connected with Edwards, and any other syndicated site, on your terms. The RSS link to the right will provide you with the feed.

Jim Pugh recently visited Barnesville, Pennsylvania, with the New York Pops Orchestra. Jim played the part of Tommy Dorsey in a tribute concert. Read the complete story.

Listening to trumpet and trombone players all day gives us a greater understanding of sound — and what sounds people want. Understandably, players often do not know how to put into words the definition of the tone they want to achieve, so I thought I would take a minute to write about what Ron and I listen for in an appointment. All of these tone components are a part of the equation needed to make a “complete” sound.

1. Response

How clean are the articulations throughout the registers? How quickly does the sound start? Is there any hesitation before the tone begins?

I try to have the sound line up with the articulations so that there are no gaps at the start of the note. Ron is also very good about listening for this. Many times he cues in on this part of sound very early in the appointment and is quick to dial these erroneous response issues out with the correct component (even if a custom part is needed).

2. Sound Width

Is the sound too wide? Too narrow? Does it have a fuzzy outer ring? Is the ring too clear? Does the ring need more color?

Sound width is as important as any other aspect of tone. Have you ever heard an individual play with a very diffuse vibrato? If the sound is too wide the edges of the vibrato can become nebulous. It can sound like the person is trying to manipulate a “tank” rather than tone. It is important to have a big sound, but it should be easily colored/changed so the musician can make the sound concept in his/her head a reality.

3. Sound Depth

If sound width is east and west, think of depth as north and south. Many people think of sound width as “presence”. I don’t because I think that a tone with presence also needs to be thick, which gives sound many dimensions of color. When the sound depth is rich and thick I feel you can listen into the sound rather than just hearing a sound.

I have heard some combinations of instruments where the sound gets trapped in the throat of the bell and never fully comes out of the instrument. I have also heard many combinations that are too efficient for the individual — the sound can become too aggressive. My ideal sound is an enveloping tone that, when I close my eyes, it seems as if the player is about 10 feet from me when in reality he/she is 20-30 feet away.

4. Core of Sound

The core of sound will be hollow if the tone is unfocused. On the other hand, if the center of the sound is too tight, the tone will become nasally and disconnected from the outer ring. I try for a rich, centered core that attaches itself to the outer ring and allows me to “blossom” the note when the volume is increased (I want the blossom and not the explosion). If the core is balanced with the outer ring, the player will generally have more dynamic contrast and color in their sound palette.

I have heard a lot of brass musicians with good tone quality that miss dynamics because their instruments are not fully balanced. A great horn will have all the dynamics (ppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff) and allow the player to manipulate the sound in all these dynamics without causing intonation problems. The horn should be consistent but still allow the player to manipulate the sound in order to achieve his/her musical goals.

5. Balance of Overtones

Is the tone too bright? Too dark?

I think of overtones like an old school audio equalizer. You have the lows (left side of the EQ), mid-range (center), and highs or upper overtones (right). This is an oversimplification, but let’s focus on these three so I’m not typing all night.

What many people hear as bright I hear as an oversaturation of upper overtones or a lack of low-to-mid overtones. When an individual says something is really “dark”, what I hear is “wow, that sound has a lot of fundamental and less in the middle/upper range of overtones.” I try to figure out what sound the player is striving for and then adjust the instrument accordingly. I think we can agree that most musicians want great sounds, which has a balance between lows, middles, and highs.

Every individual has a different physiology — resonating chamber, dental structure, throat size and shape, etc. — which affects the way each of us produces tone. I feel that geography, language and speech patterns play majors role, as well, but that’s for another blog post. Taking into consideration all these differences, Ron and I are able to work effectively within the Edwards scheme to build great sounding horns for our customers.

My definitions of tone quality may differ from those of other players, but it’s not always easy to use words to describe sound. One player’s description of tone may sound different another’s, yet they both may mean the exact same thing. I was once in an appointment and the customer felt that that bell had “crunchy lows”. I’m still thinking about that one.