Benge Trumpet, 1939
Elden Benge began his professional trumpet career in the 1920s and
was principal trumpet in the Detroit Symphony from 1928 until
1933 at which time he took the same position in the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra. During these years he experimented with
trumpet design and began building complete trumpets by 1935. He
had played French Besson trumpets up to the time that he made his
own which are closely modeled after them. The (or one of the)
Besson(s) that he used as a model is shown here. A very complete
and well researched history of Benge's early activities has been
written by Joe Lill and his website for collecting and disseminating
all things Benge can be seen here.
This trumpet, built in about 1939, is serial number 637. Assuming
that #500 was Benge's first trumpet and used all the numbers in
between, this is the 138th Benge trumpet. It is the 30th earliest
known to Joe Lill and the earliest medium bore. The bore
measures .453" which was one of the two bore sizes used by
Besson in France, the other being approximately .460". The bell
rim diameter is 4 11/16" and the overall length is 19 1/2" (19" from
bell rim to bell curve). It was originally silver plated; traces of the
plating can be seen in corners. The refinishing in lacquer must have
been done many years ago and is in very good condition other than
where a plastic valve cover has damaged it. All of the parts are
original accepting the adjustable finger ring on the third slide. This
trumpet was made, like the Besson trumpets from the period, with
the ring on the bottom of the third slide where the (broken) stop rod
assembly is now and the stop rod was originally on top. A great
many of the early Benge and Besson trumpets have been modified
in this way over the years. The Lifton case and cover shown may
be the original from new. The canvas cover has helped preserve it
to a remarkable degree.
Benge moved from Chicago to Burbank, California in 1953,
continuing and expanding production and models. He tragically
died in a car wreck in 1960 and his son, Donald continued running
the shop until 1972. At this time he sold the company to King
Musical Instruments. A new factory was built in Anaheim,
California. Benge trumpets reached their zenith of popularity in the
1970s and 1980s with popular figures such as Herb Alpert and
Claude Gordon using then exclusively and promoting them. For a
variety of reasons, Benge trumpets have lost popular favor even
though some great players still swear by them. After expanding the
range of trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn models available and
including trombones in the 1990s, the parent company has pared
back and offers only the original 3X model trumpet along with
pocket and piccolo trumpets. On the up side, Zig Kanstul, who ran
the Benge plant in Anaheim, continues to make "Burbank" and
"Chicago" model instruments that are similar to the original models.
Click on images for larger views.
was principal trumpet in the Detroit Symphony from 1928 until
1933 at which time he took the same position in the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra. During these years he experimented with
trumpet design and began building complete trumpets by 1935. He
had played French Besson trumpets up to the time that he made his
own which are closely modeled after them. The (or one of the)
Besson(s) that he used as a model is shown here. A very complete
and well researched history of Benge's early activities has been
written by Joe Lill and his website for collecting and disseminating
all things Benge can be seen here.
This trumpet, built in about 1939, is serial number 637. Assuming
that #500 was Benge's first trumpet and used all the numbers in
between, this is the 138th Benge trumpet. It is the 30th earliest
known to Joe Lill and the earliest medium bore. The bore
measures .453" which was one of the two bore sizes used by
Besson in France, the other being approximately .460". The bell
rim diameter is 4 11/16" and the overall length is 19 1/2" (19" from
bell rim to bell curve). It was originally silver plated; traces of the
plating can be seen in corners. The refinishing in lacquer must have
been done many years ago and is in very good condition other than
where a plastic valve cover has damaged it. All of the parts are
original accepting the adjustable finger ring on the third slide. This
trumpet was made, like the Besson trumpets from the period, with
the ring on the bottom of the third slide where the (broken) stop rod
assembly is now and the stop rod was originally on top. A great
many of the early Benge and Besson trumpets have been modified
in this way over the years. The Lifton case and cover shown may
be the original from new. The canvas cover has helped preserve it
to a remarkable degree.
Benge moved from Chicago to Burbank, California in 1953,
continuing and expanding production and models. He tragically
died in a car wreck in 1960 and his son, Donald continued running
the shop until 1972. At this time he sold the company to King
Musical Instruments. A new factory was built in Anaheim,
California. Benge trumpets reached their zenith of popularity in the
1970s and 1980s with popular figures such as Herb Alpert and
Claude Gordon using then exclusively and promoting them. For a
variety of reasons, Benge trumpets have lost popular favor even
though some great players still swear by them. After expanding the
range of trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn models available and
including trombones in the 1990s, the parent company has pared
back and offers only the original 3X model trumpet along with
pocket and piccolo trumpets. On the up side, Zig Kanstul, who ran
the Benge plant in Anaheim, continues to make "Burbank" and
"Chicago" model instruments that are similar to the original models.
Click on images for larger views.