Regarding the Monopole and the star Monopole I have no information. I only had the opportunity to have a look on pre WW2 catalogs and there is only Monopole. In 1934 appears the Monopole Conservatoire model with 'a larger bore'. Seems considered by Couesnon at this time as the 'ultimate' flugel. 17496 Fluegel Monopole Couesnon & Cie, full bell engraving 16512 Trumpet Mono-Star 19470 Fluegel Monopole C&Cie N 20228 Cornet Monopole C&Cie, Beaux Arts, 94 address N 20582 Trumpet New Star C-SA, Special, unique engraving looks modern 21470 Cornet Monopole C&Cie N.
Q: Whatever happened toCouesnon?
Couesnon is one of the great names in brass instruments, inbusiness over 170 years. It grew to include eight factoriesemploying, at one time, over 1800 people in France. In the USA in the1950s, the Couesnon flugelhorn became very popular as a doublinginstrument for jazz trumpet artists. Their flugelhorn sounded great,was readily available, and was cheap. They were everywhere. Itsdesign is copied by the overwhelming majority of instrument makerswho now make and market flugelhorns.
Why is it, then, that one can no longer buy such a popularinstrument?
A:
Actually, you can. Here's the story.
The Couesnon company was started in 1827, in ChâteauThierry, a small city on the Marne River, 50 miles east of Paris, anarea traditionally associated with the making of brass instruments,according to Richard Dundas, in his book, Twentieth Century BrassMusical Instruments in the Twentieth Century (third edition). Thecompany was purchased by the Couesnon family in 1883 and already hadan outstanding reputation as a maker of fine instruments. Theproduction included percussion, woodwinds (including double reeds),small and large brasses, and military bugles. Under the personaldirection of Amedee Couesnon for 48 years, the company won manymedals and awards for quality production and technical innovation.
They made many horns which were imported into the United States,including many that were sold under the names of music stores andother private labels.
By 1911, Couesnon had expanded to eleven factories and more than1000 workers, meeting the needs of many performing groups andmilitary bands. During this time the products were highly soughtafter and were played by many of the virtuosos at the time. To get asense of this, take a look at theCouesnon1915 Catalog. Although they made virtually any musicalinstrument, during the 1930s they began catering to 'Fanfare bands'(marching brass bands very popular at the time), and gradually becamealmost the only supplier of marching brass instruments in France. Atthis same time, prior to the war, the Couesnon trumpet factory inParis was located right next door to the F. Besson trumpet factory,where the premiere trumpets prior to World War II were made.Curiously, the Couesnon trumpets of the time look virtually identicalto the F. Besson models.
At the end of World War II, the music business started to change,but Couesnon continued to deal primarily with the special needs andinstruments of brass and military bands. The C/Bb trumpet marketbecame dominated by Selmer, Courtois, LeBlanc in France and even thelarger American manufacturers. The public continued to associateCouesnon with the brass band; not the orchestral or jazz band.Starting in the 60 's and during the next 20 years, Couesnon tried toexpand its share in markets other than fanfare bands. They made aline called 'Monopole Conservatoire' higher quality instruments,trying to gain more customers in conservatory (music students). Forexample, they employed Mr Bernard Soustrot (first prize in the 1976Maurice André Competition in Paris) to try all the piccolostrumpets made in the workshop and to give his 'blessing' to these newinstruments. Unfortunately, these efforts proved ultimatelyineffective, and their traditional market continued to decrease inpopularity to the point that brass bands have almost all disappearedin France. According to Richard Dundas, sixty percent of theproduction was exported throughout the world with as much thirtypercent sold in the United States. However, as sales declined, theprofits dwindled and the losses mounted. Factories were sold off andin 1969 the main factory in Château Thierry was badly damagedby fire, destroying the archives. In 1978, the contract with Gretchto import Couesnon instruments to the United States was terminatedand new Couesnon instruments have been very rare in the US since thattime.
The fire resulted in loss of all the company records, includingthose which would make it possible to determine the year ofmanufacture from the serial number. This question arises all the timeand there appears simply to be no information available. I've triedover a number of years to see if anybody in the US or France has thisinformation, or any key to the odd numbers that are found stamped allover some Couesnon instruments. There seems to be no key or patternto them. And worse yet, so very few Couesnon instruments are in thehands of the original owners that attempting to establish a data baseof serial numbers and date of manufacture (as has been successfullydone with Benge trumpets) is impossible.For a while one major retailer of used instruments used to attachdates of manufacture on the Couesnons they were selling based on theserial numbers. I inquired as to where they were getting thatinformation (only wishing to provide web space for it), they answeredvaguely and then discontinued the practice entirely withoutexplanation. Sorry about that.
Here, however, might be some good news: Steve H., a correspondentwho has purchased several Couesnons, writes:
A customer in France who deals in vintage hornsgave me this info which seems to work, judging by condition andstyling of various examples. In the 'grenade,' the circle with flamecoming out of the top [editor's note: some people think that it's'the pineapple,' pictured nearby, and they only appear on someinstruments], below the word PARIS is a number which indicates theyear of manufacture, 6 would mean 1906, 24 would mean 1924, 65 means1965 and so forth.
So, everybody take a look. Matching the estimated age of yourCouesnon with the number described, If you think it might be possiblethat it is the date of manufacture, pleaselet me know.
Althoughtoday the company has only 25 employees working in its sole shop inChâteau Thierry, Couesnon is still in business. In 1999, theFrench drum maker P.G.M. bought the name, the tooling, and thefactory to give it new life. The company is now known as P.G.M.Cousenon. Their most popular products are hunting horns and tambourdrums mainly for the French market. Unfortunately all the mandrelsand tooling needed for the making of C, Bb and piccolo trumpets hadbeen stolen, so the workshop is making only brass band instruments,such as the flugelhorn ('bugle' in French), cornet, tuba, a trueFrench French horn, with piston valves and extended stems for lefthand operation, hunting horns, and a natural trumpet (Jeanne of Arcmodel) and of course military bugles ('clarion' in French) includingbass bugles, cavalry trumpets and so forth. Many of these instrumentshave unique designs. As the instruments are hand made in very smallquantities, the quality, I am told, is exceptional.
The company is now a very small family owned business whoseownership is found in the company's name, P.G.M.
P comes from the family name Planson, the ownerof the drum company who bought Couesnon in 1999. Both mother andfather work at the company, mother in the office and father in theproduction. They have two daughters Sophie and Isabelle who actuallyown the company today.
G comes from Sophie's married name which is Glace. She runsthe company now, and her husband Stephan Glace works as productionmanager.
M comes from Isabelle's married name which is Moret. She isa sewer and makes instrument bags. Her husband does not work at thecompany.
The company is all situated in one building, containing office,manufacturing, storage, and lacquering. Only silverplating and casemaking are done elsewhere. Production facilities are old-fashionedand the employees are skilled hand craftsmen, somewhat similar toSchilke--no computer controlled devices and just a littleelectromechanical machinery. All of the Couesnon instruments are tobe regarded as handmade. Strangely enough nobody at the factory couldplay, at least not a flugelhorn, and professionals musicians werecalled in for the final testing.
They make three flugelhorn models, to wit:
- 137 Tradition, which is the small one (2003 price 1031 Euro, in lacquered version which is standard),
- 142 Monopole (1721 Euro) and a 142 CR (Cuivre Rose) which has rose brass bell (1892 Euro).
- 144 which is the 4 valve version (1804 Euro).
I've heard rumors of an all copper version and silverplating isavailable on request for all models except the 142 CR.
Production of flugelhorns is about 50-60 a year, and except from afew sold in France, most are sold to Japan. Because the production isso small, they are not found in large quantities in music stores,even in France. There are no distributors. Thus, the only way toacquire a new Couesnon instrument is to order directly from thefactory.The company struggles and its marketing efforts are from thesame age as the tooling. They don't have a web-site, they don't havee-mail, they don't take credit cards, and they don't seem to have adistribution network. Communications and transportation to ChateauThierry is poor . There are only a few trains to/from Paris, and nobuses. No brochure could be found anywhere in Paris, only in theiroffice.
Couesnon can be reached by phone at 0323835675 (Sophie Glace, whoanswers the phone, speaks pretty good English), and by fax 0323836797(responses are somewhat slow in coming).
In January 2005, PGM-Couesnon slipped quietly into the computerage, launching their ownwebsite. It isvisible in both French and English.
I'm indebted toJean-MichelSouche, a young French trumpetplayer and teacher who was able to research and tell me much of theinformation about the current status of the company and its products.I am also grateful for OlafBrattegaard of Oslo, Norway, who visited the company in February2003 and reported to me much additional and more current information.Feel free to contact Mssr. Souche if you are interested in any ofthese products or Mr. Brattegaard if you have more questions. For the1915 Couesnon catalog link, I'm grateful to Jean Monange.
© 2000 - 2007 by James F.Donaldson
All rights reserved
Answers from the Trumpet Girl: New Again Custom-Classics
A Custom Classic?
I want a pro horn & can't afford it.
A custom Classic is a vintage, quality horn modified and rebuilt, with custom improvements which bring it into the 21st century, and raise it to a professional horn standard.
A vintage or student horn can have all the features of a pro model - be just as easy to play, for a much lower price.
A custom leadpipe, first & third slide reversals/rings and bracing conversions can make an old favorite into a new comeback player that you just can't put down!
Precision adjustment for the stock mouthpiece-receiver-leadpipe gap for your chosen mouthpiece can make a difference for anyone.
The most affordable / playable horn is a custom classic.
Why try a Hybrid?
It’s not really a new idea...
1930s-40s Hybrid trumpets were built by York, Acme, Grand Rapids, Rudy Muck & others.
No one makes a trumpet with the sound I want! So, how do I choose?
My Bb & C trumpets play so differently, what can I do?
Don’t chose! By using Bb parts to build a C conversion, your C trumpet will feel very close to the Bb version.
The prettiest of the old trumpets will never function well enough to play & enjoy forever. Not always:
My well-loved horn is just worn out – Put that antique bell onto a more recent body and keep playing the vintage sound, but with modern intonation and new parts!
I prefer most the valve action of my OLDS, but the sound of a copper or nickel bell is for me – Not a problem to change it to your specs.
My Yamaha or Schilke valves are the Yamalloys but the overall sound is good – Put that bell & slides onto a better valve assembly unit!
My small-bore Conn trumpet has me too much backpressure & I tire easily - Keep up that sound & make it easier to play with a variable/dual bore design! (Copper Director, or Connstellation bells)
I want a more decorative bell design - mixed metals, custom bend. Find your favorite bell design and put it onto a great playing body! Customized bells are not a problem to install.
My old large bore trumpet sounds so stuffy! old 485 bore Conn Pan Am, Director / 470-4 bore German built stencils - Install a new leadpipe with a modern taper, it will improve playability immensely!
The bell flare is too small? I cannot play loud enough with out cracking the notes - Change it to a Yamaha bell, which has a large 5' flare, (easily affordable)
Why not try a hybrid now?
Why buy custom?
Performing is always a special occasion … Make it easy!
Many manufacturers have called their factory-produced horns 'Custom, Professional or Artist' models, but are they? – Not really, not any more! UMI has united too many of the major US companies that had been fierce competitors in the past. The result was no better than the venture of American Motors Corp. (remember the Pacer & Gremlin cars?)
Most recently, parts design & brand names have been interchanged between models. That blurs lines of quality & expectation…did you know that the newest Conn Vintage One and Benge 90 models are actually on a King valveset? And, now the King Silver Flair is not a King at all!
Players, including comeback players, who are shopping for a vintage horn by brand or model name will be left disappointed. No longer are student horns made with hand fitted quality, or at a good price. If you want an inexpensive, new student trumpet? Bach does market one, it comes from China now, but with their American name on it. It is not US quality!
Many players buy the so-called professional horns only to have them corrected & modified to play properly by someone else, who is more sensitive to a player's needs. The Bach Stradivarius is a prime example. Professors teach to the horn - not the player. These factory, built-in defects consume time to overcome. That time could be spent developing/perfecting your style.
Why have these issues at all? A Strad bell mounted onto your favorite trumpet body gives the same sound, without added playing hassles.
Do you have difficulty finding a certain horn without sticker shock? A used, less than gorgeous trumpet may meet your needs more readily and affordably
“I want a horn with lasting 'sizzle”. It’s hard to play for long hours on my Schilke or CG Benge because they are so light in weight that, most of the air energy is gone before it exits the bell flare! The use of a heavier, larger bore body (with a lightweight bell or shaved flare) helps with most endurance problems and keeps the sizzle going!
I think I am playing loudly, but still cannot be heard. Projection is your problem. Adding some weight to the bell/leadpipe braces or valveset greatly improves the projection & volume, so you work less & sound better!
Many articulation problems are largely due to the mouthpiece-to-receiver-to-taper gap. This is a minor problem and makes players go on an equipment safari & waste their money!
I adjust a given horn to sound its best, fitted to the mouthpiece of your choice. It is play tested until I am satisfied!
A reversed leadpipe & slides will always improve airflow & pitch quality –These are solid facts!
A custom trumpet is built for you the player, for ease of playing, not for any high profit margin!
Why spend on vintage or classic & not buy new?
Why not? American horns built between 1940 & 1970 are of the best quality ever made!
The phrase ‘Buy American’ meant something when there was still real competition & pride in the manufacture of instruments. Student horns of yesteryear are of much better quality than new pro horns offered today, which is why I use them often to build upon.
If you need an affordable horn, but with quality/durability to learn on, Think about a refurbished American Classic trumpet or cornet. For example: Conn Director, Holton Collegiate, Getzen 300 series, Selmer-Bundy, Olds Ambassador. All are very well made instruments.
Classic trumpets were built for the time's most popular players and many had custom features. In the sales arena, a player's great sound was often attributed to their choice of trumpet.
Old timers like, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Louis Prima, and Roy Hargrove all played on the (student) OLDS Ambassador!
Bix Beiderbecke's and Wild Bill Davison's original 30s jazz sound came from their Conn Victor 80A (cornets).
Generations of players have pursued the sound quality of: Miles Davis' or Chet Baker's Martin Committee, Dizzy's Silver Flair, Harry James' & Satchmo's French Selmers.
Nat Adderly & Cat Anderson played Connstellation
Maynard Fergusen designed for Holton (as did Al Hirt)
Doc Severinsen endorsed Getzen, Conn & BelCanto.
Herbert Clarke's earliest Holtons (although several were built with differing bore sizes, he dubbed it 'the perfect cornet'),
A vintage or classic trumpet will always retain & increase in value - they don't make them like that anymore! Current (unionized) assemblers keep up their production numbers now, and the price is a sacrifice of quality.
What is a Stencil?
Catalog & store sales driven by price & availability
Many companies achieving large production output often sell some of their horns without labeling them, so a dealer or store can ‘stencil’ their own name to it. Early on, many small US companies were importing & relabeling inexpensive Austrian, Belgian, or West German made horns (Baxter-Northrup, JW Pepper, York, Lyon-Healy, etc). Europe was our 1950's 'China' for cheap horns!
Larger American builders always stood behind the quality of their parts, assembled or not.... Perhaps the largest builder of stencil trumpets was Blessing. Commanding a wide & early market with their high quality valve sections, they were able to sell everything they could make, often taking up the shortfalls of their competition's shipping commitments!
The first New York Bach trumpets were made with Blessing valves. I have Blessing stencils that were built for DEG, Donald E. Getzen (in .464 bore), and Conn’s Pan-American model, Commander by Gretsch (468). At the stores, - Rockwell-Nappe, Silvertone at Sears were big private stencil labels.
Stencils from Getzen - Boston Beacon & many others, are found, notable by the early 'deluxe' model type distinctive two piece bell (may be joined by the heavy, single piece brace (which is the hex mouthpiece receiver) & the simple pressed/hammered brackets elsewhere. These were very well made horns!
Blessing is still an independent company in Elkhart. And Getzen still exists in Elkhorn. Both of these companies, I consider truly ALL AMERICAN, since they both still build & market their own line of student instruments, as well an excellent professional line of instruments.
Not all stencils with the same name are the same trumpet. Not at all - there were several Sears Silvertones (Austrian, German, French, or American) The name Silvertone was allowed on the imported instruments only after Sears was sued by HN White / King who claimed the Silvertone name for its Sterling-belled models...(The lawsuit affected only US companies, like Blessing)
It was easier for Sears to change builders than rename ‘their’ horns or reprint catalogs.
You could examine three Gretsch Commanders, side by side; they may well be made by different builders or nations (Gretsch is mainly a percussion/Bugle company)
Couesnon Flugelhorn Serial Numbers
Buying a stenciled instrument is a sometimes-cautious venture, but it can be rewarding!
Are you environmentally conscious?
The best of low- & non-toxic materials / processes available.
Couesnon Trumpet Serial Numbers
Nearly all parts I use are used or refurbished from American vintage instruments. Rarely will a part be newly produced or shipped from overseas, - except for minor expendables (cork, felt, oil, grease, etc.)
I often find ‘take-off’ parts removed from newer horns by high end builders, like Harrelson.
All cleaning, soldering, polishing operations used are non-toxic to me, the player & our environment. Elbow grease is a rarely known commodity today & I use it often!
Vintage Couesnon Flugelhorn
I am a very safe builder, with a dangerous horn, offering a great and unique playing experience.
Try a Custom Classic today!