It's
a bear!
1973 P-15 "Custom" TromboneBore: .500" (12.7 mm)
Bell: 8" (203.2 mm)The P-15 was the first trombone in Olds' "Custom" range. It was
introduced sometime in the mid-1960's (it's not in the 1962 catalog,
but is in
the 1966 catalog) and remained in production into the
mid-1970's
(it's on the 1974 price list, but not the 1978 price list). This
particular instrument carries a
serial number of 8355XX, dating it to mid-1973.
With the exception of the bell, the entire horn is made of nickel
silver. The description of the bell material is not consistent; in
the 1966 and c.1967 catalogs, it's .018" lightweight
"Lub-A-Loy"; the 1973 catalog just says "lightweight brass".
It's
possible "Lub-A-Loy" was Olds' term for lubaloy, a family of
copper-based alloys containing 3-18% zinc and 0.5-2% tin. At any rate,
the bell of
this particular horn looks slight darker/redder than yellow brass.
In
some ways, the P-15 broke new ground for Olds. The dual-bore slide,
heavy braces, and duo-octagonal
inner slide tubes that characterized earlier top-of-the-line small-bore
tenors (i.e., the R-15 and R-20 Recording and the S-15 Super) were
abandoned in favor of a single-bore slide, conventional three-piece
braces, and round inners. On the other hand, and in contrast to the
later
P-16 Custom,
the P-15 borrowed heavily from earlier Olds designs. Based on
my rough measurements, the only parts completely
unique to the P-15 are the end crook of the handslide and the leadpipe.
Some parts, like the slide tubes, are identical to those in other
models, while others, such as the bell, use a different material but
were
made on "borrowed" tooling.
The "Custom" name seems to have been
meant to imply a higher level of hand work. Whether or not that was
actually the case, the cost of a P-15 would certainly lead the buyer to
expect an instrument of the highest quality. In 1974, it listed for
$520; by comparison, the S-15 Super listed for $370 and the R-20
Recording with f-attachment listed for $500.
Overall View
Front |
Bell Engraving
|
Overall View
Back
|
End Crook
|
Handslide Brace
Detail |