It's a bear!

c. 1938 "Wide Tone Ring" Super Trombone
Bore: .485"-.500" (12.3 mm-12.7 mm)
Bell: 7½" (190.5 mm)

To the best of my knowledge, this is the earliest version of the Super that really looks like a Super. While earlier Supers were also made of nickel silver with a "bronze" bell, this is the version that introduced the features most identified with the model: a nickel silver tone ring (referred to as a "German Silver Bell Reinforcing Band") and streamlined braces, dating from roughly 198 (s/n 107xx for the slide, 110xx for the bell). The wider tone ring seen here was only in production for short time (maybe two years) before Olds went to the now-familiar narrow ring. The braces are also a bit different; they are all one piece and fairly heavy. Later versions would have two- and three-piece braces (which made aligning the slide much easier) and the handslide brace was thinned down to reduce weight. Less obvious was the change to one-piece outer slide tubes; the original Super had soldered-on oversleeves.

Every once in a while, someone asks me how I got started collecting Olds trombones. Well, I've had an Olds P-24G bass since my college days, and also had an O-15 Opera, but this is the horn that really got things started - and it was all the result of a series of unrelated and largely random events that led to me wandering into a second-hand store in the downtown historic district of Victorville, California.

I've included a picture of a interesting decal on the outside of the case. My best guess is that it's from Redlands High School in Redlands, California. The mascot and colors match, and Redlands is less than fifty miles from Victorville. Four sports are represented: (American) football, baseball, track, and basketball.

Front	Engraving "Super Olds"	Bell Braces	Slide Braces and Cork Barrels	Back
	Case Decal	End Bow