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Does anyone know the brand-names of musical instruments that are being produced by Amati for the US market?

Amati produces Cerveny instruments that I know of.

I believe that parts of EM Winston's line are still very much Amati-made.

...or were you talking about Amati's "house brands" like Stowasser, Lignatone, Musica, etc.?

ScottKoranda wrote: I speculate that the newer Sanders stencils available are no longer Czech made, but instead are Indian or Chinese.

Some of the 'not so newer' Sanders horns from the 70's - 80's(??) were Chinese... The Sanders 'Imperial' for one. I'm surprised your Sanders was made by Amati.

Chuck(G) wrote:I believe that parts of EM Winston's line are still very much Amati-made.

...or were you talking about Amati's "house brands" like Stowasser, Lignatone, Musica, etc.?

YES!... THAT's the information I am looking for. Further, I'm wondering if any the stuff that is marketed by Amati is actually of Asian origin... and just rebadged. How about the house brands of some the large retail (??) mail order houses?

I'm just trying to get a handle on who's doing what in the World these days!

There is a connection between Amati - V.F. Cerveny & Joseph Lidl
Check this web site http://www.lidlinstruments.com/tuba/lbb701.php
Maybe someone will know the Connection.

r smith wrote:There is a connection between Amati - V.F. Cerveny & Joseph Lidl
Check this web site http://www.lidlinstruments.com/tuba/lbb701.php
Maybe someone will know the Connection.

The only connection between the two firms are that both are located in Czech Republic. Josef Lidl is based in Brno while Amati-Denak (including Cerveny) is based in Hradec Kralove. The site you refer to above is a distributor which sells both brands, as well as many other instruments.

According to an e-mail communication I had with Lidl earlier this year, they make only about 60 of the BBb tubas per year, with about half being sold in the U.S. and Canada. They have no U.S. distributor at present, which is a shame. I own the LBB-701 (3/4 BBb) and think it's a very well made and great sounding horn.

Lidl had been around since the late 1800s (as was Cerveny). They were well known for their french horns back "in the day". More recently, they were making student french horns for Besson.

Their web-site is not much to look at, but can be found at: www.joseflidl.cz

My first tuba was a "Brasswind" brand 4 piston top-action 3/4 student horn that was visually identical to an Amati (I forget the model). Vince at Tuba Exchange agreed. It played OK, and proved the concept of a tuba in our micro-orchestra.

TubaTinker wrote:Some of the 'not so newer' Sanders horns from the 70's - 80's(??) were Chinese... The Sanders 'Imperial' for one. I'm surprised your Sanders was made by Amati.

My ca. 1984 Sanders was definitely made by Cerveny.

Rick "who doesn't recall the 'Imperial' model in those days" Denney

ScottKoranda wrote:I wish I had "proof". I wrote to Custom Music and asked but unfortunately did not receive a reply.

Where is it made? To be imported into the U.S., it requires a "Made in [somewhere]" marking. My Sanders said "Made in Czechoslovakia", and on all Cerveny's I've seen that marking is on the mouthpiece receiver.

Rick "thinking ebay no-name brands might be a gray-market exception" Denney

I'm aware of a small BBb 3-piston Holton that has "Made in Czech Republic" etched on the leadpipe. It looks exactly like this.

Daryl Fletcher wrote:I'm aware of a small BBb 3-piston Holton that has "Made in Czech Republic" etched on the leadpipe.

One dead giveaway for Amati piston-valved instruments is the "unique" valve construction--valve casings threaded for the cap internally, rather than externally and "sleeved" casings.

Rotary valves are a different matter and more difficult to tell.

Weren't some Walter Sear and Karl Ziess tubas also made by Amati/Cerveny?

The Amati vs. Cerveny branding has changed over the years, so saying "I have a Cerveny not an Amati" can be pretty meaningless. In any case, AMATI (really an acronym) is the parent company.

Chuck(G) wrote:Weren't some Walter Sear and Karl Ziess tubas also made by Amati/Cerveny?

They were indeed -- my 1974 Sear 4-rotor CC is one of them (assembled at the Amati factory from Cerveny-built components) ...

F.E. Olds
tubas
if it aint from the seventies... it ain't really an olds (some other olds are Blessings and Werils)