TubeNet

I spotted a post on Ebay offering for sale an F.E Olds rotary valve tuba from 2002. Believing that Olds went belly up some 25 years ago, I was skeptical. However, I did find this website offering instruments under the Olds and Reynolds name:

http://www.feolds.com/mainPages/history.htm

Has anyone heard of this outfit? Chinese made horns? Seems someone got the rights to the name.

Well, their only testemonial is from renowned sax freelancer James Spaulding... so I know where I'd look for quality brass!

At first blush, their horns seem to be a mixture of Chinese and Czech (Amati) instruments. Definitely not your grandpa's Olds.

Only a shell of a name lives on. Look elsewhere.

I believe that this company is owned by NEMC. Their primary business is renting instruments to school districts. Here's a link to their website:

http://www.nemc.com/

I wouldn't bother with any of their instruments.

Lew wrote:I believe that this company is owned by NEMC. Their primary business is renting instruments to school districts. Here's a link to their website:

http://www.nemc.com/

I wouldn't bother with any of their instruments.

And their company name seems like an attempt to play off of MENC.

Chuck(G) wrote:And their company name seems like an attempt to play off of MENC.

Really! I know I got whacked on the head, but I had to stare at it for quite a while before I realized the reversal. Sure didn't sound like the MENC that I was a member of... then I realized, it WASN'T.

Can't we get that rogue Baptist church to start picketing THEM somehow?

I had a newish BBb 3/4 top action horn that said Olds on it. I sold it through Dillons. Could never figure out if it was an Amati, Weril, Jupiter, or Chinese stencil. It played ok. Valves worked fine. Sure was shiny!

The ¾ BBb tuba on the new Olds page sure looks like an Amati.

Yeah, but I had the NO98, a bit bigger, and it doesn't look like an Amati. It had the flip in the 3rd valve slide.

I had not heard anything about FE Olds until I saw the post here on TubeNet. The very next day, I dropped by a friends music store and on the counter was a stack of Olds brochures. The rep had just left. I wished I would have been able to talk with him.

Anyway, I called the number on the brochure yesterday and asked to talk with their parts/warrenty person. I had to leave a message for them to return my call. No call was returned so I left another message this morning. This afternoon, the gentleman who handles parts and warranty issues returned my call. I asked him specifically about the origin of the low brasses and found that they are indeed made by Amati. I also asked about the woodwinds and found that they used to be made by Gemeinhardt in the US but since the Gemeinhardt stuff has gone overseas, he really didn't know the exact origin. The bottom line is that although these instruments may be just as good as anything else on the market, they are not made in Fullerton as were some of the great old instruments were. I was told that there are no plans to revive any of the old lines such as 'Ambassador' or 'Opera'. In my opinion, the key to the success of the 'new' Olds instruments will be how well they handle their parts and warranty issues. Time will tell.

They probably think that being the new Olds is better than being a Selman, Bock, Yorque, or Bengay.

At one time, owning an Elgin watch was very desirable. The Elgin National Watch Company was a mass producer of watches and employed thousands in several factories located in (of all places) Elgin, Illinois, Lincoln, Nebraska and elsewhere. It all folded during the mid-60s thanks to Japan and the quartz movement. Elgin National Industries still exists, headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, as a maker of construction industry equiment. The rights to the Elgin watch were sold to two guys who operate out of small office in Brooklyn.

What's in a name???

Alex F wrote:They probably think that being the new Olds is better than being a Selman, Bock, Yorque, or Bengay. What's in a name???

Nothing. If the quality isn't there. The same applies to every brand on the market... including the most trusted names like (well... I won't start mentioning names!) ... A name can be trashed in a very short time these days. It ain't like it takes a letter a month to go from coast to coast like it did at the turn of the century.

Amati/Cerveny tubas
Blessing trumpets, cornets, fluegels and most tbones
some Werils (bassbone)