Trumpet Wood Type

[Cowboy]

Im new to the trumpet world. What does everyone prefer for the wood type and why? Doesnt have to be in depth, just a comment or 2 on the type, look and sound. Curious on personal favorites. 

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[ChesterCopperpot]

Osage: classic, domestic wood and it darkens beautifully over time. Great sound.

African blackwood: turns beautifully, just a gorgeous wood, and super hard so it has a bright sound.

Lignum vitae: same as ABW in that it's gorgeous and super hard so it plays sharp and bright.

Snakewood: also gorgeous and super hard like the other exotics mentioned. My only gripe is that it's bad to split. Some folks will tell you it ain't a matter of if snakewood will split but when. Regardless it makes gorgeous trumpets.

Anyhow, those are my favorite four.


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[Greg Massey]

Cocobolo also makes nice one ...

[Bedge7767]

I'm a Desert Ironwood fan.

[tal]

 Osage fan also. Don't discount synthetics, some materials have great tone.

[Yelper]

Not wood but Delrin makes a great trumpet.

Delrin- sounds are crisp and the material is almost indestructible.

[nitro]

My top 5 in order

Ironwood
Cocus
Cocobola
Lignum
Rosewood- the old stuff from Brazil.

Honorable mention -

Osage
Olive wood
ABW
Bocote
Mesquite

[davisd9]

My top 5 in order

Ironwood
Cocus
Cocobola
Lignum
Rosewood- the old stuff from Brazil.

Honorable mention -

Osage
Olive wood
ABW
Bocote
Mesquite

Be hard to top this list for sure.

[Zobo]

I like grainy woods so ironwood is great because it varies in looks so much but never disappoints. Also like bocote and burl woods

[West Augusta]

Depends on how well the maker made the call.  I've seen some beautiful snakewood trumpets that sound terrible.   You have to run the trumpet and see what works for you.  Don't worry so much about the wood.  Worry about the sound coming out of it. 

[ol bob]

Don't worry about what Mat. a trumpet is made of, its a tool, and any tool made is only as the person using it. The sound is coming from the players lips not the call.  I have a hand full of friends that can make a good trumpet, made from any Mat. sound as good as you will ever hear. What its made of is not going to make it valuable down the road, it the name on it.One exception to  that, I know there is one solid gold call out there, but the 3 most expensive calls out there 2 are cocobolo, 1 river cane, all with hen wing bone mouth pieces.

[Greg Massey]

I will agree the sound comes from the draw of the air and lips. BUT the woods or material that are used in a trumpet does affect the tone of the call. Same with boxes, pot calls , push pins, tube calls and other type calls. Internals, rail thickness, radius, dimensions all of this and more play a part in perfecting average call to a great call. That's what separates all builders in making calls, it's called PERFECTION ... IMO... So again TONE is what we are looking for in wanting that call and different types of woods or material play a factory in making those TONES, if not all calls would sound the same ... IMO .... Learning to play a call is also learning the feel of the call and listening to calls and let it tell you how it wants to be played. It's called Perfection. So you have to learn from whatever call your playing in how to make Tones, sounds, ease of play all these factors play a part. Sure anything at a given time regardless of sound  will make a gobbler gobble.. it's just his day to die ...

[paboxcall]

I'm a Desert Ironwood fan.

  Me too. I'd round it out with bocote and osage.

[ChesterCopperpot]

A couple things I believe most of us can agree on, any wood in the right hands will make a good yelper. The best wood in inexperienced hands will make a crappy yelper. Wood density does affect sound, albeit slightly. Tighter grains like the exotics tend to carry more pop than softer domestics. But, again, the difference is slight. At the end of the day go with a good maker and choose the wood that YOU love the looks of, and that's the major thing. All of us have very different tastes. Some folks love highly figured woods. Some folks love the colors of wood like cocobola. I don't. I like cleaner looks. I like darker woods. I hate reddish tones. At the end of the day if you were to get an X trumpet, say, from Anthony Ellis in some highly figured burl wood and you played my osage or lignum X trumpets and all mouthpieces were the same, I doubt you'd hear much difference. It'd be subtle. But every single one of them would sound great. Pick the wood you find most beautiful. Kill them with something pretty. That's what's fun about different wood choices, being able to get something really personalized that you love and enjoy carrying.


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[Cowboy]

Great information guys. Appreciate all the remarks. 

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