Vincent Bach Corporation
Encyclopedia
The Vincent Bach Corporation was an American
manufacturer of brass musical instruments
that began early in the twentieth century and still exists as a subsidiary of Conn-Selmer
. The company was founded in 1918 by Austrian-born trumpeter Vincent Schrotenbach (Vincent Bach
).
in 1890. As a child he received training on violin, trumpet and bugle. By age 12 he had concentrated on the trumpet. After he graduated from Maschinenbauschule (Mechanical Engineering School, Ansbach) with an engineering
degree, he entered into compulsory military service in the Imperial Navy
, worked as an elevator operator
, and then was re-conscripted during which time he served as a military musician in the Austrian Marine Band.
When he left the military the second time, Vincent decided to defy his family’s wishes and pursued a career as a solo cornet
ist touring Europe
. At the outbreak of World War I
, he was in England
and was forced to change his name and flee to the United States
in order to escape detention as an enemy alien
. He resumed his career as a performer, interrupted by another term of compulsory military service, this time in the US military as a musician.
While Bach was on tour in Pittsburgh in 1918, a repairman destroyed his mouthpiece
, and Bach began experimenting with mouthpiece repair and fabrication.
The Vincent Bach Corporation began when Vincent purchased a $300 foot-operated lathe
and began producing mouthpieces in the back of the Selmer music store in New York. He established his shop across the street from the musicians' union. He ran an advertisement that read "How to become a wizard on cornet without practicing" and accumulated $500 in orders in a short time and began his career as a manufacturer.
Second New York Period
By 1922 the company incorporated, had 10 employees and moved into a small factory at 237 E. 41st Street in New York. In 1924 Bach began producing cornets and trumpets under the Stradivarius by Vincent Bach Corporation name. In 1928, tenor and bass trombones were added to the product line as the company expanded and relocated.
Third New York Period
In October 1928 the company opened a factory in The Bronx
to produce cornets, trumpets and trombones (both tenor and bass). Shortly after this move, Bach removed the “Faciebat Anno” marking from his bell engraving that had been in use since before the 100th horn, and began stamping the bells with “Model” followed by numbers for the bell mandrel and bore size. Some horns have "New York 67" as the location on the bell and are sometimes mistaken for a "67" bell model, however 67 was the pre-zipcode postal code for the Bronx. This practice continued through most of this period. The bell mandrel number had previously appeared in Bach’s script “Vincent Bach Corporation” that has been an enduring marking on Bach horns.
The company experienced stresses, but survived the depression
and expanded again afterward. During the Second World War
, Bach coped with a shortage of workers and materials and, while not converted to produce war materials as many competitors were, the company cut back on production. Throughout the early years, Bach resorted to mixing parts and modifying earlier horns returned to their ownership during this period to provide requested instruments to customers. Some horns built from extra parts or reconfigured bear an X on the serial number on the second valve casing, others had a digit added to the original serial number. In some cases, the same serial number exists on another horn.
Over the years, the company produced several ranges of trumpet
s, cornet
s, flugelhorn
s and trombone
s, using the brand names Apollo, Minerva, Mercury, Mercedes and Stradivarius. The Vincent Bach Corporation moved in 1953 from New York City to Mount Vernon, New York
. Mt. Vernon Bach horns are prized for being hand-assembled instruments. Mt. Vernon horns can be identified by the Bach manufacturing stamp listing Mount Vernon NY on the second valve casing along with the bore letter code and serial number.
In 1961 Vincent Bach was 71 and the company was acquired
that year by The Selmer Company
, with Bach staying on as a consultant and continuing to work until at least 1974. Bach accepted the bid from Selmer even though some others of the 13 which he received were higher. It is believed that Vincent Bach continued customizing a small number of horns at the old Mt. Vernon facility for special customers.
The bulk of tooling, along with many parts and assembled horns, were relocated to a former Conn factory belonging to the Selmer Company
. The Bach line of brass instrument
s continues to be made in Elkhart, Indiana
, using the same blueprint
s and the same techniques as the originals. They are sold as a premium brand under the name “Bach Stradivarius” as well as the student line “Bach” horns.
, and roughly a third of the strikers returned to work. The strike ended when workers voted to dissolve the relationship between the company and the United Auto Workers
union. As a result, retired employees lost their pensions.
The 70 strikers who returned to work constituted 30% of the pre-strike workforce, but they constituted 57% of the workforce after the strike, which shrank by 46% to 124. In the post-strike period amidst severe economic crisis, sales were down from pre-strike levels by 31% , but gross profit rose from 20% to 22% of sales revenues. Reductions in employee compensation were credited with returning production of student-line horns (the TR-300) from Asia to Elkhart.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
manufacturer of brass musical instruments
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
that began early in the twentieth century and still exists as a subsidiary of Conn-Selmer
Conn-Selmer
Conn-Selmer, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of concert band, marching band, and orchestral instruments. It is a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments and was formed after Steinway bought musical instrument manufacturers The Selmer Company and C.G. Conn.-Founding:In the late 1800s,...
. The company was founded in 1918 by Austrian-born trumpeter Vincent Schrotenbach (Vincent Bach
Vincent Bach
Vincent Bach was a musician and instrument maker, who founded the Vincent Bach Corporation.- Vincent Schrotenbach :...
).
Vincent Bach
Vincent Schrotenbach was born near ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1890. As a child he received training on violin, trumpet and bugle. By age 12 he had concentrated on the trumpet. After he graduated from Maschinenbauschule (Mechanical Engineering School, Ansbach) with an engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
degree, he entered into compulsory military service in the Imperial Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
, worked as an elevator operator
Elevator operator
An elevator operator is a person specifically employed to operate a manually operated elevator...
, and then was re-conscripted during which time he served as a military musician in the Austrian Marine Band.
When he left the military the second time, Vincent decided to defy his family’s wishes and pursued a career as a solo cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
ist touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. At the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was forced to change his name and flee to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in order to escape detention as an enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
. He resumed his career as a performer, interrupted by another term of compulsory military service, this time in the US military as a musician.
While Bach was on tour in Pittsburgh in 1918, a repairman destroyed his mouthpiece
Mouthpiece (brass)
On brass instruments the mouthpiece is the part of the instrument which is placed upon the player's lips. The purpose of the mouthpiece is a resonator, which passes vibration from the lips to the column of air contained within the instrument, giving rise to the standing wave pattern of vibration in...
, and Bach began experimenting with mouthpiece repair and fabrication.
Vincent Bach Corporation
New York Period
First New York Period- Time frame: 1918 - 1922
- Products: Mouthpieces
- Brand names: Vincent Bach
- Location: 11 East 14th Street, Selmer Music, New York, New York
- Set-up shop at: 204 East 85th Street, New York, New York
- Serial Numbers: N/A
The Vincent Bach Corporation began when Vincent purchased a $300 foot-operated lathe
Lathe (metal)
A metal lathe or metalworking lathe is a large class of lathes designed for precisely machining relatively hard materials. They were originally designed to machine metals; however, with the advent of plastics and other materials, and with their inherent versatility, they are used in a wide range of...
and began producing mouthpieces in the back of the Selmer music store in New York. He established his shop across the street from the musicians' union. He ran an advertisement that read "How to become a wizard on cornet without practicing" and accumulated $500 in orders in a short time and began his career as a manufacturer.
Second New York Period
- Time frame: 1922 - 1928
- Products: Mouthpieces, Cornets, Trumpets
- Brand names: Stradivarius, Apollo, Mercury
- Location: 237 E. 41st Street, New York, New York
- Serial Numbers: 1-1000 (approximate)
By 1922 the company incorporated, had 10 employees and moved into a small factory at 237 E. 41st Street in New York. In 1924 Bach began producing cornets and trumpets under the Stradivarius by Vincent Bach Corporation name. In 1928, tenor and bass trombones were added to the product line as the company expanded and relocated.
Third New York Period
- Time frame: 1928–1953
- Products: Mouthpieces, Cornets, Trumpets, Flugelhorns, Trombones
- Brand names: Stradivarius, Apollo, Mercury, Mercedes
- Location: 621 East 216th Street, Bronx, New York
- Serial numbers: 1000 – 10,999
In October 1928 the company opened a factory in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
to produce cornets, trumpets and trombones (both tenor and bass). Shortly after this move, Bach removed the “Faciebat Anno” marking from his bell engraving that had been in use since before the 100th horn, and began stamping the bells with “Model” followed by numbers for the bell mandrel and bore size. Some horns have "New York 67" as the location on the bell and are sometimes mistaken for a "67" bell model, however 67 was the pre-zipcode postal code for the Bronx. This practice continued through most of this period. The bell mandrel number had previously appeared in Bach’s script “Vincent Bach Corporation” that has been an enduring marking on Bach horns.
The company experienced stresses, but survived the depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and expanded again afterward. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bach coped with a shortage of workers and materials and, while not converted to produce war materials as many competitors were, the company cut back on production. Throughout the early years, Bach resorted to mixing parts and modifying earlier horns returned to their ownership during this period to provide requested instruments to customers. Some horns built from extra parts or reconfigured bear an X on the serial number on the second valve casing, others had a digit added to the original serial number. In some cases, the same serial number exists on another horn.
Mount Vernon Period
- Time frame: 1953–1964
- Products: Mouthpieces, Brass Instruments
- Brand names: Stradivarius, Mercury, Minerva, Mercedes
- Location: 50 South MacQuesten Parkway, Mount Vernon, New York
- Serial Numbers: 1000 – 29,999
Over the years, the company produced several ranges of trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
s, flugelhorn
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
s and trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, using the brand names Apollo, Minerva, Mercury, Mercedes and Stradivarius. The Vincent Bach Corporation moved in 1953 from New York City to Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
. Mt. Vernon Bach horns are prized for being hand-assembled instruments. Mt. Vernon horns can be identified by the Bach manufacturing stamp listing Mount Vernon NY on the second valve casing along with the bore letter code and serial number.
Elkhart Period
- Time frame: 1965 – present
- Products: Mouthpieces, Brass Instruments
- Brand names: Stradivarius, Bundy(Selmer name no longer used), Bach
- Location: 600 Industrial Parkway, Elkhart, Indiana
- Serial Numbers: 30,000 -
In 1961 Vincent Bach was 71 and the company was acquired
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
that year by The Selmer Company
The Selmer Company
Henri Selmer Paris company is a French family-owned enterprise, manufacturer of musical instruments based in Paris, France in 1885. It is known for its high-quality woodwind and brass instruments, especially saxophones, clarinets and trumpets...
, with Bach staying on as a consultant and continuing to work until at least 1974. Bach accepted the bid from Selmer even though some others of the 13 which he received were higher. It is believed that Vincent Bach continued customizing a small number of horns at the old Mt. Vernon facility for special customers.
The bulk of tooling, along with many parts and assembled horns, were relocated to a former Conn factory belonging to the Selmer Company
Conn-Selmer
Conn-Selmer, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of concert band, marching band, and orchestral instruments. It is a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments and was formed after Steinway bought musical instrument manufacturers The Selmer Company and C.G. Conn.-Founding:In the late 1800s,...
. The Bach line of brass instrument
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
s continues to be made in Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
, using the same blueprint
Blueprint
A blueprint is a type of paper-based reproduction usually of a technical drawing, documenting an architecture or an engineering design. More generally, the term "blueprint" has come to be used to refer to any detailed plan....
s and the same techniques as the originals. They are sold as a premium brand under the name “Bach Stradivarius” as well as the student line “Bach” horns.
Strike
On 1 April 2006, workers at the Bach plant in Elkhart began a strike that lasted three years. Production was interrupted until the company hired replacement workersStrikebreaker
A strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
, and roughly a third of the strikers returned to work. The strike ended when workers voted to dissolve the relationship between the company and the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
union. As a result, retired employees lost their pensions.
The 70 strikers who returned to work constituted 30% of the pre-strike workforce, but they constituted 57% of the workforce after the strike, which shrank by 46% to 124. In the post-strike period amidst severe economic crisis, sales were down from pre-strike levels by 31% , but gross profit rose from 20% to 22% of sales revenues. Reductions in employee compensation were credited with returning production of student-line horns (the TR-300) from Asia to Elkhart.