Trumpet Maker Tony Scodwell

    By Art Nadler

    Above Tony Scodwell’s workbench inside his garage hang several brass trumpet bells in various stages of production and a fully completed flugelhorn. Tacked to the wall is a color photograph of Tony showing a dapperly dressed gentleman in a black sports coat two finished trumpets. The man is longtime friend and fellow musician Doc Severson.


    Tony has known Severson since 1963. They’ve played together over the years, and recently he agreed to tour with the former Tonight Show bandleader. Severson was in Las Vegas recently to purchase two trumpets from Tony.

    The longtime Las Vegan began manufacturing trumpets in 1988. He’s sold close to 70 horns worldwide, fetching anywhere from $1,500 a horn and up.

    “I can not only play the things, but I can put them together with ingredients I know will work,’’ Tony says with confidence and authority. ``I came up with a (trumpet) bell that is a good marriage with a valve system.’’

    Unlike most factory made horns, Tony heat-treats his bells, a process called annealing, to a specific temperature. He won’t reveal that temperature, but the musician says it’s what gives his trumpets and flugelhorns a more resounding sound.

    Tony also custom fits the three valves and repositions joints, making sure they are soldered correctly. Each horn, he says, takes an average of 32 hours to complete. Some are gold plated and elaborately engraved.

    “ There’s a lot more life and brilliance in sound in my horns,’’ Tony proudly boasts. “ The sound has more pizzazz. You get more results off the bell.”

    Tony says each horn sounds different, which is why he’ll let a musician play it a while before deciding to purchase it or not. But in all his instruments, he emphasizes that the sound and components must be in harmony with each other to be considered a good trumpet or flugelhorn.

    Having played professionally all his life, five years with the legendary Harry James orchestra, Tony says he knows what ingredients are needed to make an exceptional instrument. Several of his horns, he adds, are sold in the prestigious international Rayburn Musical Instrument Co. in Boston.

    For more information, contact: Tony Scodwell Custom Trumpets, 6229 Fargo Ave., Las Vegas, NV. 89107. Phone: (702) 878-1442.