King Instruments

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

King Instruments is a trademark of the Conn-Selmer, Inc. concern , which goes back to the former American manufacturer of brass instruments of this name. In particular, the trumpets of King counted for much of the 20th century along with the instruments of the main competitors CG Conn and Bach the world's most innovative and popular mass-produced trombones of American design.

history

King Instruments was founded as the HN White Company by the brass instrument maker Henderson N. White , who ran a brass instrument repair shop in Cleveland towards the end of the 19th century . At the instigation of Thomas King , who is a friend of the solo trombonist of the Cleveland Lyceum Theater Orchestra , he and Henderson jointly developed a trombone in 1893 with a slide that was much smoother than the instruments of the time and an improved sound. The "King" trombone quickly became the most popular trombone in the entire United States, so that White initially expanded its product range to include a cornet and soon afterwards began to also manufacture trumpets , French horns , baritones and euphoniums with double horns.

As a result, White methodically researched which parameters influence the sound and intonation of various brass instruments. For this purpose he sponsored a 12-member factory band. White was the first manufacturer to bring brass instruments with a bell made of sterling silver onto the market (Silver Sonic) .

After White's death, his widow Edna White took over the management in 1940. 1964 began construction of a new plant in Eastlake ( Ohio ). The following year Edna White sold the company to a group of investors and retired.

In 1966, the company previously known as the HN White Company merged with JP Seeburg , a major consumer electronics manufacturer, and was renamed King Musical Instruments .

1985 the takeover by the competitor CG Conn . This in turn went into the Conn-Selmer, Inc. group in 2002 .

swell