Questo forse può esserti utile:The M Series
After Yamaha hired Renold Schilke in the late 60's to "consult" and to design some of their first instruments for the North American market, Yamaha and Schilke cooperated in a number of joint projects up until the Mr. Schilke's death in 1982.
One of these projects was the M series, designed as "intermediate" horns to expand Schilke's market share. Though there were a few M series C and E flat trumpets made, a series of trumpets for Byron Autry, and a few cornets, primarily the M series horns were B flat trumpets built along the specifications of the Schilke B5 (medium large bore, medium large bell). Accurate records were apparently not kept, at least according to one former employee, in contrast to the fastidious records concerning Schilke's custom horns, and so estimates as to the number of horns made is based partially on conjecture. There seem to have been about an equal number of M-I and M-II horns made, with about 1500 of each. Two tunable bell M-II's were made. The first M series horn was made in 1969 and the production seems to have peaked in the mid-seventies. After Mr. Schilke's death in 1982, the relationship with Yamaha and Schilke terminated and no more Yamaha parts were ordered by Schilke. The last M series horns were made in 1984, using up the supply of parts on hand.
The M-I horns were made ("put together" might be more accurate) by Schilke of entirely Yamaha fabricated parts. The M-II horns were made simultaneously with the M-I's. They were built with Schilke leadpipes and for a short time in the earliest years, Schilke bells. According to an early 70's Schilke catalog, the M-II was priced at $20 more than the M-I.
Each of the M series horns had adjustable third valve slide rings and spit valves on the third valve slides, as is common in student or intermediate horns. The bracing were all round (as opposed to hexagonal), and none had the two little nibs on the second valve slide found on Schilke custom trumpets. Some of the M series had first valve saddles, others didn't. They also have the Yamaha design details described below in the Yamalloy valve curse and had serial numbers between 20XXX and 29XXX.
I've recently become aware of a number of very early M1 horns which do not fit the description above. Erik Kurz told me that he had an M1, bearing serial number 16XX, which he took to show Renold Schilke in 1976. Schilke told him it was the first M series trumpet sold. One sold on e-Bay in October 2000 which had serial number 1802, which had a strange mouthpiece receiver, Bach-like valve slides, and odd bell/valve cluster braces. Many un-Schilke like parts. Mike Lawler reports that he has an M1 with serial number 17XX, which sounds very much like these two.
There are also perhaps a dozen M-II's which have "Autrey" stamped on the mouthpiece receiver. These horns were made at the instigation of Byron Autrey during the early 70s while he was professor of trumpet at Michigan State University. These horns were identical to the other M-II's except that they had a more open F. Besson shaped leadpipe.
The M-series trumpets had almost nothing in common with the manufacturing quality and quality control found in Schilke's "custom" horns, as they were not manufactured of the same parts or with the same processes. According to a former employee, they were often assembled in an hour, whereas Schilke used to brag that the "real horns" required 80 hours of manufacturing time. The price of an M series B flat was about 80% of the cost of a Schilke custom trumpet. Most folks wisely elected to come up with what was in those days another $100. For more information and a different view on the quality issue, see the letter to a customer from Mr. Schilke.
As occasionally happens, some of these horns play quite nicely, very similar to the B5, but most are essentially equivalent to older model Yamaha intermediates, and should be priced accordingly. There are usually a couple of M Series trumpets floating around for sale and one would be worth using as a student horn, or for marching band, if he or she could buy it for a student horn price, $350 - $400. I saw one posted for sale for $1200 and I laughed and laughed and laughed. One actually sold on e-Bay for about $750 and that was almost as funny, since an extra $100 can still buy you a good used Schilke custom trumpet, which is a much better horn.
