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 There's
a new name on staff at the Yamaha facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Brass designer extraordinaire Bob Malone has come all the way
from California to assist Yamaha in taking brass instruments
to the next level. Relocating with his family from the West Coast,
Malone has become a permanent part of the Yamaha Band & Orchestral
development team. |
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To accommodate
the renewed quest to provide the highest quality service, a new
3,000 square foot custom shop has recently been constructed within
the division's Grand Rapids plant. Joining Malone in this space
is Hiroshi Nakajima, a top clarinet designer who recently arrived
from Japan, to perform similar feats for Yamaha woodwind players.
This exciting merger will establish Grand Rapids as a breeding
ground for innovation. "I believe that Bob Malone is one of the most creative and original forces in the brass world today," says Yamaha artist James Thompson, professor of trumpet at the Eastman School of Music. "We can definitely look forward to many pleasant surprises from Bob and Yamaha." Malone started out as a brass player himself, with aspirations of becoming an orchestral musician. But his true calling was realized when he began working in the instrument modification and custom-ization field for some extra income. "A lot of things came together to spark the growth of my career," explains Malone. "I was working for Larry Minick and studying trumpet with Tom Stevens. As I became more skilled at Minick's shop, I would experiment on my own trumpets. Tom would play them and liked what I was doing, so I ended up modifying his trumpets. The relationship proved to be a very important one for me, as Tom was very well connected among the top international players. He is responsible for launching me into the elite world of trumpet players. When he played in Europe, he'd share what I'd done with others ... so the whole business really spread by word of mouth. Years ago, I could follow the pedigree of my business like a family tree-but it has grown way, way beyond that." Malone got involved with Yamaha when he took part in customizing a trumpet for Swedish trumpet soloist H†kan Hardenberger in 1989. "Since then, I've done several other projects with Yamaha," says Malone, "building trumpet prototypes and other custom projects. If anything could make moving away from Los Angeles |
the most comfortable situation possible, it
would have to be moving to Michigan and working for Yamaha." 
"Bob is
a master craftsman," says trumpet artist Bob Sullivan, associate
principal trumpet for the New York Philharmonic. "He is
extremely sensitive to the needs of the professional trumpeter."
Malone worked a little magic for Sullivan a few years ago, doing
a complete conversion on a Yamaha C trumpet. "The result
is a fantastic trumpet that I've used in my work ever since-both
solo and with the Philharmonic," says Sullivan. "He
made it the smoothest, sweetest-sounding instrument I've ever
played." |
explains. "He has a lot of knowledge and
tremendous experience, but he also knows that there's a different
answer for everyone." "I have always tried to avoid telling anybody what direction they should go in," says Malone. "I help them figure it out for themselves by showing them what the possibilities are. There are so many different ways to go; it's easy to be overwhelmed. If I'm careful, I can help-without making the decision for them. They'll make their own choices. Some people in this business tend to push players in a certain direction and if there are problems, they say, 'Well, your equipment is set up correctly; you need to change your playing to adapt to the equipment.' I can't do that. I've always adapted the instrument to the player." Malone's way of doing things is on a par with Yamaha's open ear to creative vision. Yamaha's dedication to the artist and to moving forward jibes perfectly with Malone's own creed. "One of the reasons I decided to come to Yamaha is because they value the professional player and that aspect of their business," explains Malone. "It's such a great match for me to be in that environment, because that's the world that I work in. My goals fit so well with what Yamaha is and what Yamaha does." Malone now has more creative freedom than ever to explore new avenues, as well as a top-notch facility in which he can experiment and create. As brass players all over the world look to Grand Rapids for the next best thing in the field, Yamaha will take a new position in the scheme of the professional instrument industry. "I think the guy is a genius," says legendary trumpeter Bobby Shew. "I've been around a lot of horn designers and technicians over the last 40 years, and I've never met anybody that knows what he knows. He's got an inventor's mind-he's looking to improve things. He's always looking to the future to make things better for the next generation of players." The future looks bright for all brass players-they may be new to the profession, they may be new to Yamaha, or they may have been with us for years-either way, things just got a whole lot better. |
 Series Redines the Professional
Trumpet |
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 The
third generation of Yamaha heavyweight trumpets, the Xeno series,
are available for the first time in the US. These trumpets, engraved
with the Xeno logo, offer a faster response, a more focused core
to the tone and more vibrancy to the sound. Models YTR-8335S,
YTR-8345S and YTR-8445S will replace the current heavyweight
6000 Series trumpets. The series includes a special model with
a reversed leadpipe, the YTR-8335RGS. All models include thicker
valve casing braces, new mouthpiece receiver length, new valve
stems, as well as new finger buttons and valve caps."Yamaha has put quite a lot of effort into the development of its professional trumpet line over the past 10 years," says Kurt Witt, Wind Instrument product manager. "The Xeno models truly are the next step in the evolution of this product line. |
The word Xeno is
going to become synonymous with 'professional trumpet.'"
Artists agree. "The Xeno trumpets have a smooth, beautiful sound," says Mark Gould. "They are the most in-tune and versatile C trumpets I have ever played." Gould, principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 1974, assisted with the development of the C models. In addition, Rod Franks, principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra, assisted with the Bb models. The new product offering also includes a distinctive model, the reverse leadpipe Xeno. Model YTR-8335RGS offers the same playing qualities as the entire Xeno series, such as a quick response, free-blowing feel and more vibrancy to the sound. Additionally, the YTR-8335RGS features a reversed tuning slide, extra-heavy mouthpipe receiver with a longer taper leadpipe. In place of a thumbhook, the 8335RGS has a first valve slide ring. "The reverse leadpipe Xeno model is a great addition to the Yamaha pro trumpet lineup," adds Kurt Witt. "We know that throughout the world there are many players looking for a unique model, and the 8335RGS is going to be one that every player will want to check out." |
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Over the years, Bob Malone has worked with musicians from all over the world, including Hakan Hardenberger (trumpet soloist from Sweden), Ole Edvard Antonsen (trumpet soloist from Norway), Eric Aubier (Yamaha artist and trumpet soloist from France), and Otto Sauter (Yamaha artist and trumpet soloist from Germany), as well as American artists including Thomas Stevens, Michael Sachs, James Thompson, and Bobby Shew. Some of Malone's other clients include:
To contact Bob Malone, email: bmalone@yamaha.com. |
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