Evolution

Callet Trumpets

SIMA unveiled ~

Though I retired in 2003, I continued to obsess over a significant problem well known in the brass world. Despite major improvements in manufacturing and technology, why did a few select vintage trumpets still play and sound better than all modern trumpets?

I spent the last 5 years buying, testing, and tearing apart over 75 of the finest trumpets ever created: vintage Bachs, Martins, Conns, Kings, Bessons, Benges, Pardubas, Rudy Mucks, Blessings, Reynolds, Yorks, Calicchios, Olds, etc. My decades of machining mouthpieces, building custom trumpets, and teaching world class professionals taught me to HEAR a great trumpet. My careful calculations of the minute details of the real gems taught me the secrets of the greatest trumpets ever made.

My goal, overcome the major problems in modern trumpet design:

	*an ever wider and spread sound lacking center focus and core*
	*timbre that changes with register*
	*intonation that requires tiring lip adjustments*
	*limited projection that demands extra effort and significant overblowing in order to be heard in contemporary venues*
	*an upper register that pinches, won't slot, and falls flat*
	*a feel in the hands that is neither balanced nor comfortable*

I’ve entrusted my newest and finest design, the Callet SIMA, to one of America’s most respected hand craftsman. We’ve matched a legendary, time-tested leadpipe to a new valve section that precisely matches the required blow. We’ve added my most perfected bell, but in a new, heavier gauge for unmatched core and focus and a sound to die for. After countless hours of play testing with some of New York’s finest professionals, we’ve eliminated all the braces and attachments that detract from the ultimate sound. Then, we fine tuned the remaining braces to optimize richness, brilliance, and spot-on intonation. Finally, we balanced and positioned the valve section to provide the finest feel in the hands of any trumpet ever made.

The result – the Callet SIMA! Fifty years in the making, I am confident my newest trumpet will set the standard for the next fifty years and well beyond.

- Jerome Callet