DoctorValve.com offers repair services for valves on trumpets and more
Title
Doctor Valve, Trumpet Repair and Restoration
Description
About Doctor Valve
My name is Steve Winans and my lifelong association with the trumpet began when I was eight years old. When I went to choose an instrument for band, I was uncertain about which instrument to play. The band director sized me up and said, "You look like a trumpet player." That was enough for me and my musical journey with the trumpet was off and running. As I progressed through school, my interest continued to grow and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study trumpet with several excellent teachers. First was Luther Didrickson, (CSO, Lyric Opera, etc.) who taught at Northwestern University and, after my family moved to Binghamton NY, I studied with Allen Dean (Yale and St Louis Brass Quintet), who was free-lancing in New York and playing in the New York Brass Quintet at that time.
In 1977 I returned to Chicago to continue my education with Tom Crown at Roosevelt University. My dorm roommate was Bengt Paulsson (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra), at school on a scholarship provided by the man who would become my next trumpet instructor, mentor, and boss: Renold Otto Schilke (Chicago Symphony Orchestra '36-'51.) Roosevelt University was only a block away from his factory, where I was fortunate to get a job making and working on some of the worlds finest trumpets. Until his death in 1982, I studied trumpet and was able to learn a great deal about making and repairing trumpets from Renold and the master craftsmen who were employed at his factory at the time. During these earlier years, all trumpet players were welcome at the factory, and top players were always stopping by for repairs, lessons, and socializing. It was heaven for a trumpet geek like myself. This era in the company's history fostered the development of a number of world renowned talented brass instrument technicians, including: Rich Ita, Kevin Powers, Scott Laskey and Ron Pinc, and me, Steve Winans.
I acquired nearly twenty years of valuable experience working in the final assembly group at his (and later his children's) manufacturing plant. During that time I fit the valves of thousands of Renold's trumpets. This was my primary job. I also was responsible for the final quality check and play testing of the instruments. Another aspect of my work there was performing valve jobs on customer's horns. In the earlier years, when the company had a full service repair department, I worked on just about every conceivable make and model of trumpet or cornet. These ranged from fairly common horns such as Bach, Conn, Getzen, and Olds, to less common makes like Benge, Calicchio, and King, to rare and vintage instruments like Distin and Boston cornets, cornopians, and the French Besson flugelhorn of Jon Faddis.
