Bob Malone Joins Yamaha and Sets Up Custom Brass Shop

BOB MALONE JOINS YAMAHA AND SETS UP CUSTOM BRASS SHOP

—Renowned Instrument Designer Brings Experience, Top Reputation—

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (April 9, 2001)—"The guy's got a streak of genius in him," jazz trumpeter Bobby Shew says of brass instrument artisan Bob Malone, which is like the pot calling the kettle "brilliant." After 18 years working in California as a sought-after independent talent, Malone has come to Michigan to join Yamaha Corporation of America's Band & Orchestral Division. "The Custom Shop," a new 3,000-sq.-ft. facility within the division's Grand Rapids plant, celebrates its grand opening on May 4.

Top brass artists call Bob Malone a genius when it comes to customizing their instruments. Now, Yamaha calls him one of its own.

"Bob Malone has worked on instruments for top players all over the world, so he has a terrific reputation," says Michael Bennett, vice president and general manager, Band & Orchestral Division. "As an independent consultant, he also helped design several very successful models for Yamaha. To have him set up shop under our roof is a real coup, and artists who use our horns are going to be amazed by what he can do."

With a background that includes professional trumpet performance and master class instruction with a deep knowledge of physics, acoustics and metallurgy, Malone can customize brass instruments to fine-tune their feel in the artist's hands, note-to-note flexibility, tonal color and other critical properties. "If they want a trumpet that plays a little darker, I can hedge it, for example," Malone explains. "If they want it brighter, I can do that. Every musical instrument has its eccentricities. The idea is to make the instrument as responsive as possible, to make the intonation the best that it can be."

He routinely uses video imaging similar to medical endoscopic equipment to peer inside precision valves, and he has developed a proprietary process known as Dynamic Sound Expansion (DSE) to make fine adjustments in a horn's acoustic response. "There are certain methods I've developed to actually change the characteristics of the metal," he explains.

Malone has designed and manufactured his own signature model mouthpipes, leadpipes and tuning slides, as well as one-of-a-kind instruments like a bass flugelhorn and a C/D trumpet with a change valve. Through a separate business he established with Rheuben Allen in 1998, ArtistTech, Inc., they designed and patented the Interchange-A-Bore system of clarinet barrels.

Malone helped design the Yamaha Mike Vax YTR-6335HSMV model trumpet.

In his previous work as a Yamaha consultant, Malone helped design the Mike Vax model trumpet (YTR-6335HSMV) and contributed to the design of the Bobby Shew model trumpet (YTR-6310Z) and Bobby Shew flugelhorn (YFH-6310Z), a process that included personally building the original prototypes. In addition to those artists and numerous other artist level musicians, he has done work for Håkan Hardenberger, Ole Edvard Antonsen, and the trumpet section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Shew first encountered Malone when they began working on what would later become his signature model trumpet. "I was looking for a horn that was easier to play and still didn't lose any of the other characteristics," Shew recalls. "Bob understood the physics of the instrument well enough that he could make adjustments internally."

(L-R) Yo Mikami, Assistant General Manager; Glenda Plummer, Senior Marketing Manager; Hiroshi Nakajima, Woodwind Design Technician; Bob Malone, Brass Design Technician; Bobby Shew, Jazz Legend & Yamaha Artist; Michael Bennett, General Manager/Vice President; and Bill Matthews, Warranty Service Manager at the grand opening of Yamaha’s Custom Brass Shop on May 4.

In addition to the horns Shew uses for touring and recording, he also maintains a collection of vintage brass, some instruments dating back to the Civil War. "Bob's the guy that I would prefer to work on my horns over anybody I know," he asserts. "With Yamaha's consistency in manufacturing, and Bob's technical knowledge, this is potentially one of the greatest mergings I've seen."

"I have a great relationship with Yamaha, and it's only going to develop further," Malone says. "I was at a point where I wanted to expand my business, and this is a great opportunity, a marriage of my skills with Yamaha's resources and support systems."

Malone's services will be available to all Yamaha brass artists, and he will continue to assist with research and development projects and artist relations. Additionally, Hiroshi Nakijima, a top clarinet designer who recently arrived from Japan, will share the workspace and perform similar feats for Yamaha woodwind players.

For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, 3445 East Paris Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49518; call (616) 940-4900; send e-mail to info@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/band.

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