How we age brass instruments

Ageing of metal, brass to be precise, is a way to beautify instruments. There are even musicians that say it changes the sound of the instrument… Most manufacturers apply an air-brush technique to make an instrument look older. While this of course saves money and time, over time this may ruin the looks of the instrument when the paint comes off. Manually ageing an instrument does not only look more natural, but after a few years of handling and playing the instrument gets even more beautiful . In this video we show you how we age our instruments.

In this video, the bell has been taped to prevent ageing at this part. This way, the original color is kept, resulting in a nice contrast with the outside of the instrument. Of course, it would be possible to do gold or silver plating on the bell.

Click on the pictures for details.