Here we have what appears to be a Yamaha Custom YTR-915 Piccolo Trumpet. According to online sources. The first series of Custom range trumpets were released in 1970, the same year as the Toyooka plant opened and full Yamaha Wind Instrument production started on a large scale. The new ” Custom ” series included 23 different trumpets, including at least one model of trumpet in every key. Note that this initial range of Custom trumpets does NOT fit into the usual Yamaha system of model numbers where the 1st number indicates the Custom range, the 2nd number key, the 3rd bore etc. One difficulty found with in this range is that it appears Yamaha did NOT stamp the MODEL number onto some of these instruments, only their serial number. There are also discrepancies as to when Yamaha stamped the Custom logo onto the leadpipe or other locations. It would seem that the range was supplied in silver plate as standard, although a later Custom catalogue suggests that lacquer was available upon special request, I imagine that Gold plate would have also been available upon request too. With regard to the serial numbers, it seems these early model piccolos use their own series of 4 digit numbers. In this 1st generation of piccolos the bore size was unified as a medium bore of 11.30mm or 0.445. They all use the same YK Yamaha piccolo bell profile. YTR-915 (Bb) 4 valves, Selmer Style, Straight 1st valve slide W-XX. YTR-916 (Bb) 3 valves? Maybe only rotary bass trumpet. YTR-917 (Bb) 4 valves, straight bell. YTR-918 (C) 4 valves, Straight Long, Curved Leadpipe, “Tarr” Model. The first model, the YTR-915 is a 4 valve short model, styled after the Selmer short model piccolo trumpets. The 915 is characterised by its 1st valve slide being straight or parallel to the leadpipe. Similarly, the 4th valve slide is located on the left hand side of the instrument, differentiating it from the current Professional range model YTR-6810/S. This piccolo is reference in the catalogue marked as W-XX Yamaha Custom Band Instruments. Dating from the early 1970s at in my initial post in this thread. The YTR-915 was replaced by the YTR-981 in 1975 when Yamahas 2nd generation of Custom trumpets were introduced. The item “Yamaha Custom YTR-915 Piccolo Trumpet MADE IN JAPAN Rare” is in sale since Friday, December 15, 2017. This item is in the category “Musical Instruments & Gear\Brass\Trumpets”. The seller is “johnnygoodwater” and is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Colombia, Panama, Jamaica, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion.
