Blackburn History

Cliff and Bunny Blackburn founded Blackburn Trumpets in 1972 while residing in Louisville, Kentucky.  As a member of the Louisville Orchestra, Cliff utilized rehearsals as a laboratory for the development of Blackburn Trumpets and Louisville Leadpipes. His colleagues Leon Rapier and Jerry Amend assisted by providing invaluable input during the evolution of the current Blackburn trumpets.

With the first trumpet completed in 1982, Cliff leveraged his experience and talent, setting in motion an unmatched standard in instrument design and performance. Cliff left the Louisville Orchestra in 1987 in order to devote all of his time to developing and building Blackburn Trumpets. The shop was moved from Louisville to Decatur, Tennessee, in the serene foothills of the Smoky Mountains.

Blackburn trumpets are the result of almost three decades of combined research and development by Cliff Blackburn and William T. Cardwell, one of the most knowledgeable and respected trumpet acousticians in the world.

The materials used for Blackburn trumpet bells were decided upon after years of play testing in performance conditions. Blackburn Trumpets started as the only company using ambronze to produce trumpet and cornet bells. This unique alloy produces a tone that is rich and pure with just the right amount of sparkle. This is one of many reasons that Blackburn trumpets are being used by discerning players around the world.

The craftsmanship of Blackburn Trumpets is legendary. The instrument building process has been developed through decades of careful study and adaptation. The assembly process is performed with a minimum amount of tension to ensure the finished instrument is free from stress. Each brace is hand-fit to the correct position and, after being carefully soldered, excess solder is removed by hand scraping. Great care is taken in fitting the pistons and slides to achieve some of the closest tolerances in the industry. This result is an instrument that will perform for a lifetime.