This website is dedicated to supplying you with the history of your brass instrument as well as showcasing many of the restorations that I have tackled. I also have a brass museum section which highlights the many cornets, trumpets, trombones, tubas, and other instruments that have been in my collection at some time; either in the past or present. There are also sections on mouthpieces, mutes, brass virtuosos, and brass musical instrument makers.

Most of the brass makers here are from the US but there are some European ones as well. Europe was the source for all of the brass makers who emigrated to the US and Germany takes the top spot with about one third of those.

History and brass musical instruments have been a part of my life for many years. This website is a culmination of many of my interests coming together in one place. I grew up in a family of history buffs, then started learning music in church and through piano lessons at a very young age. This was followed by joining the band in grade school and choosing the trumpet because it looked like the easiest one to play with only three things to move (little did I know!).

After college, I joined a local community band and started finding many musical friends. A chance encounter with a vintage York & Sons cornet at a yard sale sparked my interest in collecting old brass instruments. At the time, these were very rare, but then came online auctions and I was hooked into collecting. I soon discovered that having them repaired was very expensive and often cost more than the instrument was worth. This led to Ferree's Tools and a whole new hobby of brass instrument restoration. What fun!

As I picked up my latest treasure and searched the world of the internet, I found that information on specific instrument makers was very scarce. This led to my journey of researching every maker out there, and what fun it has been! Not only have I made some great discoveries, but I have also made some great friends.

Enjoy the trip!