The Benge Trifecta
/In December of 2018 John Duda, Master Craftsman, joined the B.A.C. Musical Instruments team. John is the son of original Benge foreman, Lou Duda, and is a second generation Benge Master Craftsman and bell maker. He is charged to help B.A.C. grow and enhance our American production, and to pass the torch of 'Handcrafting' musical instruments in the USA to the next generation of makers.
In May of 2019, B.A.C. Musical Instruments LLC purchased the tooling, machines and remaining assets of the now defunct Kanstul Musical Instrument Factory in Anaheim, CA. Original tooling from the iconic Chicago and Burbank Benge manufacturing facilities were included with these assets and brought to our facility in Kansas City. B.A.C. will now be utilizing the iconic bell and lead pipe mandrels from the original Benge trumpets, as well as the tooling to make Benge pistons and valve blocks in-house.
In December of 2019, B.A.C. filed for and was granted use of the Benge Trumpet company trademark. B.A.C. is now armed with the ultimate trifecta. The legendary Benge Master Craftsman, the original tooling, and the Benge name, allows B.A.C. to bring back the ORIGINAL Benge product, not an “inspired by” copy.
More details about manufacturing will be coming in the following months, and we expect to start taking orders for Benge trumpets in the first quarter of 2021.