Red Brass Also known as Rose brass, this has the highest copper content at around 90%. This gives the instrument a broader, fuller tone whilst still retaining a good level of projection. Gold Brass As the name implies, gold brass has a slightly darker colour due to the higher copper content (85%) within the alloy. A very resonant alloy (70% copper) which produces a bright and direct tone that 'cuts through', making it perfect for those trumpet fanfares. Yellow Brass The industry standard, if an instrument spec doesn't specify then you can fairly confidently assume it's yellow. There are generally 3 main types of brass alloy used in musical instrument manufacture today. Generally, the softer the material the warmer and darker the sound produced harder metal gives a brighter and more responsive sound. It is primarily made up of Copper and Zinc and the proportions in which these are used affects the type of brass alloy produced. Putting that aside though, if you are interested in in finding out a bit more (and I appreciate it's not a particularly interesting topic!) then here's some basic guidance.īrass is used for manufacturing musical instruments as it is a malleable metal with excellent acoustic properties.
You need to be a competent player that produces a good basic tone on your instrument for any difference to be noticeable. When looking to buy a new brass instrument you will probably see products described as having a 'gold brass bell'or a 'red brass leadpipe' but what difference does the brass alloy actually make? There is no doubt that the differences are subtle and for all but the most advanced players arguably irrelevant.