Medalist

The Medalist student instrument line was introduced in 1961 following the sale of Reynolds from Roth to Richards Music Corp. Presumably the Medalist line replaced the Roth student instruments as Richards Music exerted its own identity on the Reynolds company and tried to take advantage of the sales opportunities created by expanding school band programs (and funding) in the 1960s.

In order to produce the anticipated volume of needed student instruments, Richards contracted manufacturing of the Medalist lines to outside partners, including Blessing. Blessing was also part of Richards’ RMC partnership, as was the Martin company. Other Medalist instruments are marked "Made in USA" and are of unknown origin (if not also made by Blessing).

Paul Rawlins notes that the early student horns produced by Richards|RMC were made with inexpensive, low-quality sheet brass. The concept was to put a cheap horn in a durable Samsonite case and sell the package to the student rental market. The concept initially worked until it was discovered that the low-quality brass could not be repaired without permanent damage to the brass.

After Richards Music went bankrupt in 1963, Chicago Musical Instrument Co. (CMI, later Norlin) purchased the Reynolds’ assets and moved production of Medalist instruments to the Olds plant in Fullerton, California where they were made alongside the popular (and much better built) Olds Ambassador student trumpets, cornets and trombones. By the early 1970s, the Medalist and Ambassador lines were nearly identical.

Model Engraving Styles

The photos and notes below describe the different engraving styles that were used on Medalist-brand instruments over different periods of the Reynolds Company's history.