Cannonball Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

s, and musical instrument accessories. The company was founded in 1996 by musicians Tevis and Sheryl Laukat, and is based in Sandy, Utah. Cannonball specializes in professional, handmade, and uniquely "acoustically hand customized" instruments.

Saxophones

Cannonball Musical Instruments first began as a saxophone manufacturer. Cannonball

s in current production are student Alcazar, intermediate Sceptyr, and professional Big Bell Stone Series, Vintage Series, and Key Artist Series models,Cannonball saxophone models webpage
/ref> are made in a variety of finishes including The Brute (aged brass), Raven (iced black), Mad Meg (bare brass), and Hotspur (iced black and iced silver).Jazzwise Magazine, retrieved 25 September 2009
/ref>

Historical list of saxophone models

* Royal Crown Series * Wizard Series * '96 Excalibur Series * 1998 Knight Series * 98 Knight Series * 99 Knight Series * Big Bell Global Series * '03 Excalibur Series * Big Bell Stone Series * Alcazar * Sceptyr * Vintage Reborn Series * Gerald Albright Signature Series * Key Artist Series

Hand-engraved models

Most professional Cannonball saxophone models are hand engraved at the Utah facility, and are categorized as Unlimited or Limited.

= Unlimited

= * Gerald Albright signature soprano, alto, and tenor models feature hand engraving on the bell, bow, body, and key guards, including a pair of golf clubs as a nod to one of Albright's hobbies. * Vintage Reborn soprano, alto and tenor models are engraved with a traditional-style flower design. * Big Bell Stone Series models produced since early 2013 (excluding Raven and Hotspur) are hand-engraved instead of laser-engraved.Cannonball Hand Engraving webpage
/ref> * Key Artist altos and tenors

= Limited

= A limited hand-engraving series for alto and tenor Vintage Reborn Series saxophones is made concurrently with the unlimited engravings. Chronologically, the limited engraving series to date are: * Lady Godiva * Sea Dog * Falcon * Empire * 20th Anniversary The first Pete Christlieb signature Vintage Series models were a limited edition sporting an engraving motif of a drag racer emitting smoke and flames to portray one of Christlieb's interests. Following the limited series, these Signature models were engraved with an unlimited flower design, and were eventually replaced by the unlimited Vintage Reborn series.

Trumpets

After about a decade of manufacturing saxophones, Cannonball introduced a

line. Cannonball trumpets currently in production include professional Artist Series, Big Bell Stone Series, and Lynx; semi-professional Sceptyr; and student Alcazar.

Professional models

42 Artist Series

Made in the US and introduced in 2014, Cannonball's Artist Series trumpets include 42 (Bb), 42C (C), and 779 (

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

) in various finishes. These received multiple industry awards soon after their release.

Big Bell Stone Series

There are two professional models of Big Bell Stone Series trumpets. The Big Bell 725 series has a 4.921" (125mm) bell, and the Bavarian Lion reverse leadpipe 789RL series has a 5.315" (135mm) bell. Both have a medium-large 0.459" (11.66mm) bore and are hand-built in Germany.

Lynx

The Lynx 688LX-S series, also made in Germany, is a pro model designed for lead trumpet players with a unique leadpipe, 4.803" (122mm) bell, and medium-large 0.459" (11.66mm) bore.

Other models

A silver-plated semi-professional model, the Sceptyr, was added in 2014. The student model Alcazar trumpet was introduced in 2013, with availability limited to lacquer finish.

Clarinets

Cannonball Arezzo

s were added in 2008, and include student Zeloso, semi-pro Fiore, professional Veloce, and premium professional Piacere models. Cannonball also produces various designs of clarinet barrels and bells in cocobolo and grenadilla.Cannonball clarinet barrels & bells webpage
/ref>

Flutes

Cannonball introduced its full line of Mio flutes in 2013, including professional, intermediate, and student C flutes; professional and student piccolos; alto flutes; and bass flutes.Cannonball blog: flute introduction
/ref> Intermediate and solid-silver professional Mio flutes are supplied with both a standard silver-plated crown and a "Royal Crown" made of titanium with an inlaid dome-shaped stone.Mio flutes webpage
/ref>

Patents

Cannonball owns many

design patent In the United States, a design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of an article of manufacture. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers ...

s and

utility patent This is a list of legal terms relating to patents and patent law. A patent is not a right to practice or use the invention claimed therein, but a territorial right to exclude others from commercially exploiting the invention, granted to an inven ...

s from the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...

, protecting its innovations such as the ''Fat Neck'' and the use of semi-precious stones.Patents.com, retrieved 25 September 2009
/ref>

Artists

Cannonball instruments are endorsed by over 150 musicians such as: * Gerald Albright * Branford MarsalisYouTube video of Branford playing Cannonball Alto
/ref> * The New Century Saxophone Quartet * Raul Agraz * Winston ByrdWinston Byrd artist page
/ref>

The Cannonball Band

To show their company is run by musicians,blog introducing Cannonball Run song
/ref> Cannonball owners and staff compose, record, and produce music videos of live and studio recordings. Songs are composed by CEO Sheryl Laukat, artists Vince Norman and Kris Johnson, and others such as Gordon Goodwin. Performances feature President Tevis Laukat; staff Ryan Lillywhite, Randal Clark, Daron Bradford, Ryan Laukat, and Howard Summers; and various guest musicians and artists.Cannonball YouTube playlist of Cannonball Band songs
/ref> In January 2013, the Band performed with other Cannonball artists at the Cannonball Artist NAMM Jam hosted by Gerald Albright in conjunction with the

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

References

External links

* {{official, http://cannonballmusic.com/
Sheryl Laukat Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (April 30, 2009)
Tevis Laukat Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (April 30, 2009)
Ryan Lillywhite Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2022)
Randal Clark Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2022)
Howard Summers Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2022) Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Brass instrument manufacturing companies Clarinet manufacturing companies Flute makers Manufacturing companies based in Utah 1996 establishments in Utah