Selmer
1934 trumpet and mouthpiece
Top 5Seen using
Seen in Louis Armstrong House Museum: Museum Collections, October 2026
No store page for this one.
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Louis Armstrong. Every item links to its public source.
6 items · Last checked What gear does Louis Armstrong use?
Louis Armstrong, who died in 1971, played Selmer trumpets, and the Louis Armstrong House Museum holds his 1934 Selmer trumpet and mouthpiece. At home in Corona, Queens, he dubbed his records to reel-to-reel tape on Tandberg decks, and on his tapes he praised records like Vess Ossman's Tell Me Pretty Maiden.
Top 5
Where to start with Louis Armstrong's gear.
What trumpet Louis Armstrong uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Horn
Selmer
1934 trumpet and mouthpiece
Seen using
Seen in Louis Armstrong House Museum: Museum Collections, October 2026
No store page for this one.
At home in Corona
Tandberg
Reel-to-reel tape decks
Seen using
Tandberg
Reel-to-reel tape decksSeen in Louis Armstrong House Museum: Eulogizing the Chops, Louis Armstrong Warms Up, April 2020
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Records he loved
Vess L. Ossman
Tell Me Pretty Maiden (Floradora)
Has said they love
Vess L. Ossman
Tell Me Pretty Maiden (Floradora)“Goody, goody, goody”
Said in Louis Armstrong House Museum: From Stravinsky to Gizzard, Louis Armstrong's Record Collection, April 2020
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Ray Martino
Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup
Has said they love
Ray Martino
Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup“He's a living asperin!”
Said in Louis Armstrong House Museum: At Home in Corona, an audio letter from Louis Armstrong, February 6, 1956, February 2026
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Ray Martino
Quarto di Luna
Has said they love
Ray Martino
Quarto di LunaSaid in Louis Armstrong House Museum: At Home in Corona, an audio letter from Louis Armstrong, February 6, 1956, February 2026
No store page for this one.
What he wore
Sy Devore
Suits
Has said they use
Sy Devore
SuitsSaid in Louis Armstrong House Museum: At Home in Corona, an audio letter from Louis Armstrong, February 6, 1956, February 2026
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Questions
About Louis Armstrong's gear.
What trumpet did Louis Armstrong play?
A Selmer. The Louis Armstrong House Museum's collection includes a 1934 Selmer trumpet and mouthpiece, and its exhibits describe him warming up on his Selmer.
What tape recorders did Louis Armstrong use?
After he came home in 1969, Lucille Armstrong installed Tandberg tape decks in his den, where he kept dubbing records and making reel-to-reel tapes. The museum holds about 650 of his home recorded tapes in hand-decorated boxes.
What records did Louis Armstrong listen to?
His collection ran from Stravinsky and Caruso to Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and the Beatles. On one tape he cheered Vess Ossman's Tell Me Pretty Maiden, and he loved playing along with Ray Martino's Quarto di Luna.
Where did Louis Armstrong buy his suits?
On a 1956 audio letter he described buying suits at Sy Devore's shop in Los Angeles, where he said young singers like Bing Crosby got theirs.
LA
Louis Armstrong
About this guide · Last checked
Louis Armstrong was the New Orleans trumpeter and singer behind West End Blues, Hello, Dolly! and What a Wonderful World. He died on July 6, 1971. This legacy guide covers his Selmer trumpets, the tape decks in his Queens den and records he praised, from the Louis Armstrong House Museum.
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