Eeviac

True, true, if you're just starting out with mods, better to mod the cheapest (in all senses of the word) possible!

I still think people will line up to send you horns to mod, why wait to get out of school?

__________________
Conn Pan Am made in 1950 silver + Bach 7C
King American Standard cornet made in 1940 + Olds 3C
Striving for a Touchy Tone, rather than obnoquious

stchasking

I dare you to put X bracing inside the bell. Something like a flow straightener in a jet engine. The X bracing will force the bell into some strange resonance and possibly kill any vibration at all. Forget about muttage. If you have to use a mute use a normal horn.

__________________
"I was performing professionally at age 17 and have never had a real job." Allen Vizzutti

http://cdbaby.com/cd/mcking

nplotts1

This actually has me contemplating possible future mods to by student model horn. Maybe I can shadow a local repair man over the summer and see what it's like.

__________________
Georgia Southern University Music Ed. Major

Equipment
- Getzen 300 Series Bb
- ZeuS Guarnarius Polished Copper Bb - Wick 3C, GP
- 1918 Conn New Wonder Cornet Bb/A
- NYTC Stage 1 California C Silver

Brekelefuw

Before I got to the college in September, I had no experience with either. THis whole project is just me using the knowledge I have gained over the last few months, as well as pure luck and experimentation.

I am a poor college student living in the most expensive place to live in Canada. When I decided I wanted to experiment with trumpets, my plan was to get a used Bach 37 or 72, because those were the runners up when I bought my current horn (Schilke B3L.) Bach parts are also easier to find because they are so popular. Unfortunately their popularity keeps their prices relatively high in the used market as well, or at least higher than I can afford.

Since I am in school, the only real expenses I have from this project are the horn, the time I could spend doing the work I have been assigned (clarinet repair and flutes starting next week, and business courses,) and the sheet brass, which I bought at a hobby store nearby for $5 per sheet. I also bought some Copper sheet metal.

My goal in this isn't to make a trumpet that looks cool. That is the side effect. My goal is to take a trumpet that is in factory, or close to factory condition and make it play better. By doing this, I get to learn about what physical changes in a horn can affect how it plays. So far it is adding weight to it, how placing a brace is more than just putting where you think they should go, and making the air flow smoother from the reverse leadpipe.

On the topic of braces; what I am doing now with the front brace is trying two different sizes of the brace in many positions up and down the leadpipe/bell. Brace placement is vital to making a horn play well. If you have a dampener (the brace) on a nodal point on the horn it will interfere with the standing wave inside the horn and can make it sound dull. My teacher tells me that at Monette, they can spend up to a full week finding the perfect place for each brace to go so the horn plays to its fullest potential.

Anyways, I will put a picture of the new front brace up tonight if I don't end up watching a movie. If not, tomorrow.


EDIT:
Pictures of the new brace.

Vulgano Brother

Another fun thing to try is to unsolder and resolder the instrument without tension. Lots of manufacturers use springs to hold the parts together when soldering. An old tweak for Bachs was to resolder them.

__________________
www.letsbuildhope.org

Brekelefuw

Yes. You should hear some of the loud cracks and pops a horn with stress in the bracing can give off. And the amount of difference the relief of stress can make on a horn is quite incredible.

godchaser

.

Very cool Brekelefuw.


-Was wondering if you all have learned about Copper solder, or if it can be used? Whether the melt. temp. is too high or no? Possible advantages if it can (?) -given its nearly the same material?

Also, do you all ever use any alternative joining methods? I recall hearing that CoolChem was good stuff. Possibly it'd be good advantage with Trumpet builds? If i remember it right, it's not actually a bonding agent, but rather a catalyst of a chemical reaction that'd form a molecular integration (?) -at the material joint surfaces? I think that's right? -Effectively turning two pieces into one, more or less? Which means all that'd remain is the joint- with no foreign bonding material present? Seems this wouldn't be as rigid a joint (?) -freeing up the horn'a bit? Seeing that there's less periphery surface area necessary in establishing the joint, although it'd be stronger still? (Less stress too?) And it'd alleviate the need of removing excess solder, and risk of debris getting in the horn as well?


Welcome to CoolChem


-

Brekelefuw

I haven't learned about copper solder. We use different kinds of lead solder, as well as silver solder, cadmium free silver solder and low temp silver solder.
I also haven't heard about this cool chem stuff. It sounds interesting.
When using normal solder, or soft solder as it is also known, you expect the connection to be reversible. That is why things like finger rings, slides and the bell are all soft soldered. They have to be able to be adjusted. Silver solder is just about permanent. They use it on valves, knuckles and woodwind keys. Once you silver solder, it is very difficult to change it.
When you work on silver instruments, it is smart to use low temperature silver solder. The lead in soft solder stains the silver plating on horns, so it is not a good idea to use it. Low Temp silver solder allows you to have a strong bond with no bleeding through the plating, yet it is still adjustable.

Jayem

pretty cool

__________________

"The difference between our section leaders and everyone else is that everyone else practices until they get it right, while our section leaders practice until they can't get it wrong."~My HS band director.

Brekelefuw

Hey everyone. It has been a while since I updated this thread. Since my last update I have done two things to the horn.

1. I built my own finger rings.


This is the whole horn with the new rings.


1st valve slide ring.


The pinky ring and 3rd valve slide ring.


2. I tried my hand using the scratch brush wheel we have for our buffing machines. It is a huge wheel made up of brass threads. I was kinda nervous about doing it, so I started out with the 3rd valve slide and then did the main tuning slide, the 2nd valve slide and the 1st valve slide.
While I was working, my 1st valve slide fell off the buffing machine and it now has a nice dent in the crook which I have to take out sometime later.

I then got adventurous because I remembered the Eclipse trumpet contest. The winning horn had a scratch brushed bell that ended about where the main tuning slide was.

This is the results.



Not too shabby, although I am going to touch it up a bit when I get some more free time.


I also did the inside of the bell, but because of the size of the brush I couldn't get as deep as I wanted. I think I am going to go to the hardware store and get a brass brush attachment for my Dremel tool to get deeper into the throat.