trumpetgirl612

congrats man!
best of luck to ya and may god bless

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gregc

Enjoy!
gregc

trickg

Ok, really quick because I'm a bit limited on time:

I have been fiddling this morning trying to figure out which mouthpiece I am going to try to use with this trumpet - never before have I played a horn where the whole tone color and character changes so dramatically with the change of a mouthpiece. Also this is one of the few horns that I have played where it seems like every mouthpiece focuses as it should. With my Bach, I always had to consider the gap between the mouthpiece and receiver, but it seems like there really isn't an issue with this one - maybe I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this horn. Time will tell.

Sadly, the old 14A4a that I have been playing for years is probably going to be retired. The combination of the tightness of the B6 with the tight backbore of the 14A4a is just a bit much, at least for now.

For legit work, the Stork Vacchiano 3C is going to be more than adequate - for a trumpet that is supposedly designed to be bright/brilliant, I have no troubles achieving a dark round sound with this mouthpiece.

For rock band, at the moment it seems to be a tossup between the Schilke 14A4 that I got yesterday and the Holbert custom mouthpiece. Both have their advantages but it seems like the Holbert custom is overall a better match - for now. It is a little darker than the 14A4 but they both seem to respond and play about the same - the biggest difference is in the sound. They both offer plenty of sizzle without being too edgy, but the Holbert seems to have a bigger core of sound. It requires just a tad bit more work when playing in the G - third ledger E range, but the payoff is a thicker sound - for now.

I keep saying "for now" because something that I have noticed this morning is that this trumpet requires much less work to play than my Bach, and I keep finding myself pushing the horn, probably much harder than I need to. Over the next week or so I am going to work on backing off a bit and letting this horn do some of the work for me - something that I am confident it WILL do. As I get used to not pushing so danged hard, I may find that the mouthpieces that I like today won't be the same as the mouthpieces that I like in a month.

Whatever direction that I go, I will wind up with two primary mouthpieces. This has been my practice for a long time. I have one mouthpiece for legit, one mouthpiece for rock band, and once I settle on what I feel works the best, that will most likely be what I stick with for a long while.

One last comment that I would like to make is that this horn is much more "on" than my Bach. My best description of this is that with the Bach, when I hit a note, there is always some play as to where the pitch is, thus making it a little loosey goosey. This Schilke slots tighter than the Bach, but it doesn't impinge flexibility at all, which is a little surprising - overall, I would say that intonation is better too.

More later!

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Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius

Heavens2kadonka

Question: Do you plan on keeping the Bach?

Van

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eclipse trumpets

Hi Patrick

I think you are making a very wise choice as Schilke horns all tend to be made very well and those guy's know what they are doing.

If it were me then they would have to be in my top 3 horns to buy.

I took in 2 X3's last week as part exchanges and did not even have to look at the horns too much like i do when checking out many other horns.

I have already sold 1 X3 since then so tht shows you how well regarded they are.

If you end up with one then i doubt you will be sorry!

Best Wishes

Leigh

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trickg

Van, Interesting question. Right now, I have no real plans to dump the Bach, although with this Schilke, I'm not sure that I am going to have a need for it - I'm a one trumpet kind of guy and I will probably use the Schilke for most everything that I play, especially considering how easy it is to change the tone with just a change of mouthpiece.

Leigh, if I had the cash, I would buy an Eclipse - I personally know several people who own them and they are regarded by all of the guys as the best trumpets they have ever played, bar none. You must really have something there. But, the price was right on this and suffice it to say, even thought the official status on this trumpet is "used", I paid considerably less than the going price for a new Schilke for what appears to be a brand new trumpet. The guy who owned it before me told me himself that he babied it and I believe it because there is not a mark on it and the valves look practically new.

I finally think I understand what it means to own a "Superhorn". The best way I can think of to describe how it plays is that it "rips". It just rips. Intonation and slotting are incredibly tight, yet it doesn't impinge flexibility. I can punch it, back way off and then crescendo, and the intonation just doesn't waver. I love that it can be dark when playing softly and smoothly, but if you gas it it just lights on fire. Sorry Tom, I was on the Wild Thing tour, and while the Wild Thing was a really nice trumpet, this Schilke is pretty much exactly what I was looking for, and it really reminds me of that old Yamaha 739T that I owned, only better.

One thing that is apparent is that I am going to have to use the "right" mouthpiece with this trumpet. The old trusty, rusty 14A4a just doesn't work and I'm still trying to decide between the Holbert custom and the Schilke 14A4. The A4 is pretty tight and I won't really know which one is going to be the right one until I get this bad boy out on a gig.

Thanks for the encouragement and replies. At some point I'm going to post up a journal of sorts about the acclimation process of this trumpet that takes me through the honeymoon phase and into the regular playing phase.

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Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius

Manny Laureano

Patrick,

Good for you! It's so much d@mned fun to find something you like to get excited about and that helps you enjoy hearing yourself when you play something you really like. Those two things together are what make trumpet playing the joy that it can be. I'm happy about your enthusiasm... that's the stuff that keeps us going from one gig to the next.

Knock'em dead at the next gig, my friend.

ML

eclipse trumpets

Hi Patrick, Manny

To be perfectly honest i truly believe that if anyone finds the right horn for them and it helps them to produce the sound they hear in their head then no matter what the name or brand, it is a superhorn to the owner.

I don't see my horns as superhorns , i guess i would call any given one super if it fits a player like a glove and does for them what they want it to do.

Don't get me wrong! i am flattered that my products have been put in that class and i am truly grateful to the players who took a risk on my horns when they were unknown in the beginning.

From what you say Patrick it does seem that you've found your "baby" and that must be a great feeling.

Best Wishes to you

Leigh

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trickg

Thanks guys!

I don't know if I have found my new baby, or if I'm just in a honeymoon phase with it, but man, what a feeling!

I officially made it "mine" tonight by doing a tad of maintenance. I cleaned it up really good by snaking out the lead pipe and tuning slide, (I don't think the guys at Chuck Levin's cleaned it, only checked it over) flushed it out, did a very light polish, dried and re-oiled the valves, and put some fresh grease on the slides. The trumpet is beautiful and the fit and finish are remarkable.

But again, how it plays! I just can't get over how fast this horn responds and how focused it feels. I don't know if that is a characteristic of the copper bell, or if it a combination of everything else.

By the way Leigh, Lara asked the other day for ideas about which direction to go for her contest winnings. I figured, given my recent experience with the copper bell on my Schilke (I like the sound of that! "my Schilke" ) that the Medium Red bell would be a great place to start. Is the fast response due to the copper, or is it a sum of the parts?

__________________
Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius