Bruce Lee

Looks great, George! Expect a very positive change in the way that the horn plays. Leigh's work is incredible!

Enjoy!
Bruce

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brucelee@northernbrass.com
ECLIPSE TRUMPETS - AUTHORIZED DEALER
The "TEATRO", by Lee/McKinney
GR Technologies/Northern Brass Mpc's - Dealer
http://www.northernbrass.com
(281) 485-1919

lonelyangel

Hi George - I am going to nail my colours to the mast and say that (IMHO) you will soon be taking delivery of THE best looking and best sounding Olds Ambassador on the planet!

I, along with many British players have long been a fan of Olds instruments. Maybe its to do with the robust and business like construction of these horns, or the many design innovations this company was responsible for implementing and refining, but whenever you play an Olds you have the feeling that you have a very serious piece of kit in your hands. Whilst it is true that the Ambassador had the reputation of being a 'student horn' - compared to sophisticated trumpets like the Recording or the Mendez - we have to bear in mind that they wre made by the same master craftsmen to the same exacting standards and from the same standard of component parts as the premium Olds brands. We all know that these horns have far more substance to them than any modern entry level horns and are more than a match for many 'pro' lines.

What Leigh has done with the raw materials you sent him has taken this honest work-horse of the trumpet world to a whole new level. First of all i have to say that the horn looks absolutely gorgeous - those pictures do not do it justice at all. The horn gleams and glistens and all of the Eclipse additions to the instrument look as if they were always meant to be there. If anything the extra weight included in the rear tuning slide assembley has improved the balance and feel of the horn in the hand. I must say that I find the slide stop sits particularly well on an Olds as its design was inspired by the third valve slide stop on a vintage olds super :). The way that Leigh has picked out the Olds badge, along with the usual Eclipse highlights is absolutely stunning - so now on to the good news!

It plays like a dream and you basically have two great horns in one. Using the front slide you have the classic sound and feel of a beautifuly restored Ambassador - warm, dark, open and flexible. Using the rear slide you can experience the greater projection, firmer slotting and deadly accurate intonation that you would expect from an Eclipse trumpet. The sound is also considerably brighter, more dense and with a much more even feel over the whole register. There is also the opportunity to graduate the change between these two extremes by using both slides in combination. I think you will have hours of fun experimenting with this new feature - I predict that your practice sessions may double in length or frequency without even realising it! I was very tempted to try to smuggle this horn out of the factory under my coat yesterday - and came back today so that I could have one more session on it before it gets sent back home.

It would be great to hear your thoughts George - I'll be very interested to see which slide you prefer using and in which situations. Enjoy!

Noel.

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Noel Langley - Eclipse Artist noel@eclipsetrumpets.com

Eclipse Medium Yellow, scratch gold
Eclipse Medium Heavy Red, custom 'Diamond Back' in 24ct gold
Eclipse Red Brass Flugel
Custom Scherzer piccolo with copper Wedgewood bell, finished in scratch gold
Giardinelli 6S, 6M, 6FL Bach 3CW

DCB

If I may ask... how much do you have in it? If not then a ball park will be o.k. It is a beautiful thing for sure!!!

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dcb <><
John 14:6
Kanstul/ Najoom French Besson
Holton Collegiate
Conn 80A
Amati flugelhorn

Thevor

Oh my goodness, my horn arrived Saturday.

My first impression was "Wow, it is much prettier than the pictures could ever do justice" The way Leigh pulled out the Olds logo on the bell is simply amazing.

I quickly found one of the unsung heroes of First Class Brass, John, Leigh's valve man. He did an incredible job reworking the valves, wonderfully smooth and lightening fast. Thanks for the pleasant surprise.

The interesting thing about this horn is that you don't have to pick up a tradtional horn to compare it side-by-side with an Eclipse. It is truely an all-in-one horn. The Eclipse slide is remarkable. The inntonation and tone from this horn is unparalleled using the rear tuning slide compared to the traditional Olds sound with the front tuning slide.

When the horn arrived we had a mini trumpet-fest in the my home. Represented was a custom Kanstul Burbank w/ a s1 Bell #2 lead pipe, a Zeus G, a Bach 37 circa 1970's and the Olds/Eclipse conversion. The opinion was, "those sound good" but "that sounds great" (meaning the Olds conversion). It was the general consensus of those who played the Olds that it was now something "special". In fact, one player has never had a good thing to say about the other horns (he is a true blue dyed in the wool Bach fan) until he played the Olds/Eclipse and he couldn't believe the amazing sound of this horn.

Again, a ton of thanks and kudo's go to the men at First Class Brass.

For those curious about the price, after some consideration, I am going to refrain from posting my final cost. If Leigh would like to post his prices in this thread thats up to him. I am very pleased with the final price and outcome. In fairness, you'll need to contact Leigh for a quote if you're interested in having him do your horn. (custom work is a difficult thing to compare) It will be worth you while to drop him a note.

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53' Olds Ambassador

mheffernen5

That is so freaky and yet cool at the same time. You know what it looks idenical to a new trumpet.