siarr

As Lawrence Welk used to say, "Thank you, boys," for all your helpful suggestions. I honestly do feel that this particular horn has more resistance in the upper register, and several of my colleagues have tried the instrument and agreed. I've been playing and teaching professionally for long enough to know if I were doing something weird with my air or my chops. It doesn't seem to matter if I back off or not, there's still a lot of resistance. Of course it plays easier in large rooms, church, concert hall, etc., but the problem is still noticeable. Vulgano Bro, I think I'll try your idea first, for the reasons you enumerated. Where would you suggest I look for the slide, remembering that it's a "hidden" reverse setup? Thanks again to all, and have a great Turkey Day. Forwaaaard - EAT!

Best,
Chas

veery715

Try

Yamaha trumpet parts, Yamaha trumpet conversions, custom Yamaha parts

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confuoco

Are those MK parts designed for the Artist Model?

veery715

Can't answer, but if you contact them they'll tell you. My sense is they'd be interested in helping you, even if it meant some custom design or a ref. to someone else. You aren't the only pro with an issue with that model. Wayne Tanabe would also try to help. Folks like him and MK love to problem-solve.

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camelbrass

Jim Ross was saying on TH that many of them need individual attention from Bob Malone or Wayne Tanabe. Not in a negative sense, but more to customise the horn to the needs of the individual player. Makes sense at that level.

Regards,


Trevor

rowuk

Siarr,
many things that happen with any horn make us think that the resistance changes when in fact it is something else. I have worked with many players to find these issues and sometimes they can be easily corrected, sometimes not.

First thing to check is the upper register by itself.
For this, you will play long tones: inhale, exhale (play) into the horn WITHOUT tonguing!!!! There should be a smooth transition between inhale and exhale! Always take a deep breath and if you crack a note, stop and try again - do not try and "bend" things into shape!

Tune your horns C in the staff with a tuner (A=440). Then push the tuning slide ALL THE WAY IN. Then play the G (long tone) on top of the staff and try and lip it down into tune with the tuner. You may have to try a couple of times, you will eventually get there. Pull the tuning slide out a slight amount (1mm) and do the same thing. keep doing this until you have found the tuning slide position for the G where you no longer need to "lip down". It most likely will be different than the tuning C position. You will also probably find that the G does not require as much effort to play as before!
The next step is to take a short break and then do exactly the same procedure for high C. I am also sure that you will discover a slide position where the high C does not require as much effort. It will probably be different than the other two positions!

So if this works we have just proved that the Yamaha is out of tune, right? WRONG. We now have proven that something is wrong in the entire system. That can be the horn, mouthpiece horn combination or most likely all 3.

A bigger throat on a Bach mouthpiece is often recommended for getting C trumpets better into tune. Although it is possible to bandaid intonation issues with throat size, what really happens is that we make the slots bigger and have more freedom to lip the note into tune. This is a pretty stupid way to go as muscling intonation costs a lot of energy and decreases our sound quality and endurance. A better way is to get the right throat and backbore for the horn in use! A good article about this can be found at :
Welcome at the pages of the IWK (Institute of Musical Acoustics)
then click on research, then mouthpiece forms. You will see very clearly what can be accomplished by changing the backbore and throat as well as the cup volume/depth.

My recommendation: if my procedure worked, and you like the Bach rim and cup, get one of the mouthpiece makers like Curry or GR to put the proper backbore for the C and then get on enjoying your horn!

You may discover some body use issues during this too. One of the best descriptions is on the Monette website. Even if you do not use their equipment, it is a very informative read!
David G. Monette Corporation
The other articles are also good to have under your belt!

I do not think that the Yamaha alone is the problem. The wrong backbore/throat is very likely and maybe some body use issues. Before spending money on hardware, it is useful to take a personal playing inventory - there could be a tremendous amount of potential available for "free"!

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confuoco

I believe Jim Ross. I have heard with a couple of tweaks here and there Wayne can radically change the playing characteristics of the new Yamahas

siarr

Thanks again for all your great suggestions and referrals. I spoke with Mike Bulow of M/K a few days ago, and he's making me a couple slides to try out. I'll post again when I have some results and will let you all know how it worked out. Meanwhile, best holiday wishes to all and Peace on Earth.

Cheers,
Chas Reskin

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Yamaha "Chicago" C
Bach "Chicago" C
Bach Bb 43/RL25
Andreas Eastman Bb 520S
Scherzer 8111 Picc
Schilke E3L Eb/D
Yamaha YFH631 flugelhorn

siarr

Just a quick follow-up on this post from last year...I finally got my 2 slides for my Yamaha Chicago C from Mike Bulow at M/K Drawing and Bending. Mike hadn't made slides for this horn, so we had to do a bit of testing and sizing back and forth, but he finally came through with a pair of really nice slides.

One is a semi-round, the other a full-radius. The full radius opened up the high range beautifully (it was like having a Vienna key for Zarathustra!); however, the slotting was a bit fuzzier and the tone was considerably brightened. I'll be using it for more brilliant, higher passages, when I want a more Voisin-style sound. The semi-round is a great all-purpose slide, not quite as free as the full radius, but definitely freer than the original Yamaha slide, and little or no sacrifice in tone quality throughout the registers. Mike does fantastic work, and couldn't be more helpful and friendly. I highly recommend this option for anyone who has had this issue with their horn. I'm not saying that getting new slides (or any other accessory) is a panacea for all people in all situations, but, it's a great option to have, and not super-expensive. If anyone is interested, his website is MKDrawing&Bending.

Btw, I just got my Yamaha NY Bb, and I think I'm in love....


Best to all,
Chas

Vulgano Brother

Boy, I really loved those rehearsals when the conductor said "die Trompeten sind zu laut!" It sounds like the full-radius slide is the best for you, and that maybe it is the conductors who don't like it too much.

If you can do it, get some ears in the back of the hall to practice on. It may well be that the full radius slide is the better one, in which case you'll have to do one of those first trumpet vs. conductor conflicts that we always win in the end.

It sounds as if you are having fun!

Keep on!

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