I've taken the plunge and sold my Yamaha Z to replace it with the Selmer-Paris that I tried a couple of weeks ago at the DFW Trumpetfest.
The most noticeable characteristic of the TT is the resonance of the bell. It's loaded with beautiful overtones that the player clearly hears. It makes may Z seem dead in comparision.
Looking closely at the horn you'll see that it has an unusual system for bracing the bell. "TT" stands for Twin Tube, meaning that the leadpipe has an inner and outer tubing. The inner tubing is like most horns and the outer tubing is the size of most mouthpiece receivers. The outer tube both strenghtens the leadpipe and isolates the "real" leadpipe from bracing.
Unlike most trumpets, there's no brace between the 2d valve and the leadpipe. There's a minimal brace between the 2d valve and the bell. The braces between the bell and the leadpipe have small attachment flanges and the braces themselves are lighter than most horns, including my Yamaha Z. The attachment points are further forward on the bell than is typical, particularly for a reverse leadpipe horn. There's no brace between the 1st slide and the bell.
When you play this horn you immediately notice the resonance of the bell. Players that like the Schilke B1L will love this horn. Several people were struck by the lovely character of this horn at the DFW Trumpetfest.
Here are some other technicalities: the bore is .464", the bell is 5" with a pretty fast flare. The weight of the valve cluster and horn is heavy (in the Yamaha heavy sense, not Monette or Courtois Evolution sense). I'm guessing that the bell is "standard" weight, but the S-P web site doesn't really specify. It comes with standard and heavy caps. Mine is a nice gold lacquer finish with classic Selmer-Paris trim.
I heard this horn in a large sanctuary compared to several other top horns and noted it to have excellent projection. The overtones that you hear when playing it translate well into the room.
The intonation is excellent and it's very centered in all ranges.
Going from my Z to this large bore horn, I needed to move to a smaller backbore on my mouthpiece. I'm selling my GR66LX because it's just a big bear on this horn, after being fine with the Z.
I'd been looking around for a really resonant Schilke B1 and was considering a B1-L. I prefer this horn to the best of those horns that I've tried. I had also been considering upgrading from my Z to a V-Raptor, but those dreams were dashed and replaced with this horn. These are incredible horns. (No flames please, I'm just telling you where I was looking and where I ended up).
Quality of construction is excellent. The valves are absolutely the fastest, smoothest and quietest that I've ever experienced! Really!!
If you can find one to try, treat yourself. Brook Mays was asking $2,050. It lists for $2650. You might be able to do a little better, but apparently they're hard to find.
Never thought I'd like, much less own, a Selmer-Paris. Look at:
http://www.selmer.fr/html/english/cu...ui22/cui22.htm
Ciao,
Dave