Over on
www.trumpetherald.com, Fast Freddy said in an old post, "3. Bright. I love an ultra-bright sound. I want to peel the paint off a steel door on a battleship 200 miles away (get the picture? )"
In doing a search to see what had been said about the Mambo I ran across this post from last summer when Fast Freddy was looking for a new horn. I hope that Fast found the Mambo.
Airstream Music
http://www.airstreammusic.com loaned me a new Stomvi Mambo to use on a rock/soul/funk gig last Friday night. It almost set the place on fire, it was that hot. Everything from the F on top of the staff to the G above high C just sizzled. It was dead on in tune up over high C with almost no adjustment required.
I was doinking and boinking with abandon and the falls were ripping. Any cat that likes to play up with loads of sizzle will absolutely love this horn.
It's a well made, ultra light horn. The receiver is so light it's almost non-existent. The valve bottom and top caps are made out of titanium and they're feather-light. I can't remember ever picking up a lighter weight horn. The case is a really nice ProTec-style European case, with a formed cutout for the horn and space for accessories. Unfortunately the mouthpiece provided is a "symphonic" sized piece that seemed out of place with this horn.
My only problem with the horn was that I couldn't get the big sound I like down in the staff. It just sounded thin there. Maybe a larger mouthpiece would warm it up, BUT on this .468" large bore horn, I'd have trouble on top with a big enough mpc to warm this booger up.
I see this working really well for salsa, certain lead books and non-solo rock (unless you take all your solos up into Lew Soloff territory, then it might be ideal). Man, the glisses, doinks, falls and all that stuff is really fun on this flexible flyer.
By the way, I was back to the Selmer-Paris for Sunday's gig. I'm just not as into sizzle as some guys and gals.
In my research of postings here I saw one or two people mention that they thought that this horn would be fine for wind ensemble or legit work. I disagree. Compared to other options, like the Selmer, or Kanstul Wayne Bergeron, the Yamaha Z, Schilke Bs, etc., this horn is way more specialized. If you put a big mouthpiece on it, be prepared to deal with the .468" bore. If I played a 1 1/2C on this thing, I couldn't make it through a four-set gig and I'd probably be straining for the notes above high-C.
FYI, Airstream is running a December special on Mambos. They're great people and this is a great horn for those that want these characteristics. BTW, my relationship with Airstream is that they loan me great horns to review. They supported the DFW TrumpetFest, BUT no money was exchanged.
Best regards,
Dave