| MPM, WOW! Nice descriptions!
I've heard a lot of guys say (mainly guys that do a lot of high charged playing like big band or rock band) that the 43 bell is the better bell for that kind of a situation because the sound is a little more open, and as you said, broader.
For me, if I was going to choose a new horn and it had to be a Bach, it would really depend on the kind of playing that I was going be doing the most. I used a ML Bach 37 alongside a LB Bach 25 in an Army brass quintet and we got along famously. However, when playing that same horn in an Army Stage Band, I used to get complaints that I just wasn't quite loud enough out front, (I was played either 3rd or 4th books) which was always surprising to me because I knew that I was pushing some air through, and at times I was playing about as loud as I could. Let's just say that I never had a complaint about balance (not being loud enough) in the section. I wonder if that assesment would have been different from a distance longer than the length of the rehearsal hall?
At the time I was very much a "1 horn, 1 mouthpiece" kind of player and I used the same setup for everything that I played. In retrospect, I probably should have checked out one of the lightweight Bachs with the 72 bells that they had in the supply room to use for Stage Band. I don't think that I would have had a problem being heard with that! :)
I think that MPM hit it when he said that you have to try multiple horns with the different bell configuration to try to find what works the best for various playing situations.
__________________ Patrick Gleason
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