nowave

I've had the Thing for a few days now and it's time to post a few impressions. I think I have a session today, and that will allow me to test it out in a more musical setting; in any event, I'll add to this at the end of my time with the horn.

The most interesting thing about the design of the horn is the bell. It flares very early and has a MUCH wider throat than any other horn I've seen. It's very obvious in a visual comparison with my B1Lb (which has Schilke's large bell).

In my first practise with the WT, I compared it back-to-back with my other horn, and was immediately attracted to the sound, which is very round and full. The blow is extremely open and consistent up and down the scale.

I should say that, like pangaea, I've played lightweight, ML-bore horns exclusively since the early '80s, so the WT feels like an entirely different animal to me! I think it would take me some time to acclimate to the very different design of the WT -- so I hesitate to post any conclusions until I have a few more hours on it.

Last night I practised with the WT only. I briefly used the #2 tuning slide, but went back to the #1 for that big sound. That big sound = big blow, and the Thing seemed to tire me out more quickly than my Schilke. Again, with time to adjust to the different air requirements (actually I think backing off the air helps), and maybe a tighter mouthpiece, I'm sure I'd start to feel comfortable with it.

So thus far, I'd say the thing I'm most impressed with is the very different and beautiful sound it produces. I'll post more when things occur to me.

Oh, and big hats off to Tom and Flip! What an incredibly generous idea this is.