The only problem that I see with a horn that has a WOW factor, is that often times, especially in a legit, section setting, you really don't want to stand out among the group. However, in less "formal" settings such as a big band or a show band, yeah, you might really want that WOW factor.
As a self proclaimed section utility player, I have never really had desire for the WOW factor in my horn, at least not in that setting. What I have always been about was having a solid, blending sound that was going to compliment the section and make things solid and easier for the lead player. For that task, I have never needed anything other than a Bach Strad. The two that I have owned were both solid playing horns, and have been more than enough horn for what I needed of them in those section settings.
However, as of the last couple of years, I have been playing in a show/rock band and I could definitely use a little more WOW to my sound in that setting. Had I won the Eclipse contest, my design for the
Eclipse Inferno certainly would have had more than a little WOW to it. My idea was to take a medium large horn, but put on an extra-large bell with a tight taper, keeping bracing and weight to a minimum. The idea was to create a fast responding, brilliant, easy blowing horn that would just light up in a rock band setting.
(Click here to read the description of the Inferno - it's on page 2 of the thread, scrolled down about 3/4:
http://www.trumpetmaster.com/forums/...r=asc&start=15)
But alas, I did not win the contest (heck, I didn't even place!) and I don't have the sheckels to shell out for that kind of horn on my own, so it looks like I'm sticking with the Strad for a while.
It isn't that I'm against the more custom horns, because I'm not. I have a BIG interest in those kinds of horns, but I'm not about to trade a perfectly good Bach Strad that is versatile in all playing situations for a horn that is a little more specialized because I never know when I'm going to have to switch from playing rock band to playing something like, oh, I don't know, say the Vivaldi Concerto for two trumpets in C. (That I just happen to have a scheduled performance of in August.) Not that my Inferno design wouldn't be just as at home playing that, but chances are, the other guy that I'm performing this duet with is most likely going to be on something like a Strad or a Xeno, and that WOW factor might just stand out a little too much if I were playing on a horn like that.
At least my Strad isn't stock anymore, so I have a couple of things to talk about with the other gearheads that I know. ;)