| I was just out at Marcinkieiwicz this weekend and got to play their horns and ended up buying a mouthpiece. Simply put, their horns are fabulous! The horns I played slotted like no other, and the valve action is amazing. All I could do while I was playing their horns is smile and laugh in amazement at how good they played. I also learned that Marcinkiewicz is one of the only shops that makes EVERYTHING in house (including all plating/finishing). Horns enter the shop in the form of brass stock and sheet metal and they don't leave until they are sent to the owner. If you are in the market for a high end horn, you owe it to yourself to contact these guys and check out their stuff, you won't be sorry!
A couple side notes. The horn I fell in love with was the Mic Gillette model with a Red Brass bell. It had a big fat sound that really barked in all registers, and it resonated like no other horn I've played. The Gillette horn is a large bore horn with a large bell, and an open, reversed leadpipe. His signature model mpc is also free blowing from my understanding. His gear is free blowing because he had a heart attack (I think) years back, and was suffering problems (headaches) because of back pressure due to resistance in his previous horns.
Also, Joe learned all of his stuff from Mr. Benge himself, if you notice the brace on the third valve slide, its just like the brace on the Benges. Marcinkiewicz is also one of the few trumpet manufacturers to have two patents on his designs. One being the shepard's crook and the other being the blank for the Concert hall mouthpieces.
Drop me a PM if I can provide any futher assistance.
Ken
*Edited to add more info about the horn* |