TrumpetMaster - View Single Post

rowuk · 01-24-2008, 08:34 AM

Crow,
the length of the trumpet is more or less fixed based on the Bb frequency chosen. How I wrap the trumpet influences where braces go, where bends are, how easy the instrument is to hold. All of those factors together (along with material, thickness, bore size, leadpipe taper, gap, tightness of the valves, bell taper, plating or laquering, damping factor of the players hand, distribution of mass..........) influence the playing characteristics. Auburn to arrows is possible when the mix matches your heart, not your brain. All of the psychobabble about specs then become meaningless.

I am pretty sure that we can make a rational decision based on a playing experience - any other way is just a poor guesstimate. Most of the manufacturers are content with the reality that most customers do not use their heart when buying a trumpet. It is much easier to sell on specs and perceived benefits - or on brand blindness.

It would be interesting to take the emails and phone calls to a Felix at NYTC or a Dave Monette that lead up to the purchase of a trumpet. The client describes what they do and what sound that they are looking for. After 6 months of owning the horn, we then record that player performing their music live from a position in the audience. We then take those recordings and play them for pro players (anonymously of course) and take notes to compare what they hear with the clients original wishes. Want to take bets that there will be great discrepancies? Why? Because even although there is a basic sound quality with any hardware decision, the heart (or lack of it) always wins. A horn that REALLY matches an individual will be more transparent, letting more "soul" out!

THIS is why I personally believe that BRAND BLINDNESS is a curse to the music world. We press classical players into a situation where the lie about "blending" and "intonation" becomes more important than maximum musical tranparency. After a while, playing becomes routine and change equals inconsistency.

Back to your post: a larger wrap could make the horn more free blowing, but then again, maybe it just slots better - or worse. It just depends..................

My auburn sounding Monette has a much tighter wrap than the Connstellation, but I played a rotary Bb from Lätzsch that also was auburn but had a bigger wrap than the Conn, so I guess there has to be another reason.............

Sorry that i got carried away!

01-24-2008, 08:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
rowuk Moderator Fortissimo User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 4,362	Re: rowuck and "wrap" Crow, the length of the trumpet is more or less fixed based on the Bb frequency chosen. How I wrap the trumpet influences where braces go, where bends are, how easy the instrument is to hold. All of those factors together (along with material, thickness, bore size, leadpipe taper, gap, tightness of the valves, bell taper, plating or laquering, damping factor of the players hand, distribution of mass..........) influence the playing characteristics. Auburn to arrows is possible when the mix matches your heart, not your brain. All of the psychobabble about specs then become meaningless. I am pretty sure that we can make a rational decision based on a playing experience - any other way is just a poor guesstimate. Most of the manufacturers are content with the reality that most customers do not use their heart when buying a trumpet. It is much easier to sell on specs and perceived benefits - or on brand blindness. It would be interesting to take the emails and phone calls to a Felix at NYTC or a Dave Monette that lead up to the purchase of a trumpet. The client describes what they do and what sound that they are looking for. After 6 months of owning the horn, we then record that player performing their music live from a position in the audience. We then take those recordings and play them for pro players (anonymously of course) and take notes to compare what they hear with the clients original wishes. Want to take bets that there will be great discrepancies? Why? Because even although there is a basic sound quality with any hardware decision, the heart (or lack of it) always wins. A horn that REALLY matches an individual will be more transparent, letting more "soul" out! THIS is why I personally believe that BRAND BLINDNESS is a curse to the music world. We press classical players into a situation where the lie about "blending" and "intonation" becomes more important than maximum musical tranparency. After a while, playing becomes routine and change equals inconsistency. Back to your post: a larger wrap could make the horn more free blowing, but then again, maybe it just slots better - or worse. It just depends.................. My auburn sounding Monette has a much tighter wrap than the Connstellation, but I played a rotary Bb from Lätzsch that also was auburn but had a bigger wrap than the Conn, so I guess there has to be another reason............. Sorry that i got carried away! __________________ Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.