ChasStarr

My new horn will shipping very soon and since it's been about 30 years since my last new one I have a few questions that I hope you guy's can help out with.

1. How long did it take you to trust your new one and were confident in using it as your primary?

2. I plan to sit down with a stobe after having played it awhile to zero the tuning. Beside that are there any specifics you have run across that were issues for you?

3. Were there any special maintenance points that I should really pay particular attention to?

4. How long did you have it before you let anyone else play test it?

Thanks in advance for you insght and help.

camelbrass

Hi,

This is just my take on it, evrybody probably has a different opinion.

1. Trust it straight away. If you can't you've bought the wrong horn.

2. Sitting with a tuner is an interesting excercise but (in my mind) it's somewhat academic. Use and trust your ear, try and play it with different mouthpieces.

3. I keep plenty of oil up to the valves and wipe them clean (and re-oil them) just about every session until theyre just right. Give it a bath straight away and blow some valve oil through it..oil the amado keys as well.

4. I show off my new trumpets and let others play them straight away (particularly good players who will compliment me on the choice..it's an ego thing :)

Regards

Trevor

Tootsall

Man, I pulled my new Eclipse MR out of the packing just this afternoon. I managed to get about 1/2 hour on it before I had to eat dinner and then chase off to a radio show/concert thing that Mrs. had purchased tickets for.

The valves seem to be great: they are just the tiniest bit "rough" compared to my year and half old Schilke. There has been no tendency for them to stick or hang up, however. I'll be taking it to a rehearsal tomorrow then giving it a "real" workover on Wednesday. It WILL show up this Saturday night and again Sunday afternoon for our concert featuring music of the 50, 60, 70 etc. (Does "Mr. Sandman" ring a bell?)

Trust it... ESPECIALLY if it's a pro-quality horn. "change the oil" daily. Keep lots of oil handy. Flush the horn every couple of days. Use "good" quality oil (Leigh recommended Blue Juice... I don't have any so I'm using Viper oil....) I'll be posting my own impressions of this horn later in the Eclipse forum; for now all I can say is "intonation is ACCURATE". It feels very SOLID.... heavier than my B1.... I'd guess about the same as the old 180ML37.

Anyway "trust" is very subjective. Until I find reason to mistrust something I'll trust it. But I'll also take steps to minimize any reasons for mistrust and that means cleaning, working it over, oiling copiously etc. If there is a concert then I'll clean/lube at least a day (preferrably two) ahead so that if there's something not right it has a chance to show up BEFORE "showtime". It's a lot easier to reclean a valve at home than on stage.

ChasStarr

Thanks, for the feedback. Obviously, The choice was made to purchase after having played several models. So, I'm pretty confident in what's coming.

The reason I mention the tuning is my current horn is a 75 LA Benge that I've been playing for 30 years and it does have those quirky little tuning issues with D/E. When I play tested my new choice the horn didn't have the same tuning issues. I just want to ensure that I don't keep the habit of compensating for something I may not have to.

Again, thanks for the input. When I bought my Benge, I was 14 y/o. I'm surprised it's in as good a shape as it's in considering the lack of care and what I've put through.

camelbrass

Toots,

Congrats on the new horn (finally)...Eclipse/B1? Eclipse/B1? Eclipse/B1?.....

ChasStar if you can, hold on to your Benge. I don't know what you've bought but everybody I know that has owned a good old Benge has ALWAYS regretted selling it. At some stage that 'sound' will come floating back into your head and it's the only horn that has 'it'.

Just my 02c

Regards

Trevor

ChasStarr

I got the new horn (1600 WB) a week or so ago and was going to take your advice and trust it straight away, but after the first real practice session, any qualms I may have had were quickly lost.

The only adjustment I've had to make is to not overblow the thing. Easier and more responsive than my Benge.

But, even though it will be my primary from now on, the olde Benge ain't going anywhere. (Again, taking your advice) She's been with me too long and you're right, that sound! I'd miss it too much!

dcstep

I think that you need to practice with a new horn for several hours, then go through a rehearsal and maybe even a gig before you're fully aware of its tendancies and your ability to play it, particularly when you're tired. If the resistance of the horn changed significantly from you past trumpet, then you may have to experiment with mpcs to find a good match. With luck, as with me, this only took a couple of days. If the right mpc doesn't happen to be in a drawer, then you could spend a few weeks getting totally zeroed in. (Call Brian Scriver at GR if you find youself in this boat).

If you played a Bach 37, then switched to a Yamaha 8335, then the transition might take as little as ten minutes! Your particular change looks like it may be more like my first example. If the new horn disappoints in some way (like you're tiring to quickly or your range is impacted) then please work with you mpc. Don't think that you need to keep playing a 1 1/2C just because you've had one for thirty-years!

Dave

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