music4life

I sent my horn for a valve alignment and have had it back for a week and a half. All I can say is wow!

I can really tell the difference. The horn feels so much better. I was considering buying a new horn, but my trumpet teacher told me to try the alignment first. I am not a "gear head" and I don't like to blame equipment for my own playing deficiencies, so I was skeptical. My teacher is a knowledgeable trumpet player with many years of teaching and performing experience.

Before I shipped the horn (Bach Strad circa 1984) to Bob Reeves' shop, I recorded myself playing through some scales and studies I am working on. When the horn came back, I immediately noticed better intonation and endurance. I recorded myself a couple of days later and the difference was like night and day. I mean the recording sounded like a totally different player. The tone was more centered and in tune.
I love my sound so much that I am not considering a new horn anymore. I plan to invest my money in a new tuning slide from M/K Drawing, some new CD’s and more lessons.

If anyone is considering a valve alignment, I highly recommend Bob Reeves. They are very professional and reliable. Thanks Brass Spa for the great work you did on my horn.

rowuk

M4L,
I am glad that you are happy with the results although I am not sure how endurance can be measured after a week without the horn. If you have good chops, endurance is not a big issue (not measurable in minutes in any case), if not, the results are random anyway. If my horn came back sounding "completely different" I would be very upset.
A recorded sound is dependent on many factors and a difference of an inch or 2 in the placement of the microphone will give you completely different results! Your motivation with the improved horn is the difference and you should take credit for that! You also need to put some of that motivation in a bottle and take a sip on not so good days...............

Intonation is another issue. I read about claims that tone is more centered and in tune (not only with Reeves alignments). The more centered, maybe, but the in tune part? Does this mean that one played out of tune before the mod? Generally no, it means that we lipped notes into tune and that COULD change the tone quality slightly - but for a good player, this would not be noticable at the front of the trumpet. When an instrument is better in tune, it is easier to play in a more relaxed manner. That makes life easier and we have more energy to pump into being creative than into overcoming HW shortcomings. If that is audible on a recording, something was not stable before and the results will most likely remain random!

Why do I write this in your happy thread? Definitely not to belittle the improvement that Bob Reeves adjustments really give, but to put things into a different perspective. The reality is that these are very small but important changes that the player will immediately notice. Adjusting takes some time, you do have playing habits based on the "old" situation. Your true reason for joy is a month or 2 out when you have let go of some bad habits and your playing becomes more creative! That creativity is what will be noticable to your audience! No voodoo, no night and day (unless your horn was a real dog before) but a new set of warm fuzzies!

You do not need to defend your post. I think YOU need to take credit for more of the current difference. The miracle is in us, never in the brass! You paid money to get your trumpet more out of the way. The investment appears to be worth that. Your creativity is the final measure not a 3 cent higher E3!

Bob does great work and you are a happy customer, congratulations!

ZeuSter

Maybe he had another horn that he was practicing during the time Bob was working on his, all I can say is that I have had a couple of horns aligned by
Bob Reeves and the results were just as music4life described, definetly
an improvement in intonation and center of notes. And you are right Bob
does do great work.

music4life

I did isometric exercises like lip buzzing. Besides I did have my mouthpiece. What I mean by endurance is that I can noticeably play longer. I am 1 year into my comeback after 9 years not playing. I could not play for long (15-20 min. little rest or stopping between exercises/scales/etc.) before my pitch and intonation were affected. I could not play a blues chorus or long etude. Now, I can play extended practice sessions/exercises.

You are right. I meant that in a positive way. Remember that I said I was considering buying a new horn. The prices are pretty high for a nice pro model. I am no longer in the market for a new horn.

rowuk

I modified my original post while you were answering. I think my choice of words is better now.