janet842

There is a new standard for a versatile all around professional trumpet and it is Flip Oakes' Celebration. This trumpet has a gorgeous, bright sound and the interchangeable tuning slide options Flip offers give this horn a tremendous amount of flexibility. (You can use any of Flip's 8 different tuning slides with this trumpet -- the #1 and #2 are included with the Celebration.)

Flip sent one out to me in mid-December and it has now been play tested in a variety of settings:

In a trumpet quartet, it blended beautifully with the other trumpets. Those trumpets were: a Bach 180/37, a Bach 72/43, and a Selmer Chorus 80J.

I took the Celebration over to have Lynn Zoric, lead trumpet with the Colorado Jazz Orchestra play it during one of their performances. The Celebration again blended beautifully, this time in a 5-trumpet section. Lynn played his normal double C's range (plus some) on it with no problem, other than to say he thought he was working too hard to get the notes and still has his heart set on getting a Wild Thing!

As a solo instrument, the Celebration really shows off it's stuff. It has a gorgeous, brilliant sound with rich overtones throughout it's entire range and a depth of resonance you won't find in entry level pro horns. It can be played in big bands, small ensembles, in classical music, and as a solo trumpet -- it's that versatile of a horn! It's very smooth in all ranges, from bottom F# to however high you can play! And it has the same dead on slotting and ease of high range as the Wild Thing.

When comparing the Celebration with the Wild Thing:

The Celebration sound seems to project forward more than spreading its sound in all directions right off the bell, as the Wild Thing does. (That side spreading sound on the Wild Thing is something you just have to hear in concert!)

The Celebration has the same great slotting, amazing flexibility, and wide open high range as the Wild Thing, but it doesn't feel like as big a bore trumpet as the WT when you play it.

The Celebration requires no adjustment period other than what is typical when switching horns.

Finally, to answer the ever present question about blending and comparison with Bach trumpets: you will blend in very well with Bach trumpets on the Celebration. When playing in ensemble situations, people won't hear that the Celebration has a richer sound than the Bachs -- it can blend in without standing out. Its more resonate core will enhance the overall sound of a group without overpowering it. If you have a solo within a Bach trumpet ensemble, the tone quality and exceptional intonation of the Celebration will just make you sound like a better player than the rest of the group! When you resume playing with the group after the solo, the Celebration once again enhances the sound of the group without letting on where that support is coming from. The Celebration would be a great horn for those people who are on the hunt for one of those one-in-a-thousand (million?) Bach horns that come off the Bach production line far superior to it's brothers.

So, this is my take on the Celebration. I'll have this Celebration for a while (long while) so if any players in the Denver area would like to try a Celebration, PM me. If you like it, you'll have to put in an order with Flip because you can't take this one with you -- it's now mine!

Bill

Hi Janet,

Thanks for the great review on the Celebration. I have owned several Wild Things over the years. Each one has been a fabulous instrument. The changing of jobs and some health issues had forced me to sell each of them and fall back on my F. Besson (a great horn in its own right) but I have always missed the valves, feel, blow, and responsiveness of Flip's horns. Also, Flip himself is a BIG benefit when considering a new horn purchase. He always made me feel like I was his only customer!

I have to admit,though upon reflection that maybe an underlying reason for selling off the very horns that I have been so enamored with was that they really were too much for me. Not a playability issue I don't think but I have a tendency to really push things to the limit in many aspects of my lifestyle. Most of my playing for the last few years has been small ensemble and orchestra (small, not large). Pushing the #1 WT hard in these venues had brought on comments of "Easy there Turbo!" too often. I just couldn't back off enough to blend properly. MY problem...not the horn's.

Based on your review and some things that Flip has communicated to me directly I am considering giving the Celebration a try. I just miss the slotting and the feel of his horns.

janet842

The longer I have this horn, the more I like it. It doesn't get in my way. What I mean by that is that the high range doesn't push back with a lot of resistance (though it does have a bit more than the WT) and the low range never feels low. The slotting is beautiful throughout and the valve action is smooth and fast. I can play anything I want on this trumpet without ever feeling like the Celebration is fighting me -- it is just so much fun to play! It plays like it has an autopilot switch on it -- it lets me focus on making music and not so much on the mechanics of getting sound out of the trumpet!

janet842

Oops -- double post.