Hi Manny

I was wondering about something. So many Jazz and Classical 'Purist' Horns llike Monette, Eclipse etc are usually done in gold or raw brass. I had the GREAT fortune of seeing Miles Davis back on Valentines Day back in 1990 before he died in 1991, which is why I started playing. His sound, emotional content etc was UNREAL. What I also LOVE is that Miles had his Martin Committees Laquered in Various Colors, mostly RED, BLACK and GREEN. Martin (as do a lot of student trumpet makers) make a RED Laquered Miled Davis Tribute horn, one of which I am very happy to own Heres the question...I know that a lot of the exotic horn makers, specially the $10,000 Monettes say that laquer ruins the sound of these horns, but why is it then that we dont see more Pro horns in the $2000 range that have more colors? I know that the student horns that are EVERYWHERE on Ebay that sell for $100 to $200 have every color of the rainbow, but why not the $1000 to $2000 range? I love playing my Red Horn specially when I busk on the streets cause it is a real eye catcher and red is a great color that makes everyone feel nice Thoughts?

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

The football team at my university is the Crimson Tide and I always thought it would be cool to have 45 crimson lacquered trumpets in the band.

However, I would never take one to a gig. I can also imagine that they would look pretty crappy compared to a regular lacquer or silver when the colored lacquer starts getting scratched.

"why is it then that we don't see more Pro horns in the $2000 range that have more colors?"

Probably for the same reason we don't have streetwalkers at orchestra concerts.

ML

A couple of years ago I had my Getzen Doc Severenson Model crushed flat at the bell area by an oncoming car(You should have seen the expression on my face).

I had the horn repaired and colored BLUE.

I put it up for sale at a local shop and had it sell in under 2 days for $1000. Thank God for streetwalkers!!!

As the guy at the shop said to me "There is a market for every type of horn".

Hi Talcito

Oh My God! I can just imagine the look on your face, not to mention the sinking feeling in your heart! I had a Getzen Eterna and it was a beautiful horn, and wanted to upgrade to the ''Doc'' model but instead went with a Red Martin Committee. GLad to hear you sold your horn and got it laquered. I dont really know how to take Manny's street Walker comment LOL. It was funny though. I guess being a principle of the Minesota orchestra he doesnt have much experience with Colored Horns. All I know is that I make a good living busking with my Red Trumpet and there isnt a night that goes by where I Don't get a ton of positive comments on how great my horn looks as well as how well I play. I guess either you are a Miles Davis (electric red fusion) fan or a purist Wynton Marsalis fan when it comes to Jazz. Personally I love both of these guys because in my opinion they are both musical genisus and I have learned a great deal from both They are both extremists if you know anything about them, but if I ever had to choose I'd take Miles in a heartbeat over Wynton. To me Miles was the greatest player in the world and no one has, or ever will come close to beating him...specially with what he could do technically in the last 2 years of his life. You don't play for 50 years and change the history of Jazz four times for nothing LOL...Later Guys

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

Originally Posted by talcito

A couple of years ago I had my Getzen Doc Severenson Model crushed flat at the bell area by an oncoming car(You should have seen the expression on my face).

I had the horn repaired and colored BLUE.

I put it up for sale at a local shop and had it sell in under 2 days for $1000. Thank God for streetwalkers!!!

As the guy at the shop said to me "There is a market for every type of horn".

Hi uatrmpt

That would be a blast to see...45 Crimson horns! I don't really worry about my Red Horn ever looking like crap because of scratches though, as I look after my horn immaculatly. Any horn Ive ever had has been polished every day with a flanelette cloth and never scratched. Like Manny says Perfect Practise Makes Perfect. My motto is Perfect Maintainence Makes a Perfect Horn Respect your instrument and it will honor you with a lifetime of performances!

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

Hi Rick:

In case you are wondering----I use the torpedo gig bag after that experience!!

Hi Talcito

How are ya? I told my Girl what happened to your 'Doc' trumpet and she said ''that poor trumpet.'' Good gig bag you got I was gonna buy one but Fortunatly for me my girlfriend is an excellent seamstress and she created the most beautiful gig bag for me as a Christmas present. It is made of a black velvet and in Huge gold metalic hand sown letters it says TRUMPET MAN, with a RED hand sown embroidered horn on it! Needless to say it looks awesome and blew me away. It's something I am very proud to own. By the way...we got blasted by 9 inches of snow here in the Windsor Detroit area. You get any in your area?

Later

Rick AKA Trumpet Man

Hi Rick:

Sounds like a great gig bag and special lady you got there. No snow here--But its not pretty either!