Eclipsehornplayer

Wow, where to start!

I had a lesson with Alex yesterday (09/06/2006) and she allowed me the chance to sample her 3 Eclipse horns.

Oh my God! These things are out of this world. Leigh and the folks at Eclipse have got it right no question about it.

We were playing Bach Chorales for a bit as we started out on the Bb MR. I was really impressed with the rich warmth this horn plays with. The color of the music no matter what I played was far beyond expectation. It was easy to fill the room with a big warm sound.

I then switched to the Solar Bell Bb. Words do nothing to express what happened. I have never in my life played a Bb trumpet that allowed me to paint the music any color I wanted. The response, slotting, and intonation of this horn are out of this world. I now have a clue as to why Chuck is so excited with his. Alex played a very melodic line from the “Phantom of the Opera” on it and then lit a wildfire when she broke into “La Virgin de la Macarena” that Menendez himself would have approved of. This horn just does it all and in fine fashion; it will go from a very soft melodic line to a fire breathing bomb blast that rivals anything I’ve every handled.

Then we switched to the C trumpet with the MR Bell. What a “dreamy” sounding C this horn is. I played some the chorales with Alex and the resultant tones between us where some of the best yet! We had “ringing” on about any note we played within the chorale.

The only down side for me was that of course the horns were hand crafted for Alex and well; my hands are a bit bigger then hers so manipulation of the first and third valve slides was cumbersome. In Alex’s hands these horn just flowed as if they were meant to be there. Bravo Leigh; Bravo! The construction of these horns are something to behold. These really are masterpieces in every sense of the word.

All and all I must now say that I am hopelessly hooked on Eclipse trumpets. Now if I can get my budget to catch up with my desires I’ll be in good shape.

As a special treat Alex allowed me to try out a special mouthpiece she acquired while on her trip to the U.K. This mouthpiece is a paleontologist’s dream made from the ivory tusks of a pre-ice-age Wooly Mammoth retreived from Siberia; so in my uneducated speculation that would place the age of the ivory at around 25,000,000 B.C. how’s that for vintage?

What an incredible mouthpiece. It felt like a marshmallow as I played on it. It seemed as though I could play on that without ever tiring my chops out.

We had all this fun then went into the lesson. Every time I go to her; I leave with new found skills and wisdom. This time was no different. We have pinpointed my “Air” issues and I am now working very had to correct them.

I can’t wait till the next lesson; but I’m not sure if it’s because of what I might learn or of what I might play!

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Eclipse MHY Bb Trumpet with interchangable leadpipes
Bach 229 25A C Trumpet
Getzen Capri Bb Cornet
GR & Monette mouthpieces