bandman

I was asked in a PM from a forum member how I felt like the Eclipse and Teatro trumpets I played this weekend compare to my Harrelson 750 Modified Bach Strad. Well, I’m going to take that one step further and compare it to all my personal horns. Sounds good? Well, most of you who are looking for me to take sides will really be upset.

If you take all the Eclipse horns, the Teatro, my Harrelson, and my Kanstul and put them into one big box, you would have a box full of great horns. I hope that pretty soon my vintage Bach will be back in that box of great horns.

When I play a horn for the first time I start on G on the staff and work in slow partial series. I want to see if the horn hits every note right in the center with very little work. I then start to play them a little faster looking for the same thing, but will the horn respond finding the center of the pitch every time.

A pet peeve of mine is the amount of work a valve brass player needs to do on valve combinations that use the 3rd valve. So I work all those combinations in partial series and also in chromatics up and down, seeing how close the pitch is compared to the amount of work I need to do to make the appropriate adjustments.

I’m not a person who will pick up a horn and start going into all kinds of musical gymnastics, “putting the horn through all the moves” like a man giving a car a test drive on the safety track at the factory. Instead I want to see if the horn responds for me, and to see it the horn speaks back to me with a great sound.

EVERY Eclipse and the Teatro I played were amazing when I was looking for the horn just falling into the center of the pitch by itself. Each had a full sound, and all of them were wonderful on the combinations that included the 3rd valve.

The first horn I played was a medium classic, a bell that is not in the Eclipse line any more. The horn was in silver with gold accents – a beautiful horn that just felt right when I put it into my hands. There was no getting used to this horn’s feel – it was right from the second I picked it up.

The pitch center was amazing, and after about 4 notes I was getting a very strong sound, pretty much what I was looking for in any horn! This instrument was sweet! The valves were quiet and fast, and the intonation within the horn itself was very nice.

I then tried an Equinox – a nice horn but not for me, but I have to tell you about this horn. The tonal colors were incredible. You can make it sound like a trumpet, a cornet, and at times even a flugel. I know that the Equinox is a trumpet, but I would say that what I liked about it was that I felt I could get that classic cornet with the sound being much more focused than a cornet. It responded with a beautiful rich bottom end, but I found it easy to go into the semi-upper register. It’s a great horn, just not what I’m looking for right now.

I then moved to Bruce’s personal Teatro! It’s a really kewl thought I was playing on one of only a few of them that are around right now! The horn comes with a rounded tuning slide as well as a traditional square slide. At first I didn’t feel a lot of difference between the two pipes, but after a few minutes I did come to the realization that the rounded pipe was more precise, and I also liked the sound I got on it compared to the squared slide.

The Teatro is a great horn, with a great price point. Compared to other horns in the Teatro price index I would say it compares favorably against any of them. By the way, the Getzen valve block on this horn is really fine. Smooth and quiet, and to say they were fast would be an understatement.

I played for a short time on a scratch gold MR – nice horn in every way. If I said more I’d basically be repeating what I said about the classic.

I did have a favorite Eclipse of those I tried, and that favorite was the Medium Yellow. For me it was simply easier to have the tonal response I wanted than it was from the other horns. From the very first note I played, every note was big, fat, and full! If I had to walk out the door with one of the horns I played it would have been the Medium Yellow.

So how did the Eclipse compare to the Harrelson I love so much. To be fair I have to admit that I played the Harrelson for about 2 weeks before I totally understood the horn. It is VERY efficient, but so were the horns I tried this weekend. I found the MY to be very much like what I have played in the past, just more precise, and with a bigger tone. Was it more efficient than my Harrelson? No, but I bet the two horns would compliment each other very well.

I did find the Eclipse and Teatro horns to be very efficient and very precise, much more so than the other lighter horns that I have ever played. Would I give up my Harrelson for an Eclipse? NO, but if I was an Eclipse player I would probably feel the exact same way about an Eclipse. I have always loved my Bach Bb that I have played for about 40 years. I do think I would be willing to set that horn aside in favor or an Eclipse MY.

My Harrelson C does exactly what I want it to so with very little effort. The Eclipse plays better in the center of the pitch and with as good or better sound than any Bb I’ve ever played, and that includes my own Bb Bach, which I’ve been playing since about 1966.

Two things to remember –
1) I would like to have an Eclipse MY for a couple months to play on some jobs, and to play everyday at home. I’m willing to bet that the specific trumpet I played Saturday would be as good, or better, than my vintage Bach. Playing a horn for a few minutes allows you to know if you like the feel of the horn, and it allows you to know if you can find the center of the pitch, and if it has the tonal characteristic you desire. But to know if a horn is really for you I think you need a couple of weeks on a horn, and to play it in a couple of gigs to see if it does the job for you when it really counts.

My Harrelson Modified C trumpet, my Kanstul ZKF1525 and my Schilke Picc all have one thing in common -- I know that when I am playing a job that I can focus on the music I am playing. I am totally comfortable with those horns. My Vintage Bach needs a little work, but thanks to Bruce I know which direction to take that horn to get it back to the wonderful instrument it once was.

I really feel that on a gig that the Eclipse MY would speak for me with total confidence, produciing the sounds that I want in all dynamic levels, and it felt like a horn that would be very nice on all typse of music. I also really liked the Teatro, even though I haven't raved about that horn. It was super nice, it was just that the MY fit me like a glove!

2) I have had many problem with my abdominal region and I’m looking for the world’s most efficient trumpet that also produces an amazing tone. To be honest for me I feel I might have found that in the Eclipse MY. I can’t really comment on the upper register because I was afraid to let it rip. A few high notes in a test play is not worth hours of muscle spasms and a night with no sleep at all. I must say, I was tempted to push it into the higher upper octaves, but I’m smart enough to just say no to myself.
Overall, I have wanted an Eclipse for a while, but was snot certain as to the model I want. I was pretty sure that my Vintage Bach Bb was at the end of its’ useful life. After this weekend I’m not sure that my vintage Bach is headed out to pasture, but I do know that I do want an Eclipse. I would like to play an LC in silver and/or Gold to see if I like it more. I sure would not cry if I ended up with a Teatro in my case, but I have to admit that an Eclipse is still my dream Bb right now.

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40cal

Bandman, thank you for your post.

It is good to see that there a multitude of quality horns available for the player out there right now.


Trumpets are like underwear, what works for me, may not work for you.

tpter1

Great review, Bandman. I really liked the Teatro, too. It's great to have a horn like that available in that price class.

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-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting

Solar Bell

Great review Dave!

It's good to read a review from someone who knows just what he was looking for in a trumpet.

I also liked Bruce's Teatro when I played it at the ITG. Leigh and Bruce have a winner in that horn.

A MY eh? Just wait a little bit, while you're thinking about it every day! lol!

-cw-

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Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
Ronald Reagan

bandman

Never have truer words been written! I personally wouldn't have used an underwear analogy, but it really works!


Hi Chuck -- I don't think that what I wrote was very good, I had a hard time putting it into words. I really loved the horns, but I also love what I currently own. I would love to play an Eclipse flugel. Bruce really liked my Kanstul, and I liked his flugel (which is not an Eclipse), and then he said; "You should really play an Eclipse flugel!" The look in his eyes when he said that was worth more than 1000 words!

As for the MY, the horn I played was not available for sale or I might have been forced to walk out the door with it. I really liked that horn. I would also like to play the LC to see what it does for me, although the copper is so soft that it might not be the ideal everyday horn. I'd also love a chance to play that Solar Bell of yours!

I would also love to sit down with a Harrelson Bb (especially his Nouveau) and the Eclipse side by side and play - or even better play a job where I could do a set on one horn, and then a set on the other horn. I was asked by another TM member to compare the Harrelson and the Eclipse. What can I say -- they are BOTH FANTASTIC HORNS.

I know what I want -- I want both of them!!! I just wish I could get someone else to pay the bill!!!

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Tootsall

It's really great that we've got such a wide selection of hand-built horns available for us these days, isn't it? Kind of leaves all the "cost-minimized", "assembly-line", mass-produced stuff in the dust. True, the price is a bit higher (sometimes a lot higher), but then again... so is the price of gas, bread and eggs.

All those "famous" brands that have been held up as the standard in years past? Their reputations were all made when THEY were "hand-built", one-at-a-time. And so it goes.

40cal

If you ever make it up north(hopefully I'll have my eclipse soon) look me up and you can play my 908 and the MY.

gzent

Thanks for the in depth review bandman.

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FreshBrewed

Bandman,

If Bruce doesn't have any flugels available, I'll swing over and let you try mine out when I'm back in the states..........That is, if I haven't sold it.

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Mike
Eclipse MHY Bell
1949 Olds Ambassador

Listening has nothing to do with moving your mouth!

bandman

That sounds great! If you do that for me I'll treat you to some real Cajun food!

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