bilboinsa

The Walsdorf family is proud to announce the newest member of our household:

Schilke B2 in goldplate. WOW. The horn is a stunner. First time I have ever owned a new trumpet (My Kanstul 1525 flug beat this by a few months). First time I have ever owned a Schilke. First time I have ever owned a gold horn. See a pattern? Hence the giddies.....

Pros:

As stated--visually superb. Wonderful fit and finish of all parts. All of the hexagonal touches (buttons, tops, caps, brace points, etc...) really are a great way to wrap up the design of the horn. Even the spring on the spit valve is gold-plated. Wow. Only thing not GP is the stop screw for the 3rd valve slide.

The sound is wonderful. I have played it on an outdoor stage at a county fair, and also in church. It sounded great in both environments, and that's what I needed. Not too bright for church, but it really sizzles on the dance tunes we play. I hope to one day get good enough on this horn that I can make use of the quality of build that went in to it. Very free above the staff. Very rich below it. I also noticed that I have a tuning slide about 1/4" less out on this one than I did on my old(er) 22B. Maybe I'm trying better to relax.

The valves are absolutely wonderful--even have me reconsidering my all time favorite "clicksteel" of the golden Conn era. They seemed a bit noisy at first, but honestly they are now quieter than my Conn (both top sprung, BTW).

One surprise is the weight--or lack thereof. A recent lesson with Roger Ingram had me expecting a heavier horn than my 22B. As he put it, the Schilke is just a bigger horn. But with whatever advances in metalurgy/trumpet making there has been in the last...oh...80 years....the Schilke actually feels lighter than the old Conn. My kitchen scale confirmed this by a 1/4 of a pound.

Cons: Well, can you say, "nit-pick"?:

1. No case? Are you kidding me? You drop over two grand on a horn and there is no case? Oh well, where was that Pro-Tec ad.....

2. The afore-mentioned third valve stop screw seems to have a life of its own, and gets a little loose constantly. I have read here on TH that a small O-ring can cure that problem as well.

3. Schilke's certificate of ownership may cause a wee panic in some folks. It tells you to oil the valves daily. I guess I'll take up others' oiling habits. Also, in BOLD FACE letters, it warns you to not rotate the valves in the casing when oiling them. Hmmmm, seems like a really well-made valve would be OK doing that. Oh well, maybe not...live and learn.

That's it. All of this horn and just three little irks. OK, the case was a bigger irk...

But of all my complaints about this horn, there really is only one major one--How can I put it down??? How can I cut back on playing it? I went to work the other day with a noticeable mpc ring!

Oh well, somehow I will now make do. I now have no excuse standing in the way of becoming the greatest trumpet player in these parts--at least from a horn's point of view. The rest unfortunately is up to my practice habits....

Thanks, Schilke! I heartily endorse working with Phil and Andrew at Schilke, and with Ceth at Tulsa Band.

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Doug Walsdorf

Schilke B2
Kanstul 1525
1927 Conn 22B New York Symphony

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

MLanghardt

Congrats on your purchase man, sounds lovely!

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-Michael

"I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way." - Gustav Mahler

rowuk

Congrats on the horn! A great motivation to practice more.

The tuning slide position is not significant. Older horns were slightly longer. Many years ago in the US, A=440 was about the highest you would ever tune, now that international sales are a real part of EVERY brand name, A=445 must be designed in.

They are right about oil - especially when new - when you use petroleum based oil! The real lubricant in petroleum based oil (like Al Cass for instance) evaporates in about 17 hours leaving moisture and a couple of additives to protect the valve - not a very good plan! Synthetic oil lasts MUCH longer. If there are any contaminents in the horn, rotating the valve can cause lateral scratches - not dangerous, but also not necessary! You do not push the valves down perfectly straight, so they will wear unevenly and as tight as the Schilke valves are, not turning them in the case is probably a good recommendation!

The O-ring is a good recommendation for the slidestop - that should have been gold plated too - I would call or write Schilke! They will fix that for sure, should have been caught in QC though.

The case issue is only one if you didn't know that it was an option. Most custom horns do not come with a free case. The requirements of pro players are too diversified (single or double case, Flugel/Trumpet, gig bag, back pack......).

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Richard Oliver

Bilbo,

Congrats!! Happy day and post some photos for us please.

All the Best,

Richard Oliver

bilboinsa

Rowuk, you have to be the smartest German I know--aside from the guy that works on my 911!

I'll call them today...thanks!

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I guess if I'm gonna run with the big dogs...I had better learn to play reeeeealllll quiet so they don't hear my clams! :)

Thanks for everyone's input. I'll post pics soon...

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Doug Walsdorf

Schilke B2
Kanstul 1525
1927 Conn 22B New York Symphony

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

rowuk

I was born in Heidelberg to a US Soldier and a german shoe saleslady, dun got my edjumacation near Albany, New York and have an innate urge to tinker! I carry a US passport................... (sold my 911 in 1981 when family became an issue).

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

veery715

Congrats!
I have a B2 in silverplate. It is well made and light. Free blowing and better slotting up top, and nice sound all around. And it has excellent intonation.
Lightness comes from thinner metal I think, for it is dent prone compared to my Strad and Olds Recording both of which are heavier. And it was the most expensive horn I own (and probably will be for sale.)

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Music = Love

tatakata

Nice write up. Enjoy that B2!

nieuwguyski

I believe there's something about the alloy of the Schilke slide stop screw that makes plating not an option. Years ago a member of this or the "other" forum posted pictures of his Schilke trumpet, which he'd had beautifully refinished in satin gold. This refinish job was not done by Schilke, but by another shop that did the bead-blasting and prep work and then sent the horn to Anderson Plating. The one piece of that trumpet that wasn't gold-plated was the stop screw, and the owner mentioned that he was told the material of the screw (stainless steel?) prevented it from being plated.

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John N. Nieuwguyski

bilboinsa

John, you are correct. I spoke with Phil Baughman yesterday after Robin's post about QC, and Phil told me the exact same thing. He said the because the screw is SS, it is not plated. He was going to see if there were any brushed pieces he could plate for me, but I told him it was no big deal. You know in fact, the screw reflects that which is around it, so it basically "looks" gold anyway...It's all good. I'll get pics up this weekend hopefully.

__________________
Doug Walsdorf

Schilke B2
Kanstul 1525
1927 Conn 22B New York Symphony

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."