Dan Millheim

(Could those of you connected with the international trumpet scene send this letter on to Mr. Inderbinen? My e-mails will not go through. Thank You.)


Dear Mr. Inderbinen,

I have been fascinated with your philosophy of trumpet design since I first came across your website several years ago. Like many here on the Trumpetmaster forum, I have been wanting to play your trumpets and report my findings in the form of an online review. Unfortunately for those of us living in the United States, it is next to impossible to play them. The closest I came to being near your shop was a two hour lay over in Switzerland while on my way to a jazz gig in Budapest ha.

Here is my question: Would you ever consider showing your horns in the USA? If so where and when? Would you consider sending a few horns to have pictures taken and some player reviews made available here on this forum? I would be willing to coordinate such a tour with various professional and non professional players should you be interested?

I think the exposure of your trumpets to a larger market via a USA tour and online review(s) would be a wonderful opportunity to market your fine instruments to a broader market. The following would be my choice to review and compare (of course I would review any you think to send):

Bb Silverart
(New ) Bb Amarone
(New) Bb Toro


Thank you for taking the time to consider this request. My contact information, should you be interested in discussing this further, is in my profile.

Finish Well,
Dan Millheim

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Eclipse Custom XLR (Beyond beautiful 24k scratch) gold (05 Eclipse Contest Horn)
Getzen Genesis (Beautiful 24k scratch gold)
Wiseman Double Case (10% discount code: T624)
Monette/Harrelson B1-1 prana custom one off.
Horns/MPC Cryo'ed at Cryo-parts.com

NYTC

Dan,
I have tried before to no avail.
His poicy is a little strict,and the horns are pricey.
As I remember,even for the dealers,first 3 horns are full price,and after that there is a very little discount.
So,from a business point of view,there will never be a dealer in US.
I have only seen his horns once in Germany,and used to own one.
I will forward this letter for you,if you like.
Felix

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www.NewYorkTrumpetCompany.com
Stage 1 Trumpets

Dan Millheim

Hey Felix,

I don't get that? Kind of hard to make a buck if he sells them to dealers at full price? He must think he has all the business he can handle? Regardless, I sure would love to write some reviews on them and post more pictures then he presently has on his site. Have you seen the new horns he added to his line? Very interesting. If you can send it for me, I would appreciate it. Maybe if we showed enough interest he would cut you a deal to offer horns in the States?

__________________
Eclipse Custom XLR (Beyond beautiful 24k scratch) gold (05 Eclipse Contest Horn)
Getzen Genesis (Beautiful 24k scratch gold)
Wiseman Double Case (10% discount code: T624)
Monette/Harrelson B1-1 prana custom one off.
Horns/MPC Cryo'ed at Cryo-parts.com

NYTC

Well,it looks like he changed the website a little and dropped the pricess too,still a little on the high side.
New models look very interesting.
I would like to thave the line at some point,possibly next year?
I think it would be more of a novelty line,I have 2 working lines right now at the same or higher price point.
we are talking about a $1000 return on a $20000 investment.
That's why there are no dealers that would want to take the line,unfortunately.

__________________

www.NewYorkTrumpetCompany.com
Stage 1 Trumpets

Hanspeter Stamm

Hi guys,

Ok, it is not fair for a guy living in Switzerland to reply on this, but let me get this straight: Beeing a close friend of Thomas Inderbinen I can tell you this, Thomas was trying several times to get a representation in US. Rayburn in Boston was one he tried with but it did not work out well. He was even in New York to show his horns at the fair. But could not find a dealer.

All his horns are handmade and all hand hammered bells are being hammered by Thomas himself. So he will never be able to make lots of horns for a mass market. He loves to make instruments for individuals (ask any of his customers) so my only sugestion is plan a holiday in Europe (Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona) and plan for a stop at his shop. He will show you all his horns and discuss what will be the horn for you or even build one for you if none of his fit you.

His horns a reasonably priced compared to other instruments (aka Monette) so he can't give big discounts on the horns to dealers. But I tell you the horns a priceless. I own a trumpet "studie" and a flugelhorn "wood" and would not trade them for anything else.

Greetings from Switzerland
Hanspeter

P.S.: I will send your open letter to Thomas

talcito

He had only one horn at a New York Conferance a handful of years ago. I remember passing by a table and only seeing one trumpet on the table.....it was raw brass and it looked like it belonged to someone who forgot their horn on the table......no company banners or anything like that on the table. Always willing to play any trumpet I can get my paws on, I played it and thought it was just an amazing instrument. After asking about the price it went back to its original position on the table rather quikly.

ronin

I think that isthe same situation with his custom saxophones. I talked to a person who is one of the premier classical saxophonists i n the USA ,and even he couldnt get a hold of an alto sax to try out. And he too said that the saxophones are priced so high, tha tit was unlikely any gigging musician would be able to affordone unless they won the multi-state lotto!!!

__________________
"If you think you can - YOU WILL!!!"

Claude Gnocchi

hmmmm...don't know, but I just bought a B&S JBX and paid $2,100 for it. I tried a "basic" Monette some years ago and I didn't think it was $10K better than the B&S.....the B&S is a very good trumpet at a REASONABLE price...all these other "custom" makers seem to be relying on the "snob" factor to sell their horns....in short, I just don't think one of these "super" horns can be that much better than any of the good "factory" horns available....maybe I'm wrong, but I don't recall "wetting my pants" when I tried the Monette.......it was, to me, just another good horn

rowuk

Claude,
you will find that beauty is in the ear and eye of the beholder. I do not think that it is Dave Monettes or Thomas Inderbinens goal to make people satisfied with 2K trumpets wet their pants. Just as it is not Ferraris goal to make a Porsche or Corvette driver wet theirs.

The customers that desire these horns (or automobiles) have motivations that many do not understand or even need to understand. Any attempt to try and "quantify" value is purely subjective. After 11 years of a Monette trumpet (in addition to 15 other instruments from other manufacturers), I bought a new one. I use this horn on about 1/4 of the gigs that I play.

I guess the bottom line as I see it: if you are happy with $2K horns, wonderful. You can save a lot of money, and your audience may not even notice. If you cannot justify spending more money, then don't. Do not assume that YOUR opinion is any more than that however. There are very good reasons that I have a Monette in my collection - be assured, I have found NOTHING at any price that does what it does (the same goes for selected other instruments/manufacturers too). At no time in my trumpet playing career did I ever need diapers.

Getting back to the automobiles, if you are very familiar with a Corvette or Porsche, the Ferrari will do NOTHING for you until you become familiar with its ideosyncracies. Once you feel "at home", you have a new perspective and that leads to enjoyment. It is the same with ANY hand made instrument. It takes a while to become accustomed and THEN you can start to take advantage of the differences.

The Nintendo generation "download the cheat for instant satisfaction" is a suitable attitude for high quality mass produced horns (but not the best or the most intelligent one). Like learning to appreciate great wines, time and patience are attributes that lead to heightened pleasure regardless of price.

Depending on the Monette instrument, I am surprised that you didn't have something bad to say about it. The playing characteristics are considerably different from most other horns and the first "attempts" usually result in intonation problems (always the same due to the compensation required with "standard" horns). Lack of this small detail is usually "proof" for me that there was no actual try out (basic Monette/$10K ? There is also a $4K discrepancy here)................

I played an Inderbinen Eb trumpet last year. It had a smallish bell and intonation normally associated to a Bb - almost perfect for E, Eb, D, or C#. The octaves were VERY in tune and I felt very "at home" with the first note. It was not a horn to blow walls down with, but perfect for chamber situations where a smaller horn offers a greater variety of color. The construction was swiss watchmaker quality!

As far as being available in the states, if Thomas is building all that he can anyway, why should he expand? He would then have to hire more people, change his method of manufacturing and quality control and would probably end up building a different horn. Dave Monette also "only" makes about 6 instruments a month. If you want one, you wait. If you can't wait you buy something else - no problem - except for the Nintendo generation that has not learned to wait.

Do not misunderstand me. Nirvana does not equal expensive horn. Nirvana is the heightened pleasure, the experience of the moment, very much possible with ANYTHING of quality - regardless of price. Appreciation does not start with the checkbook, it starts with an open mind looking for the positive points in any-one or any-thing. I can appreciate things that I can't afford and do not have to justify any differences, price or otherwise.

Claude: my suggestion: look for the POSITIVE in every experience that you have. Even if the price is more than you want/need to spend, EVERY high quality instrument has its own character. Find the essence of that and just maybe you will start to realize why that company/horn even exists. Every one of those artisan based operations has something special to OFFER even if we do not agree with the pricing policy. Nirvana is when we can capture that essence and offer our audience the heightened experience!

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Hanspeter Stamm

Hi there,

After a show the master violinist Menuhin was approached by a elegant lady with praised the sound of his Stradivari violin. To which Menuhin held the instrument to his ear and said: "I can't hear anything"

I think her we come to the central topic. It will always be the musician what you hear. The horn can help a musicain to achieve what he wants to express. So a good horn will help to bring out the best, but it can't help a sad trumpet player to sound good. Miles would sound like Miles on any horn.

There is no such thing as "the best" horn. This is also Thomas Inderbinens philosophy. He built his flugalhorn Sera especially for Franco Ambrosetti. He built Silverart for Roy Hargrove and so on. He just added a new laedpipe to my horn when I brought it for revision because I mentioned that I play lots of Salsa gigs at that moment. Get that from any other company?..

Enjoy all the great horns and have fun plying them. Approach any Inderbinen trumpeteer (Roy Hargrove, Russel Gunn, Randy Brecker, James Morrison etc) and ask them if you can try their horn and you will get some different horns.

Greetings
Hanspeter