gmcmurry

Now days, where economic forces have closed most good music shops, how does one go about finding and testing new instruments.

Even in the BIG cities, Los Angeles and New York, where can you go and see a variety of brass and get a chance to try out some, before you buy?

Greg

brem

I would tend to believe there are many place in big cities, contrary to the situation here where there is litterally one shop that sells horns!

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brem
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NYTC Stage 1 California Light - Schilke 15B mpc
Bach Stradivarius Bb Model 37 * #124xxx (circa 1975) - Schilke 15B mpc
Yamaha YFH-731 Flugelhorn #000xxx - Yamaha 14F4-GP mpc

gglassmeyer

One option might be to make a road trip. I live in Cincinnati, and the selection of pro level horns is somewhat limited. Due to the high cost of keeping a good inventory, the local music stores generally don't have a huge selection or due to agreements with vendors only carry certain brands.

At any given time you could maybe find a Bach 180/37 in sliver, a Yamaha Shew model, Conn Vintage One (and other UMI Benge and King models). You wouldn't see various combinations of finishes, standard/heavy/light weight, reverse tuning, large vs. ml bores, etc...

I knew I was going to travel to Florida (between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami) and thought surely with all the entertainment / tourism + all the latin influence (which usually means killer horn sections) I could find a store with a big selection.

I was able to find a nice store with a big inventory and played several Bachs, Yamahas, Conn Vintage One's with different options. They don't sell Getzen, Kanstul, or Schilke though so I didn't get a chance to play any of those fine horns. All County Music was the store I bought my Vintage One from.

If you live in the midwest you could head to Chicago or Woodwind Brasswind in Indiana. I know everyone raves about Dillon Music for the North Eastern US and I'm sure there are others around NY City.

Woodwind Brasswind used to have a policy where they would send up to 3 trumpets to you for trial and I think you have to pay the shipping both directions.

My personal belief is that you need to play it before you buy it. So it's worth the extra effort to get to a good store and play a bunch of horns.

Good luck with your search.

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Greg Glassmeyer

rowuk

GMC,
yes, the drive to ever cheaper and dwindling customer loyalty has in fact dealt a blow to SERVICE.

I can only recommend what I have done for the past 40 years: play every single horn that you can get your hands on. Your community band, teachers, master class, exhibitions (like the ITG or one of NYTCs roadshows).

My buying decisions generally take about a year between thinking and doing. In that time, I can generally sort out "brand prejudice" or "cosmetic bias" and have not regretted any purchase to date (brands that I own or have owned in no particular order: Besson, Benge, Bach, Lätzsch, Monette, Heckel, Windisch, Yamaha, Selmer, Holton, B&S, Getzen, Callichio, Schilke, Wagner, Münkwitz and several custom instruments). Presently my brain is working on a rotary C trumpet - I have an idea for a new type of rotary valve and linkage though - stay tuned, it could take longer than a year!

If I had to buy blind for tomorrow with NO CHANCE to play before I pay, I would probably buy a Yamaha (This actually would never happen - I would rent or borrow something first). With a day or two more to work on it, I would add Felix and his NYTC to that list. All of the other manufacturers either need more lead time to build me something or I need to play 10-15 instruments before finding one that suits me.

This is not a cut on any manufacturer. I am sure that any name brand instrument can get the job done - I want more than "just good enough"! That means an investment in time.

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.