dcstep

Over on www.trumpetherald.com, Fast Freddy said in an old post, "3. Bright. I love an ultra-bright sound. I want to peel the paint off a steel door on a battleship 200 miles away (get the picture? )"

In doing a search to see what had been said about the Mambo I ran across this post from last summer when Fast Freddy was looking for a new horn. I hope that Fast found the Mambo.

Airstream Music http://www.airstreammusic.com loaned me a new Stomvi Mambo to use on a rock/soul/funk gig last Friday night. It almost set the place on fire, it was that hot. Everything from the F on top of the staff to the G above high C just sizzled. It was dead on in tune up over high C with almost no adjustment required.

I was doinking and boinking with abandon and the falls were ripping. Any cat that likes to play up with loads of sizzle will absolutely love this horn.

It's a well made, ultra light horn. The receiver is so light it's almost non-existent. The valve bottom and top caps are made out of titanium and they're feather-light. I can't remember ever picking up a lighter weight horn. The case is a really nice ProTec-style European case, with a formed cutout for the horn and space for accessories. Unfortunately the mouthpiece provided is a "symphonic" sized piece that seemed out of place with this horn.

My only problem with the horn was that I couldn't get the big sound I like down in the staff. It just sounded thin there. Maybe a larger mouthpiece would warm it up, BUT on this .468" large bore horn, I'd have trouble on top with a big enough mpc to warm this booger up.

I see this working really well for salsa, certain lead books and non-solo rock (unless you take all your solos up into Lew Soloff territory, then it might be ideal). Man, the glisses, doinks, falls and all that stuff is really fun on this flexible flyer.

By the way, I was back to the Selmer-Paris for Sunday's gig. I'm just not as into sizzle as some guys and gals.

In my research of postings here I saw one or two people mention that they thought that this horn would be fine for wind ensemble or legit work. I disagree. Compared to other options, like the Selmer, or Kanstul Wayne Bergeron, the Yamaha Z, Schilke Bs, etc., this horn is way more specialized. If you put a big mouthpiece on it, be prepared to deal with the .468" bore. If I played a 1 1/2C on this thing, I couldn't make it through a four-set gig and I'd probably be straining for the notes above high-C.

FYI, Airstream is running a December special on Mambos. They're great people and this is a great horn for those that want these characteristics. BTW, my relationship with Airstream is that they loan me great horns to review. They supported the DFW TrumpetFest, BUT no money was exchanged.

Best regards,

Dave

__________________
Schilke '60 B1
Selmer Paris -- '57 #20 K-Modified/
'03 Concept TT w/ GR66.8B2.8
'94 Lawler TL cornet w/ Sparx 2B
Conn Vintage One flugel - GR66FD
www.pitpops.com www.ucm-inc.com
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

Anonymous

Interesting post. Isn't the new REEVES V-Raptor made by Stomvi as well?

Titanium caps. Wowza

Mikey

TM, the Reeves Raptor is a joint project, conceived and assembled by Carlos Miralles at CAMBRASS and Bob Reeves and K.O. Skinsness at Reeves. The parts are ordered from Stomvi in Spain as per these guys' specs. They are assembled at CAMBRASS, then tweaked by K.O. and Bob. (Valve Alignment, etc.)

The Raptor is a Poly-Bore design, much like the Yamaha 6310Z, but a much better horn (IMHO). I tried both silver and gold plate in the standard weightm, and it played well, however, I think I would prefer the lightweight version.

These horns have incredible core, and project like crazy. The slots are well defined.

A lightweight gold Raptor is on my wish list.........

As far as the original question, I have also played the Mambo. Incredible sound and sizzle, but way too much work for me.

Mike

dcstep

Yes, I played the V-Raptor at the ITG in May and preferred the gold plated light-weight model. At the time my main horn was a 6310Z. The V-R shot to the top of my "must have" list, until I wandered into the Selmer-Paris (that's another story).

Anyway, the V-R is like an extremely well executed 6310Z. The intonation is MUCH better and the horn is considerably more resonant. It's got a great core and will sizzle when you want.

I consider the Mambo and V-R to be distant cousins when it comes to playing characteristics. It's hard to turn off the sizzle in the Mambo, but the V-R can be big or hot. Both are very well made.

Dave

__________________
Schilke '60 B1
Selmer Paris -- '57 #20 K-Modified/
'03 Concept TT w/ GR66.8B2.8
'94 Lawler TL cornet w/ Sparx 2B
Conn Vintage One flugel - GR66FD
www.pitpops.com www.ucm-inc.com
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest