MahlerBrass

Hello all, so for the past year or so, I've had this picc and have absolutely loved it. The problem I find now is that I'm noticing that the intonation is really bad on this horn. I've been doubting the horn by suggesting to myself that maybe the problem isn't the arrow, but the indian as my teacher likes to put it. But after having a few people toot on it, including my teacher, we're all pretty sure that it is the arrow, and not the indian. I hesitate to get rid of the horn because I REALLY love the way it sounds, it's a real dark piccolo trumpet character that I look for, and it's very comfotable to play due to the bore size, I don't feel as comfortable on other horns, but intonation isn't a problem on other horns either. So, what do you guys suggest I do? Should I sell it and get something else, should I continue to try to remedy the situation by gadgets and modifications (I already bought a Louisville pipe that helped but brought it up to bad), or should I just bite down and really work with how badly out of tune it is. Thanks for all your advice guys!

trumpetpimp

I can't imagine being comfortable playing something that requires that much manipulation. I spent $500 and two trips to the repair shop to get my used Kanstul 1500 to a point where I was comfortable playing it.

Get a good repair tech to go through the horn. Have the valves aligned. There may even be some solder in the horn somewhere or some tubes might be out of round(all were the cast on the 1500).

Also, consider another picc of the same model. You might have more success there. Finally, there are a lot of outstanding piccolos out there. Schilke, Kanstul, Scherzer, Yamaha. Surely the B&S isn't the only one whose sound you like.

Heavens2kadonka

I second trumpetpimp's notion. You've already got an excellent pipe fitted, so it must be a blob of solder or air escaping SOMEWHERE it shouldn't.

BTW, have you tried other piccs? I'm pretty sure you have, but just wanting to cover all the bases.

Does there seem to be any wobble to the mouthpiece you have in? It could also be a mouthpiece issue.

Van

MahlerBrass

Well, I've tried other piccs, and though a lot of other piccs, especially Schilke, seem to the work for me, I really like the sound and comfort I get out of this horn. The bore on this picc is .464 which makes it kind of difficult to find a right mouthpiece for it, but lets me sit back and blow without worrying about my sound getting too bright or getting out of control. Thanks a lot guys, any more recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Ford850

Well there are lots of things that can mess with a horn. I think that anything which will alter the smooth flow of air moving through your horn can cause problems.
Poorly fitting mouthpiece which wobbles on the inside, solder in the tubes, flashing not cleaned out from cutting the pipes or boring the cylinders, gaps in the tubes which are supposed to be butted together tightly, bad compression, loose valve fits, pistons which have leaks inside, perhaps a leadpipe not cut square where it makes the "gap" with the mouthpiece, bad or incompletely filled solder joints, poorly aligned valves, holes drilled with flashing left inside and possibly even a horn assembled under tension. Take it to a tech who plays. good luck!