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Carol C trumpet review



 
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motoboy
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Joined: 04 Sep 2005
Posts: 130

PostPosted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:14 am    Post subject: Carol C trumpet review Reply with quote

(Let me preface this by saying that I am an amateur player and mostly play in community orchestras, brass quintet and the odd musical/church/wedding gig. I've played a Wild Thing short cornet and CG Benge Bb since I started back in 2006, having only borrowed a couple Bach C's for a couple perfomances when my MD asked for it.)

I took delivery of my new Carol 400CR from Trent Austin a couple weeks ago and thought I'd share my opinions:

I took the trumpet out of the case and looked it over for a few minutes and have to say that I could not find one single flaw in its assembly or finish. It really is a beautiful horn.

It is a complete pleasure to play as well. I received it at work and played for a few minutes there in a large aircraft hangar and it simply filled the hanger with sweet sound. Once I got it home into the practice room it perfomed well there too.

I have limited C trumpet experience, but the times that I've had to play those borrowed Bachs, I really hated it because I found them stuffy and they wore me out quickly (I'm not slamming Bachs, it's just that those two didn't work for me) The Carol has a slightly tighter blow than my other horns, but come on, they're large bores! I just play and play this thing and it simply sounds well. There are no goofy intonation issues either. Not every note is perfectly in tune, but that's true with my other horns as well. I just need to acclimate to a new trumpet.

I'll post a little more later...I need to get back to work. Just wanted the community to know that there's a great C trumpet out there at a great price.


Last edited by motoboy on Thu Dec 09, 2010 12:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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motoboy
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Joined: 04 Sep 2005
Posts: 130

PostPosted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 400CR has a nice bright cheerful sound and it is a very nimble horn. After the first few minutes I was really hitting the note centers and having a ball playing. I started at the beginning of each section of the Arban book transposing everything but the scales and chromatics. It really has kept me in the practice room! I'm also playing Clarke TS as written and transposing other stuff; etudes, Christmas tunes, Vacciano.

Transfering back to the Bb was a little challenging at first beacuse the Bb just sounded so much less refined, but that's probably just my inexperience showing.

The case it came in is adequate, bordering on nice, although the pink Carol logo is a little disconcerting. I won't comment on the mouthpiece that came with it because I haven't tried it.

I won't suggest who this horn would be great for because I don't have the experience to say, but I can say that I am very satisfied with this trumpet. I can't wait for rehearsals to start for the next orchestra concert!
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Capt.Kirk
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Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 5792

PostPosted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 1:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are in good company here is a review by some Heavy Hitters in the online trumpet community putting it solidly ahead of their Bach's and other more expensive custom horns!

http://trumpetgear.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/carol-c-trumpet-a-very-impressive-little-horn/


So it is not just me that thinks Carol trumpets should be snatched up. A guy on ebay sells some of their products for $950 and some in the $1200 range!

I worked one for a kid Bb model and I was very impressed with their build quality, fit and finish!
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Zman
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Joined: 11 Dec 2007
Posts: 590
Location: New Plymouth, New Zealand

PostPosted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For those looking at the C for classical work I have found that the Silver Plate version with the Gold Brass Bell CTR-400CR(S) is a really good option that still won't break the bank.
Not a Classical guy myself - but I know a few people who are

I also have a professional player about to endorse the new line of lightweight Bb horns who has been using another custom makers horns for the last 10 years or so.
More to come on that later (his horn is about to leave the factory this week)

I'll also be talking soon about the brand new Flugel that might interest a few people here too (will start a new thread on those later)
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