JUPITER JTR-600

[Claude1949]

Just bought one of these older Jupiter horns for yuks.....had never had one of these. I am AMAZED at how well the horn works and plays.......almost seems like a copy of a vintage Bach Mount Vernon...are they? I'm just loving this horn more than any of my other "Pro" models.....
_________________
Claudio

[OldSchoolEuph]

The JTR-600 and JTR-606 were remarkable student horns (the monel valved ones ran the risk of the occasional set of flawed pistons, but Jupiter would instantly replace those if you encountered the problem, no charge, and great support).

You have a good ear spotting the Bach characteristics.

Their lineage reaches back to the original concept when KHS came to the US in 1985, which was to leverage some very good, and at the time leading edge engineering with regard to brass alloys and material thicknesses/weights, along with the latest in automated manufacturing to try and best Yamaha in the student market as far as price/quality. In the process, they took a page from Yamaha's playbook and developed versions of the best out there (mostly Yamaha), modified based on these additional elements. Jupiter trumpets, which were student market targeting, were in significant part based on taking the architecture of a Bach and re-imagining it with the thinner but denser alloys, and modern/cost-efficient manufacturing strategies. HOWEVER, the Bach elements were lifted mostly from 180s, with some influence from the Bundy/TR-300 tradition, not Mt. Vernon. What resulted was a remarkably good and very affordable horn, certainly among the best in the student market.

Their only real liabilities were less than pro level intonation, and also durability. They are not as tough as a lot of other horns, and when manufacturing issues happened, they tended to do things like ball & buff out a dent in a slide leg rather than just replace it with 2 cents of new tubing (I have that example). The lighter construction, particularly the thinner metals, is susceptible to abuse over time, and there were the occasional valve issues from manufacturing slip-ups. But if you find a survivor, and you can deal with the intonation quirks, it can play pretty well for being an inexpensive horn.

If you ever come across a JTR-606MRL, and the monel valves are OK, you should try it. You may be even more impressed.
_________________
Ron Berndt
www.trumpet-history.com

2017 Austin Winds Stage 466
1962 Mt. Vernon Bach 43
1954 Holton 49 Stratodyne
1927 Conn 22B
1957 Holton 27 cornet
1985 Yamaha YEP-621
1975 Yamaha YEP-321 Custom
1965 Besson Baritone
1975 Olds Recording R-20

[Claude1949]

[Claude1949]

Well; just bought a Taiwanese Jupiter jtr-606MR....WOW, it is even better than the 600. Excelent horn & valves are outstanding! Thanks for the tip!!!!!!!!!
_________________
Claudio