Selmer-Paris Concept TT

_dcstep · Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2003 6:35 pm Post subject:

Ok, I'm falling in love with this trumpet. I brought it home from the DFW Trumpetfest for an extended test. It's a .463" bore into a 5" bell.

The TT refers to a "twin-tube" leadpipe. There's an outer tube to the leadpipe that's about the diameter of the mouthpiece receiver, with an inner, non-removable tube that's like a "normal" leadpipe. This goes into a reverse lead main tuning slide, with reverse cuts on the 1st and 3d slides.

The spit valves on the main and third slides are "conventional style" with green felt pads on the backsides. The 1st and 3d slides have little metal caskets where you see rubber pads on some horns. There’s a saddle on the 1st slide and a ring on three, with a retaining screw.

The TT comes with two sets of bottom caps. I've got the "normal" caps on 1 & 2 and a heavy on 3 right now. The finish on this one is that gold lacquer, like on the Yamaha Z horns. It looks like gold plate, except there's a nickel colored section on the top of the main tuning slide.

The case is like a Pro-Tec single with an insert that matches the horn's contours. It's an attractive medium-gray with black trim, with back straps and a shoulder strap and, of course, two rubberized handles. It's light and fairly compact, with room for two or three mutes, but only one mouthpiece hole.

The valves are slick as can be. Right now, no break-in required. I love the feel.

Compared to my 6310Z this horn is very free blowing. Instead of my GR66MS, I've pulled out the 66S and I'm finding the tighter backbore helps me get the resistance that I need. (Sorry Mark, the S may not be for sale after all).

I love the feedback of this horn. The bell gives off super rich overtones that come back to the player. My Z sounds dead in comparison, as does almost everything else that I played today. (BTW, Zs are NOT dead horns; this thing is just rich with overtones).

My love for the tone was confirmed when I heard Rodney Booth play it in the Trumpetfest comparison. Two others and myself picked it as our favorite sounding Bb horn from out in the audience in a large, lively room. (More about that comparison will be posted in a separate thread).

Here's a picture:
http://www.selmer.fr/html/english/cuivre/cuis/cui22/hd22.htm

Besides sounding good, my upper range has really solidified with this horn. I was running into a wall at A above high-C. I stormed past that earlier tonight and hit a great double C. My G has really solidified. Part of what's happening is that the 66S, which felt too tight with my Z is just right with the horn. Instead of the little conical leadpipe of the Z, this is a much more open .463".

The bell really gives super resonant feedback to the player and also sounds great out in a room. I've got a rehearsal on Monday night, where I’ll see how it sounds though the mic and monitor.

Ok, what's a "fair" price for these? I've been told $1850, but I don't really have a reference. List is $2545, for what that's worth.

Anybody want a mint Z?

Ciao,

Dave
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Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

Tim80 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 11 Nov 2001 Posts: 1415

Sounds like you've found a new horn. Did you get to play the Selmer 80J Chorus too? How did it compare?

Tim

_dcstep · Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2003 8:00 pm Post subject:

Yes, we had an 80J there also. It was mighty fine also, but it wasn't as free blowing as the TT and the bell seemed more resonant on the TT to me. Another horn that impressed me was the Kanstul Wayne Bergeron model.

The TT really jumped out at me. The 80J has the same great feeling valves that I loved in the TT. The bore is the same, but the TT feels a tad more open. I suppose the bells are the biggest difference. I'm not sure what the "Chorus" bell on the 80J means. Does anybody know what they mean by that?

Dave
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Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

JackD · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 1:50 am Post subject:

I also love the valve action on these - smooth as silk and very fast.

stomvi2000 · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 6:21 am Post subject:

I could not find this trumpet in the US so I bought a brushed-finish TT from Woodwind and Brasswind Paris over the Web for $1925, shipping included. The gold lacquer model should be about $200-$250 less.

jamie · Regular Member Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 77

a friend of mine bought on of these trumpets and the price was like $3800 cdn!!!

MarkHeuer · Veteran Member Joined: 18 May 2003 Posts: 221

This horn is great. It was one of my favorites of the day (along with the Stomvi Mambo and Kanstul Bergeron).

I'd like to learn more about your Z. Email me and we'll "talk".

p.s. The 66S is nice, but not quite right for me.

I think the Selmer is worth $1850. Other horns I've played in that price range certainly are not superior to that one.

Mark Heuer

atom_anderson · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 7:54 am Post subject:

I've also played the TT and really was thrilled with it. I love the sound and the valves and the upper register really did sing. I didn't want to spend the $$ for it, but I recommend it highly.

-Atom

plankowner110 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 3620

Dave,

The Selmer TT Concept is an intersting, but not new design. The Conn 40B and 48B "Vocabell" trumpets of the 1930s also featured a twin leadpipe design. Christine has photos of them on her Conn Loyalist website.

Congratulations on the success of the Trumpet Fest, and thanks for sharing the results of the flugelhorn survey that you posted elsewhere.
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Getzen 800S Eterna cornet
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https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26763

jamesfrmphilly · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 9:02 am Post subject:

i think Terrel Stafford is playing one.
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1946 Martin Committee, Bach 5V

_dcstep · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 1:17 pm Post subject:

I love Terrell's sound and playing. This may be part of it.

I've been looking more closely at the bracing and that may have much to do with the resonance of this trumpet. On the leadpipe side of the valves, there's no brace between the 2d valve and leadpipe. On the bell side, there's no brace between the first slide and the bell. The two main braces between the leadpipe and the bell are light and then with small flanges attaching at the bell. The brace between the 2d valve and bell is much lighter than on my Yamaha Z. Also, the attachment points of the two main braces on the bell are placed considerably closer to the bell opening.

Were these features of the Vocabell Conns? I'm thinking that this horn is heavy on the front end and the bell is very carefully braced to maximize the resonance.

Mark, I'll be contacting you about the Z. (I think I'll want to keep the S and get a larger piece with the #1 backbore for a "legit" piece. The MS and LX may be for sale soon, however.)

Ciao,

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

_dcstep · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 3:35 pm Post subject:

I looked at those Conn Vocabell pictures and the only thing in common with the TT is the twin-tube leadpipe. The bracing on the Conns is "industrial" strength and in the "normal" places, except for the crossover of the main tuning slide into the left side of the third valve. Looks like a very distant cousin to me.

There's very little information on the Selmer-Paris website (at least in English), but it looks to me that the twin-tube gives extra strength in the leadpipe and isolates the inner tube from the bracing of the bell. Because of the way it resonates and projects, I'm thinking that they've really done some nice things with bracing that would lend itself to a whole series of horns with superior resonance.

I implied this earlier, but, to be clear, the front brace is really unusual for a reverse tuning slide horn in that it reaches way forward to attach to the bell at a point on the bell near where you normally see a standard tuning slide horn attach. Most reverse horns that I've seen and played didn't reach near this far forward.
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

jamesfrmphilly · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:18 pm Post subject:

BTW - played one at Dillon last summer and i really liked it.
i was impressed with the quality of the build and also the case was quite fine.
it seemed to speak much fuller than other horns including the B1.
i didn't have the money so i left it there.
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1946 Martin Committee, Bach 5V

jamesfrmphilly · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:19 pm Post subject:

[ This Message was edited by: jamesfrmphilly on 2003-11-17 09:42 ]

_dcstep · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:46 pm Post subject:

Yeah, the B1 is also one of my benchmarks for great horns. There were two great B1s at the trumpetfest, including a B1-L. I was beginning to think that I needed a B1-L to be assured of the resonance that I like in one particularly nice B1 but can't find in other samples that I've tried. The TT gives me a lot of the things that I like about that great B1 and then some.

If these become widely available, I could see a lot of people jumping for them.

Dave

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[ This Message was edited by: dcstep on 2003-11-16 19:48 ]