Those who play and enjoy vintage horns.....

[tom turner]

[quote]
On 2004-01-07 09:16, pfrank wrote:
[quote]

Well . . . ol' Zigmant learned it from his mentor, the famous Foster A. Reynolds . . . a craftsman who started in the late 1890's with the (then) outstanding company called York of Grand Rapids.

[Perry D'Andrea]

What an enjoyable thread this has been to read.. Paul, your collection is stunning- I replied to a post of yours two years ago to the day, directing folks to go to your website and pointing out that it was actually your site, years before, that inspired me to collect horns, starting with Olds.

Tom, what a wealth of info you always bring to the table when this subject comes up, and mR.bAdBoY Don, no discussion of the great old horns would be complete without your colorful take on it..

I could go off on a slew of tangents as to what horn(s) I'd like to see resurrected, in materials, in craftsmanship, in attention and feel (which of course aint gonna happen), but I'll focus my few seconds this time on an old cliched but rock solid standby, the late 40's/early 50's Martin Committee, which of course is a 100% completely different animal than the horns with that name now. Man, it is impossible to describe the unique richness in the tone and feel that my '51 Committee has that simply isn't approached in any other horn I've played And sure, you have to temper your playing in order to align yourself with its strange bore qualities (I have that classic med bore, though you'll never pry this one from me in xchange for any '3'), but the sound it gives back to you is just incredible, and people who I play for, who know nothing about trumpets, always come forward and comment on the sound of this horn, WAY more than any other horn I ever use in intimate, solo jazz environments. There's actually a bond I share with that horn that would certify me as a nutcase to some (as if not already, 'specially round these parts), were I to truly go into a discussion of it. I have some great horns to choose from when playing those kinds of gigs, but I found myself coming back to the Committee almost exclusively now on those. Yeaaaahhh, how sweet that baby is.

pd

http://www.perrydandrea.com

ps- 1st post in months- For those who knew my name here was pirated, yes, I finally regained control of my TH screen name, and the 'pirate' coincidentally disappeared from the forum. Still working on getting the bogus posts he did in my name removed, though. I appreciate the kind words from those of you who did send emails through that ridiculous and silly event..

[Sooner]

I've played on a conn 40B for about five years now. It's seventy years old and the valves are still perfect. I can't say enough about how it plays. Those who have played one know exactly what I mean.
_________________
N.Y. Bach 31 bell S-bore (.440) 50XX, Bob Reeves 41sv-692s, Bach MV 1.5C/warburton 9 BB for legit.

Proffessional poker dealer/player (helps support my music habit) and trumpet player of the Octopi.

Now a synth junkie as well

[plp]

For developing my skills and (maybe) getting back to the point where I can perform in public again, I have stuck to my 550-S and my '67 80-A, both modern horns. The one that I just can't help going back to when I want to just jam, is my 1942 Conn 12-B. Tom Turner can attest it looks like it was run over by a bus, with severe laquer loss, 2 dents, several dings, and a less than straight leadpipe. It is a .438 bore, but plays differently than the three other .438's I have played recently (all late 50's, early 60's Connstellations), perhaps due to the copper bell. Warm and fuzzy is about the best description I can find for it, both in sound and playability.
With these old Conns, is it typical for them to get 'edgy', or really bright, when you play aggressively? For this reason, I wouldn't use it for anything other than ballads, but it just feels so sweet on those type tunes.

I had considered having it restored, but I am scared it will screw up whatever magic combination of experience has brought it to this point in its life, will just live with the appearance and keep it at the house. Incidently, the 12-B is my candidate for old/new horn.

[tradjazzman]

Hi Paul,

We talked a few times via email. Ben Mauger from Central Pa here. As far as your topic, hey I just bought back a Paris Selmer 1954 19A balanced model. I flat out love the sound I can get with it, and yes in my opinion certain older horns are unique compared to todays new horns. I'm not saying better, but different. I've (since the ebay / trpt herald) computer age have bought, tried, sold....... 50 trpts in a matter of say 10 years. I bought a few prior to ebay thru a collector, and that got me going.

But just like a mouthpiece ............... no matter who says what about it, ONLY once you try it (a horn or mouthpiece) yourself can you make your own opinion on it. I've also bought some NEW Pro-line horns during this time inbetween the vintage axes. From my personell experiment I can honestly say I could tell a difference darn near from every make of horn. However slight , they all seem to have a bit of a difference & seem to lend themselves to one style, or another. Some great lead horns, some great classical with a big dark sound, etc, etc. And yes natrually it's US, and the MOUTHPIECE in conjucntion with the horn that is a BIG part of this equation.

Alot of the jazzers that loved Miles playing natrually want to at least TRY an older Martin Committee. Me being a trad jazz player and tring to do some Armstrong tunes I had to try the Paris Selmers. Maybe it's a mental thing of playing the same type and vintage horn of the guys we studied and admire?? Beats me. But I had literaly tried , bought, sold at LEAST 20 Paris Selmers. Some I thought weren't worth the air you blow in them, others were super. Some leaning toward the dark side, some bright, etc. Then I had this 19A , loved it , played it for 4 years on my gigs, then got the itch to try something else , and I SOLD IT. I just now bought it back. YEAAAAA. Now it's staying put.

From my experiment I (in my hand on opinion) thought that the older French Besson's played awesome. Tried a few Committee's , some I liked, some I hated. Natrually I had to try the vintage Bach's (both Mt Vernon, and New York). Lightweights, early Elkharts. Yes sir...... all were a bit different. I had a * Vernon 37 LT that was unbelievable. I then a few years later bought another one that was great, but not like the other. Same make, same model, a few years apart. I played and owned a new Kanstul WB a year ago to try it. I then SOLD it within a few months. Didn't it play nice. ARE YOU KIDDING ME........ IT PLAYED AND SOUNDED AWESOME. But more of a modern dark jazz sound. I was looking for more of a Louie bright sound. So thus for me, it wasn't the horn. I don't many gigs where I could use it. But it played like a dream.

Anyhow I know guys that love the Olds line. I tried a few and they were great too.
Old Kings, etc, etc. Or they better than the new models?? Probably not. But some folks like driving a 67 Vette, some a 2004 Lexus. Are they different, you bet your ass they are.

CHOICE IS "COOL".

Ben Mauger
1935 Bach Strad Cornet 25-62 / w Bach 7
1954 Paris Selmer 19A Trumpet / w GR 64MS

[wardsd]

Hey Ben,
Shouldn't you be playing that new "new" horn instead of writing stuff on the internet?

I trust it got there safely...

Steve

[tradjazzman]

Hi Steve,

Hope you're doing fine? As far as the 19A ...yeah man........ I was just playing it. I can't wait to use it on my Feb Mardi Gras gigs coming up. And Yes it got here safely. THANKS!! You kept it in top notch shape TOO. You took care of my ole friend.

Best of luck Steve with your collection. I'm just glad you realized how much I enjoy playing this bad boy & sold it back to me !! I OWE YOU ONE.

Ben Mauger