Favorite ‘impulse’ purchase?

[jcubed901]

What is your favorite trumpet-related impulse purchase?
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For me, it’s the Huber Music Adjusta-Cup mute.

I picked mine up on a whim at Josh Landress’s shop about a year ago.

I was picking up my horn after some repair work. At the check out counter, Josh asked if I needed anything else. After a brief pause, I said, “actually, I’d like to try that Huber mute”. So they set me up in a room to test it out

The Huber Adjusta-Cup is the mute I didn’t know I needed! It combines the warmth of the Humes and Berg stonelined cup mute with the adjustability of the Denis Wick cup mute.

I especially enjoy it for more “quiet” practice, when I want something a little bit more free blowing than my practice mute.

[TrumpetMD]

[Irving]

The most expensive Monette trumpet. I would never buy one if I gave it any thought.

[Halflip]

A number of years ago when I was building up my collection of pocket horns, I took a look at the Horn Trader website just to see what was new there, and coincidentally Steve Dillard had just gotten a few of those Carol Brass CPT-1000-YSS mini pocket trumpets (billed as "the world's smallest B-flat trumpet"). They seemed to be nicely made, and Steve was charging a rock bottom price at the time, so I called him and ordered one on the spot.

It arrived in record time (thanks to Steve's usual excellent customer service), and I was very pleased with the horn. The workmanship was impressive, and it played very nicely considering the design compromises that were necessary to achieve that compact shape.

It fits very nicely into my collection.
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"He that plays the King shall be welcome . . . " (Hamlet Act II, Scene 2, Line 1416)

"He had no concept of the instrument. He was blowing into it." -- Virgil Starkwell's cello teacher in "Take the Money and Run"

[huntman10]

The next one! That's what drives that "impulse" part!
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huntman10
Collector/Player of Fine (and not so fine) Brass Instruments including
Various Strads, Yammies, Al Hirt Courtois, Schilkes,
Selmer 25, Getzen Eternas, Kanstuls (920 Pic, CG)
Martin Custom Large Bore, Lots Olds!, Conns, etc.

[Jaw04]

I bought a new 8310ZII online after a night out with a couple drinks, I love it. I now keep my old 8310Z at work (music teacher) and use the new one on gigs and at-home practice.

[Dayton]

TrumCor Doc-ouflage Zinger mute. Terrific-sounding mute, with eye-popping style.

[Brassnose]

My first AR mouthpiece. I was at Martin Böhmes workshop to get some work done and he asked me if „I could try out something“
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2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15
1980/2023 Franken C incoming soon 😎
1966 Holton Collegiate cornet
AR Resonance pieces

[stuartissimo]

Most of my horn collection I suppose. When I played my Olds Recording for the first time, I immediately knew it was the trumpet I wanted to play for the rest of my life. The cornet and flugel were bought based on photo’s alone. I do not regret having bought any of them.

In contrast, I spent quite some time deciding before I bought the AR Resonance mouthpieces. Although they felt like an immediate buy when I first tried them, I went back to the shop a second day before I purchased the first two. And for the 3rd one, that was mail-ordered, I spent weeks researching specs and information before I finally got it. The Wick mouthpiece for the flugel also wasn’t an instant purchase.

In many ways my impulses have usually been correct. In fact the one time that I didn’t act on it (getting a Protec dual case instead of a Contoured single case) a few years later I ended up regretting it (the dual case was much too bulky to be practical, and not big enough to hold everything so I had to bring a backpack anyway).
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1975 Olds Recording trumpet
1997 Getzen 700SP trumpet
1955 Olds Super cornet
1939 Buescher 280 flugelhorn
AR Resonance & Denis Wick mouthpieces

[claf]

My Schagerl James Morrison trumpet, i love it.
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Bb: Schagerl James Morrison, Van Laar B7, XO 1600i
C: Bach Philadelphia
Piccolo: Scherzer 8112

[JHirakawa]

I have two at the top of the list and a runner-up.
I was checking out Scotty Cameron used putters on Ebay and when I was done with that, I looked at Kanstul French Besson Trumpets just to see if any were listed. My first Ebay purchase ever was a Kanstul French Besson Classic b-flat and I was just curious. A French Besson Classic C trumpet was listed as "Old Stock, Unused Condition, Buy now $750". So now I have a matched pair of Kanstul French Besson Classic Trumpets in b-flat and C.

Second impulse buy happened last spring. I didn't have anything planned to do one day so I went to Panera Bread for a cup of coffee. I checked the web to see if there were any interesting Estate Sales nearby. One had photos of a trumpet. The bell was engraved "Chicago Benge" with the Staff. I was the second guy in line. The first guy said he was looking for books. $1,000 for a 1948 Chicago Benge in excellent condition.

Third Runner up was a 1947 Model 48 Holton. It looked good in the photos so I put in a modest bid. I was surprised when I won.

Here are photos of the Benge and Holton. The lacquer is worn in places but both are in excellent condition otherwise. They even had all the parts to the 3rd valve slide stops.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Benge_%26_Holton_Trumpets.jpg
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Kanstul F Besson Classic b-flat/C
'48 Benge
'47 Conn 22b
'69 Olds Custom Crafted
'47 Holton 48
'64 Bach Strad Cornet
'62 Olds Special Cornet
'64 Conn 80A Cornet
'54 Conn 34A Cornet
Benge 3 flugel
Olds Ultratone 2v bugle
DEG 3v bugle

[Brassnose]

Sometimes there are situations where you don’t follow the impulse and miss good opportunities. Those are mine that I remember

A gold plated Romeo Adaci C for 300 EUR
A Conn 6B for 250 EUR
Three (!) Getzen Capri cornets for 240 EUR each
A Yahama 634 for 65 EUR (!)
A Blessing Super Artist cornet for 250 EUR

All horns in good shape, no wrecks.

But then: I don’t have the space for all these horns and someone else had a nice chance, too (impulse or not).
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2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15
1980/2023 Franken C incoming soon 😎
1966 Holton Collegiate cornet
AR Resonance pieces

[zaferis]

A Protec carbon fibre straight mute.

Turns out to be an excellent mute, great sound, very fast response, cool looking, and light-weight.
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Freelance Performer/Educator
Adjunct Professor
Bach Trumpet Endorsing Artist
Retired Air Force Bandsman

[Christian K. Peters]

Hello hello,
After making a sort of sarcastic reply about a Schilke Eb soprano, the fellow offered me a price I could not refuse. I think he must have wanted to dare me.
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Christian K. Peters
Schilke Loyalist since 1976

[Croquethed]

A demo'ed Getzen 907 Proteus from the Getzen Reverb site.

A great horn at a great price.

[Subtropical and Subpar]

My Kanstul 991, which I got from a well-regarded player and had barely any playing time on it. Got it for about half of what I've seen any subsequent 991 ask for.
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1958 Reynolds Contempora C 44-M "Renascence"
1958 Olds Ambassador
1962 Reynolds Argenta large bore
1965 Conn Connstellation 38A cornet
1995 Bach LR18072
2003 Kanstul 991 aka "Kanstullation"
2011 Schilke P5-4 B/G
2021 Manchester Brass flugel

[Dale Proctor]

My favorite impulse buy was this 1960 Conn 6B Victor trumpet. I saw it shortly after it was listed on eBay with a “buy it now” price of $300, and it looked practically new. It took me about 30 seconds to click the button


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Olde Towne Brass
www.otbrass.com

Brass Band of Huntsville
www.brassbandofhuntsville.com

"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[kehaulani]

That looks exactly like a 36/38B. What's the difference between that and a Conn 6B Victor?
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird
"Even if I could play like Wynton Marsalis, I wouldn't play like Wynton Marsalis." Attributed to Chet

Benge 3X LA
Martin Committee
Getzen Capri Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[spitvalve]

All of my horns except for the flugel were impulse purchases. Happy with all of them except maybe the piccolo--should have waited until I could afford a better one.
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Bryan Fields
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1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1979 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
Eastlake Benge piccolo trumpet
Warburton and Stomvi Flex mouthpieces

[Riojazz]

My Kanstul 1525 flugel. I went to Dillon's for another purpose entirely, played this flugel, and came home with it.

I suppose trying a Warburton 4 mouthpiece is another, since I was intrigued by the separate cup & backbore design and so I tried one at another music store. I bought the Warburton 4 MC on the spot. It's significant more for what it represented, the start of a search for something somewhat better than my Bach 3C.
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Matt Finley https://mattfinley.bandcamp.com/releases
Kanstul 1525 flugel with French taper, Shires Bb Destino Med & C trumpets, Schilke XA1 cornet, Schagerl rotary, Schilke P5-4 picc, Yamaha soprano sax, Powell flute. Sanborn GR66MS & Touvron-D.