Bach 37 vs. Bach 37G

[JSco]

Hi All, I was curious for folks who have tried out playing a Bach Strad 37 with the standard yellow brass bell vs. the Bach 37G with gold brass bell setup. Did they feel/sound significantly different? Did you find either setup worked better for certain playing situations? I'm interested if the stereotypes (yellow brighter, gold warmer sound) about yellow vs. gold brass have proven true for those of you who have tried both.
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[Rhondo]

Curious about this too.

I have a G bell converted to reversed leadpipe. My understanding is the G bell comes stock with standard configuration, and reversed leadpipe Strads with a lighter body, so normally if you have a reversed leadpipe, apparently it’s a yellow bell.

[bebiperez]

Although not specifically a Bach 37G, years ago I owned a Yamaha 8335RG with gold brass bell. I was able to compare it to the newer second gen model, the 8335RS with yellow brass bell. I preferred the newer model yellow brass bell over the gold brass. I felt it had a vibrant and more exciting sound, although not necessarily brighter.

[Brassnose]

Can’t comment on the 37 bell but on the 43, hope that’s OK The orchestra I play in has two trumpet geeks, me on first and another guy on second. He plays (among others) a regular 43 while I have my 43GH. Both are 180 ML, but I’m not sure about the year of his horn.

His sound is considerably brighter (part of this is due to him using a shallow Marcinkiewicz (model?) piece) but mine really is darker and warmer but also slightly more focused. I prefer mine but the regular 43 is a great horn, too.

While I have used mine for about 20 years for big band and medium sized pop/soul bands, it works well in the orchestra (though I do prefer my rotary now). My buddy’s regular 43 does stick out more (again partly due to his playing style and setup).

I should add that both are set up with a regular, non reversed leadpipe. His is a 25, mine is a 43.
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2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier

[Goby]

A Smith-Watkins study found that professional trombone players could not distinguish between bell materials in a blindfolded test, but when not blindfolded, all of them preferred the copper bell.


If you're comparing 2 different instruments, you are more likely to detect the differences in leadpipe venturi, mouthpiece gap, valve/slide tolerances, and even how clean the inside of the instrument is compared to the bell material.


https://smithwatkins.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/670cdef32c57e80e189bddaa749d1479-IOA-1986.pdf

[Bill Blackwell]

Never with a Bach, but I experimented with comparing copper with brass bells for many years and have generally found that higher copper content in the bell produces warmer overtones, especially on a flugelhorn or cornet. It's not immediately obvious, but in a controlled environment you can hear a definite "ring" produced by a yellow brass bell that is absent with the copper bell.

You may never hear the differences between brass and copper on a trumpet, but there is a discernable difference in the way the two horns blow. You might call the copper belled trumpet a bit more resistant.
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Bill Blackwell
Founder - Sons of Thunder Big Band Machine

Wild Thing Bb - Copper
Wild Thing Flugelhorn - Copper
Wild Thing Short-Model Cornet - Copper

The future ain't what it used to be. ...
- Yogi Berra

[21trumpet]

[Brassnose]

While I generally tend to agree with Goby that materials have less of an impact than instrument geometry (or players!), I won’t completely rule out materials effects, see my post above. It is, however, highly likely that the differences between the 43 and the 43GH described above are a combination between different leadpipe, different player, and different material (thickness) - for some reason, we have never swapped instruments to test the other horn (atypical trumpet players we seem to be ).

I did have the chance to playtest a 37 with a sterling bell and there is most definitely a difference between a regular 37 of the same setup and a sterling one. This thing could bury everything in front of you no problem - absolutely impressive volume and projection - but it felt very tight. Brutal horn and night and day compared to a run of the mill 37. There, material clearly had an impact.
_________________
2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier

[Miketpt]

Gold brass bell horns tend to sound warmer up close to the player but don’t project as well as regular yellow brass bells. Scott Laskey always said to stay away from them for orchestral use.

Mike

[adagiotrumpet]

Didn't I read somewhere that Schilke claims that their Beryllium bells (actually a lightweight copper bell in its current form) projects better than a similar bell in yellow brass?

[Rhondo]

If I was playing in the Philharmonic I might be concerned a gold bell Strad doesn’t project well enough.

A gold bell Strad 37 projects plenty.

[Goby]

There is much more to music than strictly timbre of the instrument. Articulation, phrasing, relative intonation, and stylistic choices are all much more important to an ensemble than if your horn has a gold brass or yellow brass bell.

[JSco]

Thanks for the comments everyone! Appreciate the different perspectives.
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[Manuel de los Campos]

[gmaxe]

I have a bach37G that I purchased at ITG in 2018. It is a beautifull horn, it projects fine. It has a really nice sound at lower volumes that maybe can be warmer than a regular 37, but the difference is not huge. Bachs are funny creatures, they all play so differently from one another but what I liked about this horn compared to the others at ITG was how even and smooth it felt from note to note. You can hear me playing it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y96dJplwaFA&ab_channel=GianniMarinucci
Always play Bachs before you buy them if you can! Good luck
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[Rhondo]

[Miketpt]

[abontrumpet]

[JayKosta]

[Miketpt]