My date with a Getzen 3050

[camel lips]

After pulling a few strings to get a Getzen 3050 into my dealer I had a chance to spend about a hour today with a Getzen 3050 .This was the first Getzen in the professional class I have had a chance to play or see for that matter.

Let me say first off that this Getzen horn was extremely well made and put together suburbly.This horn just felt right in my hands.I have never seen a better looking horn.The fit and finish will take your breath away.

It probably goes without saying(its a Getzen) but the valves were extremely nice too.Smooth as a babys bottom they were.This horn was the only horn in the bunch were the slides were fitted properly to the horn.Not to loose or to tight,it was just right.

OK,on to some not so good news.I really didn't care for the way this horn played at all.

I had at my disposal a Conn Vintage 1 46 silver plate,a Yamaha Xeno 8335S and my Elkhart 43 bach.These horns are very close to being clones of each other as far as bore and bell sizes are concerned.

The Getzen 3050s centered really well in the low tones and really held together well up in the high range up to FF which is really about my playing limit.What I didn't care for was how the pitch started to wavier when you went from G on the staff up to E on the staff.The Korg Tuner kept bouncing back and forth from sharp to flat as you went up and down the scale chromatically.This did not happen with my Bach or the Conn Vintage 1.It held rock steady with the needle pegging out right smack in the center.I thought for a moment that it was just me or perhaps the mouthpiece I was using was not particularly suited for the horn so I switched out to my old reliable Bach 3c.Still the pitch wavered quite a bit from sharp to flat as you went up and down the scale chromatically.


(I will do a separate report on the Yamaha and the Conn later.)

Maybe this Getzen was just a bad one or perhaps me and the horn just didn't get along.Its a shame because its a sweet feeling horn.It played much better in the high range than any of the other horns I had to try.I would have given my eye tooth to had this horn when I was in marching band.

I haven't given up on Getzen horns as of yet.I was pretty impressed by the Getzen 700 I tried out a few weeks ago and a friend has a Eterna that is sweet as candy.

I want to try another Getzen out to give it a fair comparison.There is a horn show coming up soon and I hope to see a handful of them there.No doubt in my mind if I find one that plays well I will be buying one.Its by far the nicest looking horn on the planet.

[da_roadrunner]

your experience is pretty close to mine. the notes don't seem to "lock" in very well on that horn. I'm finding that once I get above high C the horn gets terribly out of tune (could also be my GR64s, not sure, I should expirament with that). and when i go chromatically, the tuner does bounce all over the place. It's fun to watch while i'm doing clark #1. I tried a 3001 LE the other day, and i thought its intonation was a better (didn't have a tuner, it was all my ear). The upper register was more in tune (GR64M though), but the notes above high C didn't slot the way I liked. It was more work up there, closer to a bach 37. when i first tried a bach, I had a very difficult time getting the notes to come out in my extreme upper register. The 900 might be a completely different beast, I haven't had the time yet to give one an extensive going over yet. The one I did try game me a very good first impression, I just didn't get a chance for more than that. Good luck on your horn search, and don't have too much fun.

[camel lips]

your right.Searching is part of the fun.

DA,

Thats wild that you and I had almost the same exact problem with the horn.


My hope is that I can find another Getzen that plays more center.I really enjoyed the fit and feel of that horn better than I did the Conn V1 or the Yamaha.If it would have played I would have bought it right then and there.

[ This Message was edited by: camel lips on 2004-04-15 09:24 ]

[Getzen]

I'm very sorry to hear that neither of you had a good experience with the Custom Series trumpets you played. To be honest, this is the first time I have heard those criticisms about either model. With the 3050 that isn't a surprise really considering there aren't many out there. The 3001 is a little more shocking in regards to the high register. I have heard from many players that feel it slots better at the high end than most of our other trumpets.

Camel Lips, I would like to know where you tried out that trumpet. It is possible that there was something wrong with it. As with anything, bad apples do make it out every now and then. I would be interested to hear when that trumpet was built and to see if the dealer has had similar responses from other players.

Thank you for your honesty and for not giving up on us yet.

Brett Getzen

[mheffernen5]

Sorry about your expirence Life must go on