Taylor Trumpets

[Karel]

On the last North Sea Jazz Festival I saw the British soul band "Incognito" with trumpeter Dominic Glover in the horn-section. He sounded great on a heavy-weight Taylor trumpet. His sound was brilliant and very projecting. He also played a Taylor flügelhorn. So I think if you can handle such a heavy trumpet, you get the most beautiful lead-sound you will ever hear.

Karel.

[aldir13]

Hi collin,

I own taylor horn, from my experience, this is not the right one for a lead job. I tried it, but it didn't work. it is a beautiful horn for jazz gigs, solo's, maybe section playin'.
I got myself the B5 of schilke and man, this horn can do everythin' , check it out.

Adir
_________________
Adir
hub van laar B1
Hub van Laar Flugel
Hub van Laar Quartertone trumpet
www.adirkochavi.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVYp6bC3iDY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RcJ8zyaRM4

[maynard-46]

mfan,
Yes...I own a Taylor "Chicago II" Standard Model and...yes...you CAN play lead on it as it will 'cut" the job quite well! Until about 6 months ago my philosophy was to ALWAYS choose and play the brightest horn I could find. At that juncture there WAS NO horn TOO bright. I held that mindset for 35 years and it was VERY hard to let go of...until I tried the Taylor. Man, was I ever wrong in my past way of thinking! The Taylor has a HUGE sound...GREAT tone quality...IMPECCABLE intonation...and VALVES to die for! Not to mention the blow of the horn...free with just the right amount of resistance. Even with it's .470 bore you never get the feeling that you're "falling in" the horn! Not to mention that I feel my playing has gotten MUCH more musical since using the Taylor...probably in part due to the fact that I feel I'M much more in control of the horn...IT doesn't control me! When I was searching for super bright horns I found myself constantly overblowing them. Looking back I think once I heard all of the "edge" coming out of the bell I was constantly trying to acheive more of it. Consequently I would overblow the horn and it would end up backing up in my face. My Schilke B7 is a perfect example. It's a GREAT horn but I definitely have a tendency to overblow it (and, no, it's NOT because it's a medium bore!)

The ONLY time I felt uncomfortable with my Taylor was the day that I received it. I orderd it from a place where you can "try before buying" and had it sent to my workplace. I also had a dixieland rehearsal that night so I took it with me. I arrived at the rehearsal about 5 minutes before the start and, before I could even play a note on the horn, the leader counted off the first tune! Normally that wouldn't bother me because, unless I'm doing a lead gig with a big band, I very rarely warmup anyway. I usually get that done on the first couple of tunes. That night was different, to say the least!!! I had NO edge, NO upper register, NO flexibility, NO tonguing, NO NOTHING!!! The first tune ended...the rest of the band looked at me (apparently I was redfaced!) and they simply broke up laughing! The tuba player (who is a GREAT player) and I went to college together. He proceeds to ask me if I got the horn at a garage sale! Man, was I ever embarrassed!!! Luckily I had enough sense to bring along my Schilke and it bailed me out for the remainder of the rehearsal. It was a good lesson learned that night! The postscript to this...2 weeks later we do the gig that we were rehearsing for. By then I had played the Taylor quite a bit and was getting much more familiar with it. I was also VERY determined to make up for my rehearsal blunder of 2 weeks prior. Well...we finished the first set and during the break they all complimented me on my playing/sound. The Tuba player, who's opinion I respect VERY much, said that that horn gave me the fullest/biggest tone he had ever heard from me (and that's going back some 30 years worth of working on and off with him) with just the right amount of edge. I could now look them all straight in the eyes again!!! (of course they were all probably just feeling sorry for me and felt they had to say something nice!!!)

The other issue that I'd like to address...which has come up in just about every thread I've read regarding Taylor trumpets...is the choice of a mouthpice to go with the Taylor trumpet. NO...I repeat...NO...you DO NOT have to use a Taylor mouthpiece with a Taylor Standard Model trumpet. YES...you CAN use a "conventional" mouthpiece of your choosing and function as normal! I can't relate the experience others have had nor how a "normal" piece would react on any of Talyor's other models but I've used a Warburton 6ESV top combined with their #8 custom-altered backbore since the day I received the Standard Model and it has served me VERY well in ALL playing situations. (kind of like I'd rather fight than switch!) There...I've addressed the issue and I now feel better!

mfan...if at all possible you really owe it to yourself to at least try the Taylor Standard Model. You may not like it at all...but at least then you'll know for sure. Then again...you may find that it's EXACTLY what you've been looking for...I did!!! Good luck with your search!

Butch Warnke
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TRUMPE: SCHILKE B7 / Legends .585 "CatMaster" Top / KT "RT1" BB / Reeves #5.75 Sleeve.
FLUGELHORN: ADAMS Custom "F1" / Legends .585 "CatMaster FL.

[drunkiq]

mfan,

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quote from the trumpetgearhead::

Opening the throat with a drill, without adjusting for any taper in the throat, will turn a tapered throat into a cylindrical one. As a general rule, the longer the cylindrical section in the throat, the more focus or center to the sound, but the more it tends to condense or shrink the octaves, meaning the lower register goes sharp and the upper register becomes flat. As the cylinder is shortened (either from the backbore or the cup side) the octaves then augment or spread apart--all relative to the other aspects that makeup the mouthpiece.

unquote:
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you did not state what you drilled but if it was the thorat then please do not try that again, it needs to be properly done by a professional...

-marc

[ This Message was edited by: drunkiq on 2003-09-19 14:21 ]