ECLIPSE/EQUINOX

Margot Zack · New Member Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Posts: 7

New horn on the scene and is it something. I've tried many and this one out plays them all. Not cheap but worth the investment. Everying is solid tone projection Range etc. Bruce Lee has a winner.

Bruce Lee · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 8:22 am Post subject:

Thanks for the feedback, Sid! Glad that your new Equinox is working out for you!

Sid purchased an Eclipse Equinox, in scratch gold finish. I helped him to compare it to the other horns that he brought with him... both of which were goldplated. The Equinox was the winner, hands down. Response, overall sound quality, projection, and especially intonation were qualities that helped Sid to make his decision. As you can see from Sid's post, he would rather let the horn do the talking for him!

"... worth the investment." ... Sid Zack

I think that speaks volumes, in terms of the value that we place on our instruments. Quality is not cheap. While the difference, in terms of dollars, between the goldplated horns was not much, the difference in "sense" was amazing!

Thanks again, Sid!

Best always,
Bruce
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redface · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 8:39 am Post subject:

What were the other gold plated horns tested?

Bruce Lee · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 9:07 am Post subject:

Hi, Redface!

The other goldplated horns were a Getzen "Canadian Brass" model, and a Wild Thing.

Best always,
Bruce
_________________
teatro333@gmail.com
Please contact me for BE Lessons

lonelyangel · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 9:55 am Post subject:

Hello Margot (Sid? - now I'm confused) and welcome to TH.

I'd like to congratulate you on your choice of horn - I know Bruce is crazy about his. I have been lucky enough to play-test every instrument that has been made so far by Eclipse Trumpets and I totally agree with you about the Equinox - it is a real winner.

I know that lots of people here on TH are very keen to try an Equinox or one of the Eclipse range of trumpets. The point is that there are still only around 30 - 40 instruments out there at the moment - so you are one of a very fortunate and select group of people. Bruce Lee is doing a great job at spreading the word about these amazing instruments on your side of the pond and I would recommend anybody with a serious interest in trying one to contact him direct and also to keep their eyes open for news of any Trumpet Fests in their area. Any players in the UK should e-mail me or contact the company direct via the web site, http://www.eclipsetrumpets.co.uk

Once you get to play these horns they basically sell themselves - the build quality, ease of playing and integrity of the intonation, blow and timbre usually provokes a gasp of incredulity (sometimes accompanied by a string of expletives).

Regular surfers of TH may recall that I have recently been liquidating some of my assets in the form of a couple of vintage horns (Burbank Benge and LA Super Olds) and I now confess that this is because I have been hopelessly seduced by one of the latest offerings from Eclipse.

I am going to the factory on Thursday to pick up my newly built medium heavy red. The horn is still in raw unfinished brass and Leigh will let me road test it for a week or so before we decide on the finish. It is only the second medium heavy red to be built - the first was sold (much to my dismay) to a young and talented Canadian jazz soloist, Jay Phelps, who is living in the UK. We had been working together with the Jazz Jamaica All Stars and Jay was very impressed with my own medium Eclipse (yellow brass in scratch gold). What finally convinced him to take a trip to the factory was when he heard Wynton playing a large red Eclipse backstage at the Jazz Cafe after one of his recent London dates (Jay had been hanging out and shooting some hoops with Wynton all week - he didn’t say who came out on top!) and then having a blow on the same horn himself.
He rang me the next day and we went up to the factory together where he was able to try out a comprehensive range of trumpets. Jay was drawn to the warm dark sound of the red brass instruments but over the course of 3 hours or so kept on returning to the medium heavy red. This has a more focused and compact sound than the large red with a dark intensity to the sound and more projection, especially in the higher registers, than the large belled horn. This is the same trumpet that John Barclay had been raving about a couple of weeks earlier, saying it had everything he was looking for in a horn and I too had begun to fall in love with it.

Incidently, the Equinox which Margot bought has a large red brass bell - which is standard on the short version of the Eclipse.

Leigh has a habit of throwing me a curve ball every now and again and just when I had set my heart on getting one of these horns he produced yet another awesome version of the Eclipse. The latest gem is a large heavy belled trumpet with the bell and leadpipe made of pure copper. This is a very powerful and pure toned instrument, it looks stunning and has a unique timbre. It is very hard to describe, the sound is huge and weighty and yet it has a brilliant response in all registers - maybe it has a less complex spectrum of overtones than the large heavy red - and it is very tempting. I don’t expect this one to stay on the shelf for very long.

....however I have decided that the medium belled trumpets suit my playing better and I just can’t wait to get my hands on my new horn. I’ll report back if and when I can leave it alone for long enough.
Noel.