Martin Committee Large Bore

rmacklem · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 5:48 pm Post subject: Martin Committee Large Bore

Hello all…

I recently acquired a 1957 Large Bore Martin Committee Deluxe from Josh Landress in NYC. First I want to give the highest recommendation to Josh…he is a great guy, a great repairman and trumpet maker, and man does he know his stuff. I've purchased 3 horns from him over the past couple of years and have always been very satisfied.

Back to the Committee…wondering if there is anyone out there who is playing the LB, and if they have any comments about them. I am a pro living in Toronto Canada, having recently relocated here from the USA.

I have owned 3 medium bore Martins in the past. I found that they played too small for me, and were not very versatile, though I always loved the sound and response.

I have been both surprised and delighted with with the LB…I have played it on lead Big band gigs, a wedding gig, a gig where I was playing mostly Tower of Power lead parts, and a small group jazz gig. The horn handled all beautifully! IT blended well with other trumpets, felt great when pushed, and played dark and smoky like the med bore but with a wider sound on the jazz gig (what I wanted).

Most of all, I feel like I can 'be myself' on this horn. it has a rich, luxurious sound that is very malleable…I for awhile was playing a med bore NY Bach for lead and a Conn 8B lightweight artist for everything else…both great horns but this does both BETTER (for me at least)

Wow…long post to start a thread my apologies….

I also have a couple of questions….maybe some people out there in trumpet land can help answer…I'll leave them for another post…this one is already too long!

Thanks!
_________________
Russ Macklem
Custom Calicchio
Custom Bob Reeves Mouthpieces
Pre-War F. Besson flugel

mcgovnor · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 5:59 pm Post subject: They

Those horns were Martins best offer. A good one is a real blessing. As you've said..good for all playing. I loved them, because they could thicken out so well in the middle..like a brighter, bigger Bach.

rmacklem · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 6:11 pm Post subject:

Yes, it is great…it has some unique features too. The horn has nickel outer AND inner slides. The strangest thing to me is that the horn is so vibrant and colorful…most horns that have this much nickel on them that I have tried seem to play dull and lifeless.

I have heard of but never seen another Martin with nickel inners…anyone ever seen/played/owned one?

Also….

If Mr. Schilke was the main designer of these horns then why do none of his horns play like the Committees? I've tried every one of Schilke's models INCLUDING the new Handcrafts…

I feel like there is more to the history of the Committee than I've been able to find out online etc..anyone who knows more please chime in!!

Thanks!
_________________
Russ Macklem
Custom Calicchio
Custom Bob Reeves Mouthpieces
Pre-War F. Besson flugel

sounds7 · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:43 pm Post subject:

Mine is a 47 standard. I have played no other horn like it and I have owned and sold more than 50 trumpets over the years. Not selling this one, it stays in my grasp always. I think the metal changed after the war. The brass is just not the same type of alloys. The craftsmen not quite as crafty either. I used it for Jazz, lead, session work you name it. It does it brilliantly.
_________________
47 Martin Committee #3
Buescher lightweight 400 228
Buescher lightweight 400 217
Taylor/Harrelson/MAW
Warburton model 235
Stomvi Mambo #5
Conn constellation 38a cor.
Courtois 301 Orchestra C
Yamaha Custom 9830 pic
Yamaha 731 /Harrelson mod

razeontherock · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:23 pm Post subject:

Russ -

you may now give me your '62 Connstellation since you will no longer be needing it. I'm assuming a 38B? I've got the 38A of that year. These would do very well with your Bell MF mouthpiece, thank you.

HAHAHAHAHA, congrats on the major score

mcgovnor · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:26 am Post subject: mine

Al Hirt used to play an old Martin back in the day..

Def Trumpet · Veteran Member Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 357 Location: MI

For the record, during my visit to Schilke, Phil Baughman told me that when they analyzed Wallace Roney's Committees (and they had several) they found that there was no uniformity to how they were made. It was as if they were constructed with whatever material was available in the factory that day and however the maker decided to put them together. Certainly, Reynold Schilke was striving for a more standardized approach to making his horns. Ultimately, there is a lot of disparity between each given Committee, and they are all pretty individualized even if they look the same. Interesting stuff.
_________________
'50s Martin Committee M Bore
NY Bach Strad 42
MV Bach Strad 37
ACB 3CS

mcgovnor · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:59 am Post subject: same

Same applies to LA Benge trumpets.[/b]

rmacklem · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:12 am Post subject:

Interesting replies everyone!

I know that a lot of artists visited Martin in that time…could the difference in construction of individual horns have something to do with individual's preference?
_________________
Russ Macklem
Custom Calicchio
Custom Bob Reeves Mouthpieces
Pre-War F. Besson flugel

rmacklem · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:16 am Post subject:

Def Trumpet · Veteran Member Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 357 Location: MI

J. Crowley · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:43 pm Post subject:

It's kinda been covered a bit already, but I'm a huge obsessive fan of Miles Davis and if you check out all the old photos of him and look at the details, he's playing a LOT of different Martin Committees. I don't know how many he had/played, but there were a lot and I'm sure their specs were different, at the very least you can visually see the difference in bell size and engraving.
_________________
http://www.JonCrowleyMusic.com
http://www.brooklyntrumpetlessons.com

mcgovnor · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:30 pm Post subject: Guys

Guys..most Martin trumpets..were dogs or a little better. You're making way too much out of this..some large bores were good..some were really good..a lot were terrible..u can't count Miles horn(s) I played a few..one was tremendous..another was horrible.
The medium bores played all over the place. I owned about 8..Only two were even in the ball park gig wise..but if u find one YOU dig..well..great.
Yes they were an innovative design, and the rage for a little more than a decade. And IMHO, the large bores were a more practical blow, on the whole.

Bill Ortiz · Heavyweight Member Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 904

Most Martins were dogs? Not in my experience-I've owned several, both medium and large bore models. Most of the jazz artists played the medium bore models-Miles himself played mostly medium bore Committees, although did play the large bore live at times during the '60's, and later the Leblanc versions-his Leblanc's were custom made for him though.

Committees have a very unique feel to them-not for everyone, but certainly great horns.
_________________
'56 Martin Committee Deluxe #2 trumpet
14B Schilke mouthpiece
Couesnon Paris flugelhorn
Bob Reeves Sleeves and PVA

Hugh Anderson · Veteran Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Posts: 398

Can you hear the difference when there's a harmon mute in it? I know you can still feel the difference when you're playing it, but can you hear it?

mcgovnor · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:02 pm Post subject: yes

Yes, the better part of Martin trumpets were not great. That's why Besson, Conn, Benge and Bach actually ruled. It was a decade or so, and do to Miles, Chet and a group of Jazz soloists who found Martins that worked for them, and gave that burnished sound the good ones get. Most of them played pretty badly. Most Jazz players moved away from Martin, by the mid to late 1960's, almost all, save a few holdouts.

Bill Ortiz · Heavyweight Member Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 904

Hugh, perhaps a bit but if you play with the Harmon right on the mic any difference is negligible.
_________________
'56 Martin Committee Deluxe #2 trumpet
14B Schilke mouthpiece
Couesnon Paris flugelhorn
Bob Reeves Sleeves and PVA

Bill Ortiz · Heavyweight Member Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 904

Mcgovnor, I don't agree totally, but only regarding Committee's made in the '40's and '50's-with Committee's made after that I would tend to agree with you. Besson, Conns etc are all great horns that all play differently. Obviously there is no right or wrong answer-you play the horn that works for you.

I personally find that vintage horns that I've played of all makes seem to have their own character from horn to horn, since there was more of the handmade element to them. The majority of sax players during the same era played Selmer Mark 6 horns, but not all were good either. I find new horns today are more constant from horn to horn and may be more in tune generally, but don't have as much as a unique personality to each horn-but that's just me.
_________________
'56 Martin Committee Deluxe #2 trumpet
14B Schilke mouthpiece
Couesnon Paris flugelhorn
Bob Reeves Sleeves and PVA

mcgovnor · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:57 pm Post subject: I owned

I owned a number made in the 1940's..one played..according to me..a friend loved it and bought it. He plays his Bach again. The other that played was made around 1952..it played..ok. A friend loved it. He bought it..Not for me though. One thing I will say..and this is responsible for the feel and sound changes in later horns. The bell process was sped up in the 1960's//less hand work..more processed bells..less time..more horns produced. This changed the response of every make of horn...
of all the large bores and delux I played, two played great..the rest were very strange birds..stuffy and stiff, mostly..

irememberchet · Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 9:47 am Post subject: Martin Committee Large Bore

I have had the privilege to play many Large Bore Martin Committees, and currently own two of them, a 1940 Martin Handcraft Committee #3 Large Bore, and a 1960 Martin Committee #3 Large Bore (pre-RMC).

Both are excellent horns, but the 1940 Martin Handcraft #3 Large Bore is simply a horn I will never part with. I also own a 1941 Martin Handcraft Committee in a medium bore, and I have owned several other medium bore Committees, and the difference between the horns is night and day.

I searched for many years to find a large bore Martin Handcraft, and they are very very rare. As a soloist, or in small group jazz, this large bore Handcraft Committee is far and away the finest instrument of its kind I have every played.

IMHO BETTER than my Adams A9, which is a great instrument itself.

BETTER than the Schilke Handcraft, which is also a great instrument.

BETTER than my Calicchio 3/9 Large Bore.

BETTER than my custom made Lawler C7C extra large bore.

And yes, BETTER than my Monette MF Prana, which is a beautifully playing instrument.

Give Martin its due. When you are able to find a really good Martin horn, and I've had several, they play as well or better than any horn I can think of as a soloist or in a small jazz group setting.

I know I will NEVER part with mine!

Richard
_________________
Richard Harris
Monette MF Prana
1940 Martin Handcraft Committee #3 Large Bore
Yamaha 8335 LA II Bergeron Custom
Yamaha 8340 EM Eric Miyashiro
Schilke Handcraft HC1
Taylor Phatboy Flugelhorn