1st valve trigger or hook

[trumpet.sanity]

Any of y'all like a trigger vs. thumb hook on your first valve slide?

Any pros of cons you might share with me please? Found a trumpet I'm interested in, but never played one with a trigger before.

Thanks for any imput

[LittleRusty]

Based on previous TH discussion as well as conversations at gigs, most people prefer a saddle/hook/ring.

I have a trigger on my Bach Bb, as well as the previous one that it replaced. The way the trigger is made I have always used it as a right hand trigger and I like not having to relax my grip when adjusting tuning on the first valve like I would have to if I had a saddle/hook/ring.

My kanstul picc also has a trigger. My C and flugel both have a saddle.

[trumpet.sanity]

Thanks, do you find it hard to open the 1st slide with the trigger, and open the third valve slide at the same time?

Seems like contrary motion to push your thumb forward, and open your ring finger out at the same time.

No?

[LittleRusty]

[Jerry]

Here is my preference for first valve slide:

1) Trigger
2) Ring
3) Saddle
4) Nothing

However, if I liked the horn, it wouldn't matter to me which the horn came with.

However, when it comes to third valve slide, I've passed on horns that had an underslung ring, a la old Bessons and recent Callets.

[Goldplate]

I don't really care for triggers. I am a tense enough player already, and it seems like squeezing triggers just makes me that much more tense. Having triggers on the 1st and 3rd slides is easier for me than my horns with just 1st valve triggers.

[Ed Hernandez]

Personally I prefer 1st valve ring, however I seldom use it. I owned a SIMA for a few years, which has no 1st valve ring/hook/trigger, and realized I never missed it.
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"If you find a job you really like, you'll never work a day in your life".
Yamaha YTR 9335 NY
Yamaha 8310Z Flugel

[HERMOKIWI]

The positioning of my left hand has always felt awkward on horns with first valve slide triggers. To me, keeping the left thumb on the trigger button makes the grip of the left hand seem much less secure than if the first valve slide is controlled via a hook or ring. I have four horns with a first valve slide trigger: Selmer K-Modified, Conn Connstellation, Olds Opera and Olds Mendez. The most awkward one for me is the Selmer but the others aren't far behind.

All but three of my other horns that have an adjusting first valve slide have a first valve slide hook. The three that don't have a hook have a ring (Mt. Vernon Bach Strad 37, King Super 20 Symphony Silver Sonic and Adams A8.) I like the ring the best because it gives the most secure feel for the left hand grip and is the easiest to operate.
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HERMOKIWI

[Crazy Finn]

My preference:

1. Saddle
2. Ring
3. Nothing
4. Trigger

I've never owned a horn with a ring on the first slide, though I've played some and they seem fine. My Radial is almost a ring, it's a ring shaped saddle and it's fine.

Triggers are highly dependent on the trigger mechanism and stiffness, for me. I operate the saddle/ring with the left thumb, so it seems normal to operate a trigger with the left thumb. Some trigger mechanisms make that difficult with their placement for my fairly small hands. The trigger on an old English Besson I have seems Ok. Same with the Conn 28B - they don't seem heavy and the placement isn't horrific. The Getzen horns I have with triggers (older Capri trumpet and cornet) aren't too heavy, either. The trigger on my Bach 184 cornet fails on both accounts - the placement is poor for my left thumb and the spring and action is extremely stiff. I could probably get a lighter action on the spring, but frankly, I prefer saddle/rings anyway. The vintage horns, I'll live with as is (at least for now) but the I used to play on a Bach 184 with a saddle and will have mine modified likewise at some point.
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LA Benge 3X Bb Trumpet
Selmer Radial Bb Trumpet
Yamaha 6335S Bb Trumpet
Besson 709 Bb Trumpet
Bach 184L Bb Cornet
Yamaha 731 Bb Flugelhorn

[tptguy]

Assuming the rest of the horn has been designed well (admittedly a big assumption), the less dampening on the 1st slide the better. Therefore for sound, focus, and intonation a ring is a much better option than a trigger, and a hook is better than a ring. And the best sound out front is with no addition. Nonetheless, many symphony players feel naked without some mechanical assistance. For them, a hook on a male upper with long reach hook is the best compromise.

[zaferis]

[trumpet.sanity]

Thanks guys. All good stuff. I appreciate it.

[mm55]

I prefer hooks/saddles over triggers in general. I've never had a horn with a ring. Although I find that most triggers make it awkward for me to grip the valve block, the King Silver Flair has a much friendlier trigger; the lever is to the right of the 1st valve rather than directly behind it.
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'75 Bach Strad 180ML/37
'79 King Silver Flair
'07 Flip Oakes Wild Thing
'42 Selmer US
'90 Yamaha YTR6450S(C)
'12 Eastman ETR-540S (D/Eb)
'10 Carol CPT-300LR pkt
'89 Yamaha YCR2330S crnt
'13 CarolBrass CFL-6200-GSS-BG flg

[Craig Swartz]

Saddle/ring, 1st and 3rd valve slides. If nothing else, it makes it easy to remove the slides. Best 1st valve set up is like Schilke uses, with the saddle canted to about 11 o'clock and inline with the slide. fits the angle of the thumb better and is not in the way of my right thumb. I hate the long and upright set up Bach uses on the stock horns, the ring on the Artisan and better horns works better for me. Triggers, to me, are just one more mechanical thing to go wrong in a pinch. Murphy finds his way into music, too.

[Bucaneer61]

My trumpets all have saddles, rings & hooks - with the 28B having only a 3rd slide ring & the Radial C having a 1st slide saddle and an underslung 3rd ring. The cornet has a 1st slide trigger & an adjustable 3rd slide ring, the pic & flugel with have 3rd slide triggers. I switch between all with zero trouble. YMMV

Michael
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Selmer Radial Bb ML - Jan., 1972
Selmer Radial C XL - Jan., 1972
Getzen 580S cornet - c. 1973
Blessing Artist Flugelhorn, rose brass bell
Accent Picc by B & S
Conn 28B Concert Grand Bb - 1925
Martin Handcraft Imperial - 1937

[p76]

You know, it's weird - on trumpets definitely prefer a saddle, but with a cornet it's a trigger or nothing.

Often wondered why it's like that for me - is it habit, because that's just how my instruments have mostly been configured? Or is there something different about the way I approach each horn that makes the saddle work for trumpet and trigger for cornet?

I have never got on with trigger trumpets or saddle/ring cornets...

Cheers,
Roger
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Bb - Selmer Radial, Yamaha YTR634, Kanstul 1001, Kanstul 700.
C - Yamaha 641.
Cornet - Olds Ambassador A6T, Besson 723, Olds Ambassador Long.
Flugel - Kanstul 1525
Mpc. - ACB 3CS, ACB 3ES, Curry 3BBC, Kanstul FB Flugel

[Bucaneer61]

I had a k-modified with a trigger years ago and got along with it very well. All the later tpts have saddles/rings. Who knows how our minds work. All I know is that I've never had problems either way.

Michael
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Selmer Radial Bb ML - Jan., 1972
Selmer Radial C XL - Jan., 1972
Getzen 580S cornet - c. 1973
Blessing Artist Flugelhorn, rose brass bell
Accent Picc by B & S
Conn 28B Concert Grand Bb - 1925
Martin Handcraft Imperial - 1937

[dstdenis]

I have a cornet and a flugel with triggers; the rest have saddles and rings. The triggers seemed odd at first, but I liked them once I got used to them.

The instruments with triggers feel more secure and stable in my hand, and I feel that I can make slide adjustments faster and easier with the triggers. The downside is that it takes time to disassemble the triggers when cleaning the instrument--especially the first time. It gets easier after that.

I don't feel that the pros/cons are strong enough to make me want to switch an instrument with one system over to the other. I get along with either.
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Bb Yamaha Xeno 8335IIS
Cornet Getzen Custom 3850S
Flugelhorn Courtois 155R
Piccolo Stomvi

[Christian K. Peters]

Hello all,
I bought a Schilke XA1 that had a thumb ring already installed. I loved it. I have put or ordered thumb rings on all my horns.
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Christian K. Peters
Schilke Loyalist since 1976

[Louise Finch]