ITG San Antonio

[Tony Scodwell]

I'd be interested to hear opinions of the recent ITG held in San Antonio from those of you who were able to attend.

Tony Scodwell
www.scodwellusa.com

[SAdoc]

Hi Tony-
I walked around and think I tried at least 1-2 horns from every maker there.
I was looking for a new Bb
A few that I recall-

Van Larr- really nice horns. The ones I tried played great.

Shires- tons of models from Bachish to Bengeish and everything in between. Fit and finish were outstanding on all of them. The Destino blew tighter than I like. The A/AZ/ AHW had a beautiful, classic trumpet sound. The B and C lines seemed more commercial. All played really evenly with great intonation. The rep was really cute as well.

Schilke is still Schilke. Great build quality. Even the smaller bores don’t feel tight at all. I don’t remember all the models I tried, but I liked all of them.

Lynzhorn- reminded me of my Carol 5000 yst. Great projection

Ken Larson- I almost bought a horn from them. They had one based on a 72/43 that really fit me well. I narrowed it down to that horn and a Shires

Yamaha- I didn’t get to try a Vizzuti. The Chicago and New York were both really nice horns. The Shew has more resistance than I like.

Puje- I tried these after hearing one of the concerts where the artist used several of there horns for traditional jazz. They played great. I especially liked one with a Getzen valve block. With the higher price point of the new models I hope they continue to sell.

Jupiter- the Ingram model surprised me. I was expecting a tightish Shew type blow , but it had a really nice blow and great all around sound. I could have used it for almost anything. I hit Roger up for a lesson when I was trying the horn, and he ended up driving 35 miles to my house on Friday night for a 2 hr lesson. Thanks again Roger!!

I was surprised at the number of makers using Carol valve blocks. Many of the custom makers I talked to used either those or Kanstul. I’ve owned horns from both, and IMHO the Carol valves are better.

I ended up buying a Shires Model A. It has a beautiful, classic trumpet sound. The blow is slightly more open than my LR180/37. Intonation is better than my Bach. The valves and slides were perfect with no break in. Probably the best valves I’ve tried. It seems like I can play quieter without breaking up on the Shires. High A ( over high C) is usually a dicey note for me, but it slots much better for me than any of my other horns.

I’m sure I’ll think of more later

[OldKing]

I attended about, I'd say, 40% of it. 'Couldn't make the evening concerts due to rehearsal commitments, highway construction out by my house, etc. I'm just an amateur/comeback player (with a Music Ed degree), but San Antonio is my home town, so I went to what I could. 'Thoroughly enjoyed the morning warm-up sessions and whatever clinics and day concerts I could make.

Some of the exhibits being up on a couple of levels that you had to compete on the elevators with folks trying to check-in and get to their rooms was jacked up, and, I was the fool that stood up at the ITG meeting and told them so. Some understood, some looked at me like deer in the headlights.

I'm a business man at heart (retired) and the exhibitors deserve as much traffic as you can possibly generate. I've attended a whole bunch of tradeshows, involving a lot of different industries, and even helped plan a couple of national trade shows. Believe me, I completely understand having the trumpets in private and semi-private rooms (it will be a while before I willingly hear "Pictures at an Exhibition" or, some screamin' lead line), but on one level, you had to first get the right floor, then go around and fit through a little narrow gap to get to about 16 or so booths of accessories, sheet music, the U.S Army booth, etc. That's messed up. (Full disclosure, a friend of mine had a booth up there.) Another big portion of the horn manufacturers were down the block and across the street.

I think I picked up, by hearing where the future shows were, that they have an arrangement with Hyatt, and that's cool, but I'm not sure how conducive the hotels are to a true tradeshow experience. Just my opinion. I understand a "true musician" not getting the business aspect, and that's okay too.
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For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? - 1 Cor 14:8

[jazzvuu]

I am no pro so your mileage will definitely vary.

Some brands that had horns that were great for me were the Van Laars, Adams (which I have not liked before at previous conferences/conventions), Eclipse (especially their flugelhorn), the standard 3137 B&S Challenger.

Weimann Rotary were nice and great (but unpractical for my budget and playing).

The Lynzhorn just felt big to me in blow.

Majority of my horns are Yamaha so I am actually selling my last Schilke Bb to switch hopefully to a Yamaha Vizzutti 2. I would not say it was that necessary better than the other makers but it was a great horn and it is more similar to my Yamaha Artist C, Eb/D, and picc in concept so yep.

After playing all these other horns, I figure out my sound concept does not match my Bb I am playing (Schilke S32-L) and the other horns I tried just made it easier for me to get the sound concept that I wanted.

[zaferis]

I thought this was a very good ITG conference, some very awesome performances, expected and unexpected. A number of very informative sessons, and as usual a couple that left me scratching my head.
My big criticism would be the same with many performances, when you talk keep it brief!

Even though moving between the separated display areas and function rooms was challenging, I enjoyed the location. Though loud, the separation seemed to me to keep things a bit more moderated.
And being right on the riverwalk was excellent.. I was a bit surprised there wasn't an evening outdoor event: local horn band/Mariachi or the like (unless it happened after I went to my room)

I sat right infront of Jens Lindeman during a warm-up session - man even at 7:30 in the morning he sounded amazing-even blowing through warm-up exercises his tone, pitch and time were spot on! His performance with the Spanish Brass was incredible.. They, of course, were awesome.

Tom Hutchinson with the San Antonio Brass Band was spectacular. One of those performances that makes me want to sell all my trumpets.

As far as equipment, I find that there is so much stuff and information that I need to have a very specific task at hand when I look.
I wanted to test Flugelhorns so, spent a couple hours moving from one to another without brand loyalty or price judgement (as best I could)

In order of preference: Van Laar B3/B1, Adams 1, and Yamaha 631G, then I thought there was a noticeable drop-off, I found nothing else that grabbed my ear as much.

Then I have some interest in Eb Cornets... sick right?
Blackburn and Eclipse. My concern with the Blackburn is that it sounds so nice and mellow that I'd get lost in the singular Eb chair. The Eclipse played extremely well and had a touch more shimmer in the sound
_________________
Freelance Performer/Educator
Adjunct Professor
Bach Trumpet Endorsing Artist
Retired Air Force Bandsman

[mfan]

I had a great time at ITG. It was my first trip out there. I went specifically to try the Best Brass Aphrodite. It was the best horn I played there. The sound was too bright for me though. I was told a bigger bell would get the sound I was looking for but at $7500 for a stock model it was out of my budget. Their Hamanaga valve system though was a dream. Every note on the horn felt the same. Maybe one day….

I appreciated the horns upstairs in the private rooms. As a pro player it's nice to have one vendor in a big room where you aren't competing with several other booths. I left some booths in the conference center side where I could barely hear myself due to the noise from neighboring vendors. It was similar to NAMM. For my money I really got to experience horns in the private rooms much better than those in gen-pop.

The Cancer Blows concert was incredible! I wish that live stream was available to watch again. Overall there was so much there. I was only able to go for opening day and the first day of the exhibits. I didn't get to play everything I wanted to. LynnzHorns was constantly packed. The Lotus booth was in a crap location and was always swarmed. There were also some really big names with some really inconsistent products. It was enlightening to say the least.

For me the East Coast Trumpets/Van Laar booth stole the show. A private room with a focus on customer service. I even got time with Hub Van Laar who answered all my questions and gave me his ears. I bought a B6 based on my experience there. They had at least one of every model Van Laar there and the booth was staffed. The product was also great!

I left many booths because I could not get the time of day from a rep because they were too busy with an obvious friend. I was there to buy a horn and it was a turn off if I had troubles asking questions or getting help.

With only one day I get that you can't expect the world from every vendor on opening day. I have no frame of reference since it was my first ITG trip. I really enjoyed it though and wish I had another day there. I don't regret my purchase though!

[yourbrass]

My buddy and I had a great time there, but I would second the San Antonio poster who complained about the logistics of getting from one floor to another via the elevator. The room card (key) had to be inserted in the elevator control panel before a floor could be selected. This caused endless confusion, fumbling, and delays as people tried to deal w/it. Ridiculous.

That being said, I was impressed w/how many makers had good flugelhorns; Adams F-1, Van Laar, B & S, Edwards, etc. It's finally caught on that the French design is the right one to get the sound, and most of these horns used that design as a point of departure.

The music was uniformly high in quality - some really great quintets from Spain, Mexico, and the Air Force concert band had more than one virtuoso sitting there backing up soloists. And I now know what really great Mexican food is!
_________________
"Strive for tone." -John Coppola
Edwards X-13
ACB MV3C /ACB A1/26 backbore
https://yourbrass.com/

[TrentAustin]