What is it with us and the search for the holy grail?

[robfisch]

I have had several trumpets. The one I play now (Callet, Sima) seems perfectly fine. Great even. But my thoughts constantly nag at 'what if I had something better?...what would it be?'...something vintage? something new? would I play better? feel better? sound better?....aaargh! ... (same question with mouthpieces...)

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Rob Fisch
Spencertown, NY

[HERMOKIWI]

Because "hope" imagines a perfect world, a world better than the one provided by "reality" so, as a result, "hope" is more pleasant than "reality."

There's a line in the musical Carousel that describes this dynamic. Mr. Snow is sad and he explains that he's been having "memories of things that never were." In other words, what never happened is better than what did happen.

Trumpet is like a tale of two cities: The best of times and the worst of times. We keep hoping that there's more for us out there somewhere. We don't want to face the reality that there's more for us only if there's more within us.
_________________
HERMOKIWI

[harryjamesworstnightmare]

I have multiple horns for the enjoyment of playing different configurations and having that dynamic change. One always seems to have a tone I like better for one tune than another. Maybe one bell is a little brighter or lively compared to another and lends itself to a particular style of playing. And, I just plain admire the craftsmanship that went into hand building many of the older instruments. My signature only lists the horns I actually play regularly. I have some that I just enjoy looking at, knowing and appreciating the hard work that went into it. Hand engraving, some of the finer points like decorative braces and ferrules, gold wash bells, it adds something we're lacking nowadays. And thinking sometimes and wondering if that factory worker ever gave a thought that a hundred years later their work would be appreciated and someone would think of them.
_________________
Brian James
-------------------------
King Super 20 Symphony
Bach Strad 43 Sterling Silver Plus
Getzen Proteus
Yamaha 6335HS
Olds Super
Olds Mendez
Getzen Custom 3850 Cornet
Conn 80A
Getzen Eterna Flugelhorn

[cgaiii]

We also do this because it is just plain fun. We also change and what might have been great at one time might not be as good later. Though there is no holy grail in trumpets, there are some that might be better for any one player at any one time. Perhaps a lot of this is attitude, the way we feel about the instrument in our hands.
Like harryjamesworstnightmare, I enjoy the craftsmanship of my instruments (none particularly old) and I do think some horns better suited to different music. I do have my favorite that absolutely gives me joy every time I play it. It is close to my grail, but I can imagine something even better. Ah that "perfect world" HERMOKIWI described.
_________________
Bb: Schilke X3L AS SP, Yamaha YTR-6335S
C: Schilke CXL, Kanstul 1510-2
Picc: Kanstul 920
Bb Bugle: Kanstul
Bb Pocket: Manchester Brass
Flugel: Taylor Standard
Bass Trumpet: BAC Custom
Natural Tr: Custom Haas replica by Nikolai Mänttäri Morales

[BudBix]

I think there's something to be said for enjoying a collection of instruments if that's your thing. It's no different than collecting other things. I've been watching a lot of Jay Leno's garage on YouTube. It cool hearing him talk about what makes each make/model unique.

In terms of what to use on a gig everything is a compromise. There's not one trumpet or mouthpiece that can do it all and we're always limited by our personal ability (and liabilities ).

[kehaulani]

At it's heart, I think, is simply man's quest for what's just over the horizon. Never being satisfied with what is. But the other side of that is a diversion from concentrating on what one should just buckle down and do.

Phil Woods tells an interesting story about running into Bird. Bird wanted to play but had no horn, so Phil loaned him his. Now, Phil didn't like his horn and bitched about this thing and that about his horn.

Bird played it and just dropped everyone's jaws. Phil quit complaining and went to the shed.
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[kramergfy]

Theres the historical/association aspect (NY/Vernon Bachs, Chicago Benge etc), the playability/intonation aspect, and the sound aspect. Some horns are just pieces of art (old Conns, Olds, etc). Everything is a trade off. One horn might allow us to play higher and louder, while another gives us the sound we want etc. There is no single holy grail IMO. Eventually it becomes all about that extra 1% . Priorities and musical needs change, along with our own physical condition. I like to keep a wide range of horn styles and designs in my arsenal. Keeps my curiosity at bay when I loose focus on the real work that we all have to put in. "Maybe i just need a larger, smaller, shallower, tighter, wider, more open,...."
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"I'm 73 and I'm still learning." - Maurice Murphy

Thread killer.

[TrentAustin]

Because it's easier than actually getting in the practice room and doing the work?

[multiphonic]

Conspicuous consumption (in some cases).

[LittleRusty]

[Ed Kennedy]

The Bardo of the Hungry Ghost.

[loweredsixth]

[harryjamesworstnightmare]

[giakara]

I was lucky enough to found my holly grail horn back in 2004 , is a fantastic from any side of view , sound , response, blow , projection .
I knew it from the first blow and is my main horn since today and i have play in every commercial setting you can imagine with this trumpet , I keep it in great condition and still looks like new , BUT from 2004 since today I have buy the follow horns

Yamaha 2335
Getzen Capri
Kanstul 1502
Getzen eterna ML
Lawler TL6L-1 STS , briefcase SLS #8 bell
Schagerl Morrison academica
Lawler star
Lawler TL5-1A
Getzen Capri
Yamaha 4335
Getzen CB
Calicchio 1S7/2
Van Laar CF
Lawler TL6R-1A
Lawler TL6-1A
Lawler TL5-1A

If you want to ask why, the legit answer that I use to save my head from my wife's attacks is "I need a backup horn just in case" but if u want the truth becose buy and try trumpets for me is the most interest hobby in the world....

Regards
_________________
Lawler TL5-1A Bb 2015
Lawler TL6-1A Bb 2004
Lawler TL5-1A Bb 2003
Getzen eterna 910 C
Getzen eterna 850 cornet
Selmer Paris 3 valve picc
Yamaha 731 flugel
Carol mini pocket
Reeves/Purviance mpcs

[TrentAustin]

[LittleRusty]

[Craig Swartz]

To add to what Trent already pointed out, it's also a way to convince ourselves that our biggest problem is really the instrument, not ourselves.

[yourbrass]

There really are differences between brands and models within the brand, but I have finally figured out that switching too often, at least for me, doesn't allow me to learn what a a particular horn plays like.

Right now I'm on my Edwards every day but my beater 3X+ is on the stand when I decide to go back to it.

-Lionel
_________________
"Strive for tone." -John Coppola
Edwards X-13
ACB MV3C /ACB A1/26 backbore
https://yourbrass.com/

[Bill_Bumps]

In my case, at least, it's not the horn. Mine is a 1959 Selmer K-Mod. And my goal is to make my own playing worthy of such a fine horn.

[shofarguy]

For me, because I'm a hobbyist, the best horn is first a horn that sounds good to me. They aren't all the same. I like a certain sound that is planted deep in my psyche. That sound changes some, as my moods change, so I like a horn that will change with my mood, or at least one I think I will be able to get those other sounds out of, if I work at it.

The best horns have a "friend" attached to them. Some of those people I've met. Others came before, but their lives persist in the lore surrounding the horns they made. If that person happens to be alive and we become friends, all the better!

Then, if I get to have a one-of-a-kind horn that meets all of those criterial? Well, that's the Holy Grail, isn't it!

For me, then, there are three.

My current Wild Thing meets all the criteria, because it's the only copper bell WT in the world with a copper crook tuning slide. The tuning slide gives it a more "Benge" sound and a little more resistance, like a #2 slide would, but it's the full .470" #1J. It looks awesome!

My WT flugelhorn meets all of the criteria, too. To my knowledge, it's the only one ordered from the factory with a raw finish. I know it has a one-of-a kind patina finish that is just gorgeous with green, blue, magenta and yellow tones to the copper bell.

But the last one, as far as I can see, is unobtainable. The last trumpet to make this list of mine is a very special Chicago era Benge ML trumpet that I played one day while rehearsing for a hand bell extravaganza. That trumpet had the greatest sound and the heaviest dose of Legend of any single horn I've come across. So many memories of dear friends are embedded into that horn! It also helps that it had the most incredible high register sound I've ever heard and that I was able to land a high G with that sound just as easy an anything.
_________________
Brian A. Douglas

Flip Oakes Wild Thing Bb Trumpet in copper
Flip Oakes Wild Thing Flugelhorn in copper


There is one reason that I practice: to be ready at the downbeat when the final trumpet sounds.