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Your best all around trumpet


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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 2:22 pm    Post subject: Your best all around trumpet Reply with quote

I know this topic has been discussed to death but also there's always new gear coming out and everyone has a different idea of what "all around" means.

So, I have two Bb trumpets that I very much enjoy and they work very well for different things. My Bach 37 is a very good Bach 37 but it comes with many of the standard drawback that you'd expect. My Calicchio is excellent for anything that's not traditional European music or lead trumpet (which is fine because I don't play lead trumpet very well... yet)

I try my best to enjoy whatever musical path presents itself. What horns have you played that are incredibly versatile?
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Goby
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your Calicchio, assuming its the R3/7 in your signature, should be a great lead horn! Obviously not as specialized as the 1s bell, but nonetheless should be a fine instrument. Mic Gilette from T.O.P. played a 3/9 Large bore.

The idea of an "all around" trumpet is somewhat perplexing. Yes, the Bach 37 is the standard of high school bands everywhere, but there are plenty of horns that run circles around it. The best horn is the one that fits your idea of how a trumpet should sound (and has good valves). For me, that tends to be something on the lighter weight side. I'm a fan of Schilke, Adams, and Calicchio. I play mostly on an Adams A1 (gen 1), and I think its a fantastic (and versatile) horn.

Unless you're trying to win an orchestral job in a major symphony, no one is going to be that critical of your gear (even if you are an orchestral player, it's rare that conductors will get fussy about your setup). Most orchestral players spend most of their time on C, so their Bb really only gets used for commercial work.

The trumpet itself is such a versatile instrument, I think it's more on the player to have a versatile skillset than it is on the instrument.

If you stick to middle-of-the-road specs, (ML bore, modern production, around a 5" bell, and conventional appearance) you can't go wrong. There are more top-quality instruments being produced today than any other time in history, so don't limit yourself to just playing a Bach 37.

Just my 2 cents. If you want a list of horns to try, I'd consider the Schilke HD series, Van Laar B4, Adams A2 (new version), Bach 190 series, and any Shires.
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theslawdawg
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Your best all around trumpet Reply with quote

kevin_soda wrote:
What horns have you played that are incredibly versatile?


Thane.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A very experienced friend of mine swears by the Adams A-1 as a one-horn-does-all choice. On that recommendation, I got an A-1 and it was not the holy grail I thought it would be, so I got a Schilke B-1 which, for me, covers all the bases.

@ theslawdawg
I never no see before, boysan.
Their site looks interesting. Does anybody here have any experience with them?
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Goby
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I should have added Thane to my list!

I've heard rave reviews about Logan's horns, definitely on my short list.
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theslawdawg
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kehaulani wrote:
A very experienced friend of mine swears by the Adams A-1 as a one-horn-does-all choice. On that recommendation, I got an A-1 and it was not the holy grail I thought it would be, so I got a Schilke B-1 which, for me, covers all the bases.

@ theslawdawg
I never no see before, boysan.
Their site looks interesting. Does anybody here have any experience with them?


Hey Bruddah....you know I've played some horns. Logan made me a custom horn (very similar to one Rashawn Ross played or has, don't want to quote that wrong but I know he mentioned him). If you told me I could have only one horn, this one would be it.

He responds quick to emails. He was with Monette for a number of years before he went on his own.
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theslawdawg
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goby wrote:
I should have added Thane to my list!

I've heard rave reviews about Logan's horns, definitely on my short list.


I'll put it another way....it's one of the only horns I won't sell. Unless he had another to swap. The horn just works for me. And apperently, for a lot of others that have played one.

Everyone has their own horn, and that's awesome.
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Last edited by theslawdawg on Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:21 pm; edited 3 times in total
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kramergfy
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know man, I've tried quite a lot of horns with many different design concepts (small bore, ML bore, Step bore, Large Bore, XL Bore, reverse pipe, light, heavy tight and wide bells), and the horn that feels the most at home to me for anything is my Early Elkhart 37. It doesn't have a valve alignment or any special treatments, and the bell even needs a little love, but man, it sounds like a trumpet, gives a friendly resistance, and supports you with some solid slots. There are brighter horns, darker horns, more open horns, tighter horns, etc, but it's the standard for a reason. It's a design that just works, period. Not sure what drawbacks you might be having (stuffy? Intonation?) but most if not all can be solved with mouthpiece gap adjustment, or a different backbore.
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Last edited by kramergfy on Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Goby
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

theslawdawg wrote:
kehaulani wrote:
A very experienced friend of mine swears by the Adams A-1 as a one-horn-does-all choice. On that recommendation, I got an A-1 and it was not the holy grail I thought it would be, so I got a Schilke B-1 which, for me, covers all the bases.

@ theslawdawg
I never no see before, boysan.
Their site looks interesting. Does anybody here have any experience with them?


Hey Bruddah....you know I've played some horns. Logan made me a custom horn (very similar to one Rashawn Ross played or has, don't want to quote that wrong but I know he mentioned him). If you told me I could have only one horn, this one would be it.

He responds quick to emails. He was with Monette for a number of years before he went on his own.


Is your Thane on a Meinlschmidt or Carol block? Which bell did you get?
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theslawdawg
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goby wrote:
theslawdawg wrote:
kehaulani wrote:
A very experienced friend of mine swears by the Adams A-1 as a one-horn-does-all choice. On that recommendation, I got an A-1 and it was not the holy grail I thought it would be, so I got a Schilke B-1 which, for me, covers all the bases.

@ theslawdawg
I never no see before, boysan.
Their site looks interesting. Does anybody here have any experience with them?


Hey Bruddah....you know I've played some horns. Logan made me a custom horn (very similar to one Rashawn Ross played or has, don't want to quote that wrong but I know he mentioned him). If you told me I could have only one horn, this one would be it.

He responds quick to emails. He was with Monette for a number of years before he went on his own.


Is your Thane on a Meinlschmidt or Carol block? Which bell did you get?


Meinlschmidt. 72.
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OldSchoolEuph
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ironically, given that I am impressed by and a strong believer in the general utility of Bach horns, the one that is least helpful to me is a Bach 37. Ditto when it comes to Yamaha, which I have recommended for 45 years or so now, where the closer to a 37 it gets, the less it suits me.

The point is, we are all different (and from the above it may reasonably be assumed I am more different than average). What works as a flexible, adaptable tool for one of us, may be a terrible fit for the next. At the end of the day, when you reach the level where "you can", you have to find for yourself what best helps "you do". It wont be the same as the next guy most times.
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, so here's my "shortlist" of more or less commercially available horns. Thane may be great but I'm not going to drive down there or invest thousands into a horn I haven't played. (or, at least, I'm not willing to do that anymore...)

So, please let me know if you think any of these are just way off the mark.

Schilke
S43HD or S42HD
S33HD
SB4-OT
Bach
LR19043B
LR19072
19043
Yamaha
8335LA
9335VSII
9335NYSIII

I've considered looking into Adams and Van Laar because there's a local place that I think could work those out but it might be a stretch...
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blownchops
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bach 37.
Mine works well for everything I play, classical to jazz. I have earned the vast majority of the money I have made playing on a 37, whether the one I have now or a prior 37.

Its the standard "all around " horn for a reason, and though this forum has a lot of folk that dont seem to like bach, in my teaching and playing career I see mostly bach or yamaha.

In my playing past I have also owned a Yamaha 8335RG and a 6335H that were also superb all around horns as well.

If I was forced to sell my horns right now and only keep one, I would definitely keep my 37.
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Dale Proctor
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My 1976 Bach ML 43. Does everything within my ability that I want it to. Nice sound, great intonation, accurate slotting. Other trumpets have come and gone, but this one, which I’ve played since the middle 1980s, is the keeper.
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shofarguy
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I only own one trumpet, but I've played or sampled a fair number over the past 15 years. There are a few that I would gladly play that would be versatile enough for most anything.

My top choices would be the Bach NY 7/7, Schilke X4, Kanstul 700 and 1001, Getzen 3052. I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I've played that I thought were the finest.

My current Wild Thing is the most versatile. It plays with more resistance and character and is far easier to control than my first, original spec WT. The copper tuning slide gives it similar resistance and brilliance as a #2 brass slide, but with the full .470" bore. The resistance is always helpful, never sudden or stuffy. The horn slots very nicely, responds sensitively and has a great dynamic range. Varying mouthpieces add depth or vibrance as you'd expect. It's just hard for me to get a fluffy-smokey sound from it. In fact, the only technique I've found for that Arturo-dark tone is to pick up my flugelhorn!

So, I still have my eyes out for a few special trumpets for those less versatile moods. A really good Chicago Benge and either a Kanstul 1603 or the one and only Mystére that Flip Oakes has in his stable. Maybe a good Committee large bore to gawk at now and then.
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J-Walk
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My 1958 Benge 3x+(mlp) tops my list for an all arounder. A great Bach 43 would be my choice if I didn’t have my Benge. If I were choosing just for commercial playing, an Adams A5.
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giakara
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I own two horns, my TL5-1A is my main axe since 2004 , I play commercial stuff and this horn is until now unbeatable, I had try many many others to compare and this is for me the best all around horn , my backup TL6-1A is provably better horn for small combos and orchestra stuff and generally a all around horn but I still prefer my TL5.
My advice is to have access to as many horns is possible and try them with a friend musician to hear you and then decide which one plays and sounds better , this is the best all around horn in the world.

Regards
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Brassnose
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My main horn since 1992 is the Bach 43GH in the signature. Changed mouthpieces two or three times and added a 43 leadpipe instead of the 25 a few years ago. It does everything I needed it to do for 25 years and I only added the Schmidt rotary because I now mainly play orchestral stuff where the Bach is too overwhelming (plus, of course I wanted a rotary all my life and figured if I buy one it should be the best I could find and still afford )

If I was in the market for a new piston horn these would be my favorites:

Schilke B6 (suits me much better than any other Schilke, but haven’t tried the HCs)
Edwards X 13 (from mild to wild in a split second)
Bach Commercial (very interesting overall concept and being used to Bach forever this works just fine)
Conn 52B (biggest surprise in my recent trumpet testing tour, pick-up-and-play/no-nonsense-horn, it simply works for me even better than other Bach’s)

A little behind the 52B but still a very good horn for me:
Conn Vintage 1 (easier to play than the Bach, better intonation, but broader sound than the Bach, less core)

Thinking boutique, my top favorites are (note that they are less pricey than some „regular horns“ plus you get to modify them specifically for you):
Del Quadro and Martin Schmidt

Not working for me:
Adams A4 in various configurations (dull sound without variability)
Yamaha LA and related models (too stuffy and strange slotting)

After being very interested in heavy horns for years, lots of test playing has shown me that normal to lighter weight horns, sometimes with heavy caps, are much more to my liking.
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Manuel de los Campos
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 3:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I started to play the trumpet more seriously (it was the late 70's) I wanted to upgrade the trumpet I borrowed from the local band (a lower end Besson) I got the oppertunity to buy second hand one of the horns of my trumpet teacher, it was a Conn Connstellation
I didn't like it, I went to Amsterdam (big city for a country boy like me) to check out the music shops over there and found out that I liked the Vincent Bach 180-37 the best, maybe because of the family ties with the Besson design?
I went to conservatory and everybody else played Vincent Bach 180-37, I guess it was the standard then. We played everything with it, from jazz to classical music. From chamber music to Shostakovitch symphonies

25 years later I wanted to change my sound, bought a ml bore instrument with a gold brass 72-ish bell, very nice sound but it lacked the projection and diction what made a good 37-bell famous

Also the situation on the marked changed; with e-bay and marked place websites now it was possibel to buy -and sell- easely foreign made horns from all over the world so I tried everything between Selmer and B&S to conclude that I like horns with a 37-ish bell the best

Currently my workhorse is a Getzen 900 Eterna LB, very much alike my ol' Bach 180-37, 'same' great sound and projection but simply a better player so I sold my Bach to a very talented young guy who is very happy with it

With this Getzen I play in a symphonic orcherstra (besides an Antoine Courtois 'Delmotte' C-trumpet), pop music and all my recording gigs. Very versiatel, good valves, solid construction, what else do you want?
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improver
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bach 37
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