Eclipse C Trumpet

lonelyangel · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2003 4:31 pm Post subject:

I just wanted to share this news with all of you C trumpet players out there. Many of you have been making enquiries about the progress of the new horn over the last year - you need to congratulate yourselves, because you have certainly played a big part in the creation of a beautiful new trumpet!

After many months of research and development, the Eclipse C trumpet is likely to go into production in the next few days. I have been lucky enough to have been involved in helping Leigh with this very demanding project and last week spent the final session at the factory play testing and fine tuning the prototype. It was an education for me watching a master craftsman at his work and the final result is astounding.

The C trumpet retains all the playing characteristics of the Eclipse range - amazing intonation, superb slotting and core stability, a totally even tonal response, free blowing, a rich open sound with brilliant projection.

The trumpet has the same rear tuning slide and one piece lead pipe design as all of the Eclipse trumpets. Each component part has been skillfuly scaled down through a painstaking process of fine tuning so that the horn keeps the elegant proportions you would expect from this company. The horn is superbly balanced, it looks and feels just right and the sound is superb.
Once Leigh and I were certain that the instrument was in its final state we began inviting leading C trumpet specialists in the UK to come and test drive it - even in its raw 'work in progress' state.

Early feedback is very encouraging "perfect intonation and slotting" - "the notes speak before you even think about playing them" - "more powerful than any other C trumpet on the market" - "it would blend beautifully with Bflat instruments" are some of the reactions and comments that I recall. Word is spreading fast and Leigh has already taken some advance orders.

As you may realise I am not a C trumpet player myself - they are actually quite rarely used in the UK - and that's just one reason why I won't be sharing my feelings about the horn - other than to tell you that it plays as easily as my Bflat Eclipse. However....
I believe that one of the first finished horns will be travelling across the pond in the very near future to a certain well known TH poster for a no nonsense review.....

Watch this space.

Noel.

[ This Message was edited by: lonelyangel on 2003-12-13 03:48 ]

valvepimp · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2003 4:37 pm Post subject:

Seems as if this C trumpet is bound for Canada, if I read you correctly.
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lonelyangel · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2003 4:50 pm Post subject:

Don't tell me they play C trumpets in Canada too!

trumpetmike · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 5:03 am Post subject:

Why do I get the feeling that I will shortly be adding another trumpet to my wish list?

One of these days I am going to have to take a trip up to try out these Eclipse trumpets, I have heard so much about them.

TrentAustin · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 5:26 am Post subject:

Well, I guess I'll be opening up my wallet again.

I can't wait to try one! If it plays anything like my LRed I'm going to be happy as a pig in.....

Noel, tell me more about the playability. What bell was Leigh using, the intonation, response, etc. I know a lot of us in the US play a ton of C trumpet, and if there was a great C out there on the market....

Best,

Trent
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Bruce Lee · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 8:32 am Post subject:

Trent,

A medium yellow bell was used... cut to "secret measurements".

Noel's description fits what I had expected with the Eclipse C... all of the great playing characteristics of the Bb, in the C trumpet configuration. Imagine a C trumpet with great intonation?

Noel... actually, this is the perfect time of year to send anything to "The Great White North". The sled-dogs cut down the traditional delivery time of the Canadian Post. I could be wrong, but it was my understanding that the Canadian Postal workers are only part-time employees. They only deliver mail in the afternoon, following their morning of working as "taste-testers" at Labatt's and Molson's.

Mike... unlike the tiny United States, I understand that you can actually make it from one end of your country to the other in less time than you can make it across most States, here. Leigh's door is open, and I'm sure that he'd love for you to pay First Class Brass/Eclipse Trumpets a visit!

Looks like mid-January for an Eclipse C arrival in the States! This is VERY exciting... stay tuned!

Happy Holidays!
Bruce
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trumpetmike · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 8:44 am Post subject:

Bruce - I'm just trying to find the time to go up and see Leigh.

Despite the relatively short journey time, it still takes some doing, finding free time at this point in the year!!

There is a serious danger of a few members of Surrey Brass going up at once - I have this expensive feeling we could all end up liking them - a section of Eclipses?

McH · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 9:26 am Post subject:

How long before we see an Eclipse cornet?

valvepimp · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2003 9:55 am Post subject:

Any indication as to the bore size of the Eclipse C trumpet? If the bore remains at .460, it may prove difficult getting Symphony players to take it seriously. I understand that a large bore "feel" is present in certain of the Eclipse Bb models, and I look forwarding to checking this out for myself. It may well be that C players will like it so well that they will opt to use the Eclipse C for solo and chamber work, but surrendering their large bore Bachs in favor of a medium-large bore Eclipse when playing Mahler might take some arm twisting. I have no reason to doubt, however, that the Eclipse represents an arm-twister par excellence, given all the accolades from well-respected players.

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[ This Message was edited by: valvepimp on 2003-12-13 12:58 ]

Bruce Lee · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 6:41 pm Post subject:

Valvepimp,

The bore size of the Eclipse C will be .460". Yes, the "feel" of the Eclipse is much larger than that of a trumpet with a traditional tuning-slide, or reverse tuning-slide "standard" configuration. Given the playing characteristics of the Eclipse trumpets, by comparison to the Large Bore - .462" Bach C trumpet, the measureable difference in bore size is only .002". That is a fairly negligible measurement, which will be easily offset by the more efficient qualities experienced when playing an Eclipse trumpet with an uninterrupted leadpipe.

The feedback from the orchestral players in the UK is quite valuable, in terms of defining what I would consider important:

BADBOY-DON · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 7:26 pm Post subject:

OK!
Pretty diggity-darn big words "Biggest sounding C horn out there????" Wonder how it compares to my beloved ol' Callet Symphonique C .470 horn or Flip Oakes C horn?
Speaking on intonation and pitch center....and great projection...I just havent found a C horn that compares to Jerry's, but hey I would dearly love to try a "fly-off" between my Symphonique, Flips C and now the new Eclispe?
Most players who have toy'd with my Callet...are amazed at its easy and open upper register, including how accurate this horn stays in pitch without false fingering and slide pulls, however for my Bach-a-holic friends a few have commented that my Callet plays overly bright in the upper register when playing fff. However both of these Bach-boys were using their Bach mouthpiece. Jerome matched my horn with one of his Callet 12vsf mouthpieces...which really adds a beautiful full regal big projective and regal (not overly bright sound) easy upper register that seems to lock in so easily.
However when I used my Bach 10'1/2 c and Bach 7 DW on my Callet...I did notice a slightly harsh tonality and a brittleness to the feel and sound of my horn.
After switching back to the Callet 12Vfs and my Callet Vari-cup 7 mouthpieces, that harshness or overly bright sound and brittleness was gone. Perhaps more studies with mouthpieces should be done with the majority of C horns. Everyone razz's Dave Monette about his thoughts that most Bflat mouthpieces...are not the choice for C horns nall that jazz.

Anyhoo, Congratulations and thanks for working so hard and going to the expense of designing a new and quality C horn.
I wish you the greatest success on this new venture and knowing how well your Bflat horns have been recieved...I am really interested to hear the results of the players who will be lucky enough to sample that new addition to your stable of great horns.

TrentAustin · Posted: Wed May 26, 2004 7:07 pm Post subject:

Well, this might look a little similar to my post about my LR... I thought this would save time for me as I'm insanely busy but I wanted to post a little more in-depth review of the C.

Sound clips are VERY soon to follow.

Construction - The horn is gorgeous. The same amazing craftsmanship that I have in my Bb is present in the C. It also has, in my opinion, the best silverplate job on any instrument that I've seen! It's absolutely stunning (as well as being stealth enough for the Bach crowd to not even notice my Eclipse until an in-depth look... all they say is "wow" when it comes to the sound). The pictures do not even come close to showing the true beauty of the instrument. The parts are fitted perfectly and everything is very tight. Precision crafted is an understatement

Balance - Perfect. Better than ANY other C I've played ten fold. I've played Wynton's Raja C, Charlie's Raja, tons of Blackburn Cs, Bach, Yamalone, etc... this horn has a balance and feel in my hands that is amazing! I feel as if I WILL NOT miss any notes with this horn. I just got off a symphony job playing 1st on the Poulenc Gloria... that piece has some tasty parts and many delicately placed High B's and C's. The notes felt so good it was impossible to miss.

Valves - Perfect... I hardly have to oil (actually have to remind to oil them) them and they're amazingly fast.

Slides -ditto

Tone - The biggest double-edged sword when I always played my Monette was that I LOVED the sound but it couldn't BLEND with any other non-monette instrument... I have been searching for so long for a C that could blend with Bach/Yamaha horns as well as Monette. The first player in my Quintet (www.innovatabrass.com) plays a Monette C. So I really needed something that had a huge warm core but brilliance as well. The MR Eclipse C is EXACTLY that... this horn has an amazingly warm and buttery tone when played with that mindset. I also found myself carrying over a 70 piece orchestra and full choir with Ease when I wanted to. Blending was absolutely NO problem at all. Octaves lined up with the other players, the color of sound while being distinct was not overpowering (try playing in an orchestral section on a Yamaha C with two Monette players... it simply does not work well!). A PERFECT Compromise.

Intonation - Awesome. All those JUNKY notes on the C (the C, D, eb, g on top of the staff) are dead on. No alternate fingerings here.

Blow - Open with resistance. Since I've always played L bore or XL bore C horns this resistance took me a couple of days to get used to. Each time I pick it up I'm getting a little better on it. I would definitely call this "positive" resistance. It's not stuffy at all, and the resistance REALLY helps with the slotting. In terms of having a ML Bore C I can honestly say it doesn't matter with me. I did have to go to a mouthpiece that offered a little more cup depth (I cannot tell you how mouthpiece sensitive this horn is!) than what I use on my "wide-open" LR Bb. The feel from Bb to C in terms of blow is the same (2 horns, 2 mpcs matched to each horn)... this makes it SO easy to switch back and forth in Quintet. That was REALLY tough for me to do with my LR and my Xeno C.

Slotting - It would be impossible in my opinion to make a horn that had better slotting. It's like driving on rails. Each note has it's particular center and feels great! I know I'm not going to miss on this horn like I doubted my other horns. High register is the best on any C I've played and actually I think better than on my Bb. I haven't touched my pic since getting this horn. Pulcinella, Bartok, Petrouska are a breeze on this horn (even for me, a jazzer at heart!)

Feel free to email me off list with any specific questions you might have... and definitely check the MR and MY C trumpets out at the booth at ITG!

Best,

Trent Austin
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