XO Trumpet

Trptbenge · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 5:26 am Post subject:

Has anyone played the XO trumpet by Jupiter?

Mike

_dcstep · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 6:13 am Post subject:

The XO Tribune series is a great line up of horns. I've played around six and they've all responded well, with good tuning, comparable, shall we say, to Bach. My favorite that I tried had the reverse leadpipe and the medium-flare bell.

Changing the main tuning slide in all of them has slightly more impact on the sound and response as doing the same with a Conn Vintage One. The response and resistance is kind of like a #46 B1 with the stock slide, but becomes slightly more open with the rounded slide. As is typical, the reverse tuning slide leadpipe feels slightly more open than the traditional leadpipe.

I think that the street price is around $900.

Problems: Reputation and resale. At the last ITG I helped an adult compare V1s, XOs and several other horns. It came down to V1 and XO and he found an XO that felt "best" to him and got a great price from the dealer. He seemed pleased as punch as I left to drive back to Dallas. Well, the next day he told me that he bought the V1 (a very fine horn, but not the best for him). He was worried about what his trumpet buddies would say about a Jupiter. He had expressed this concern as we looked, but I'd said to tell those guys that you'd tried a bunch of horns and had others play them for you and this was the best. Yet, despite being 50+, he didn't have the confidence of his conviction.

Many high school kids are going to have the same attitude. I stood there at the beautiful XO display at ITG, which featured a good ten horns and lots of nice literature, etc., BUT everybody was just walking by, headed for the Blackburns, Kanstuls, Smith-Watkins, Taylors, Wild Things, etc. in the same room. Hardly anyone would stop. The regional rep bemoaned their reputation in brass winds and could clearly see that they had an uphill battle. (They actually have a decent reputation for flutes and saxes. Their alto flute is at the top of my daughter's "must have" list.)

So, if you have confidence in your own judgement, give these horns a try. I think that most players will be very pleased. I think these horns are very close competition for those with a street price around $1400-$1500. They're NOT student horns, but true pro horns.

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

Trptbenge · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 6:47 am Post subject:

Dave,

The reason I asked was that I was at Rich Ita's shop on Thursday and this pro player was there. His name was Randy...? He was leaving for Nashvile and then onto Memphis. He plays mostly R & B. I'll have to ask Rich who he plays with. He was a great player. He was there trying mouthpieces. I had seen him there before and tried the XO then but knew nothing about it. He has had an XO for about a year now and loves it. He goes through Boston a lot and stops at Rayburns (which is where he bought the horn). He said he has three other friends that play professionally that now play the XO. One thing he showed me on the horn that I had never seen before was a reverse tuning slide on the second valve. It looks as if the people at Jupiter did a terrific engineering job on the horn. I am going to the Trumpet Festival at Western Carolina University that features Jon Faddis and Laurie Frink next weekend. One of the sponsors is Jupiter. Maybe they will have some horns there to try. I am not planning to buy one but I would like to try some of the other variations of the set up. His set-up was a little open for me. A really interesting horn though. I agree with you on the resale value is an issue. This is a horn that if you buy it you need to be committed to keeping it for a while.

Mike

_dcstep · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 7:03 am Post subject:

Mike,

By all means, try the XO at that festival. Like your acquantance, you may find it ideal for you. The typical advice applies, if you're looking for an open horn, start with the reverse lead pipe, or, OTOH, if you want a tighter horn start with the "traditional" leadpipe. Interestingly, the character changes so much when you change the main slide, it's almost like having two horns.

Please, if you would, post some impressions after you give them a fair try.

Dave

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

blasticore · Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2004 10:18 am Post subject:

Yes actually. I played one yesterday at the FMEA conference in Tampa (I didn't make All State myself, but I just showed up to watch). I tried the one with a sterling silver leadpipe. The horn pleasantly surprised me. It played easily and sounded clear. If I were looking harder for horns at the moment and had the cash, that'd be a definate possible buy. It's worth the relatively small price tag.
_________________
Chris King
http://www.cktrumpet.com
http://www.ckbrassworks.com