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Great Expectations.



 
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delano
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Joined: 18 Jan 2009
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Location: The Netherlands

PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:53 pm    Post subject: Great Expectations. Reply with quote

About a new horn.
A few days ago I visited the new workshop of the Dutch trumpet craftsman/wizzard Martinus (Mark) Geelen to have my MG Twister serviced. Great place, now upgraded with a CNC machine.
But the real surprise came when he handed me his newest creation, a new rotary trumpet, some new Twister. I own a Twister and though it is built as a cross-over rotary trumpet it has a lot of DNA of a regular rotary trumpet, it's on the legit side of the spectrum which is for me ok, I like that.

But now this new creation, I had the privilige of being allowed to play it and I was shockingly surprised. It's not an upgraded Twister, it's a whole new horn. It has the twisted bell but now the instrument has more bends so it has a very compact wrap, also a liitle bit less weight. Also the layout changed with another leadpipe and tuning system. It's still in the try-out phase so I am not allowed to tell all the details but a lot of the development is also inside the horn. Substantial modifications in the machine and in the bore traject make this horn extremely versatile. In fact this horn combines the advantages of both the piston and the rotary trumpet.

But versatile does not give the right picture. By using different mouthpieces and/or (the very easy changeable) leadpipes you have a legit, a commercial (it can scream), and a flügel horn in your hands and believe me, this comes all very easy.
It's a rare bird and will have a new name to accentuate that.

What surprised me the most was the original way of thinking to design this horn.

So: Great Expectations.
Anybody that's interested can contact Mark via his website. I think that he will introduce this horn with a nice clip and more definite information here when he is ready for it. Probably after the try-out period.

https://www.mgtrumpets.com/
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stuartissimo
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Joined: 17 Dec 2021
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Location: Europe

PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pretty much agree with everything Delano wrote.

Mark showed me the protorype during my visit last week when I visited MGTrumpets to drop off one of my instruments for repairs. It’s a neat and clever design that allows for a lot of freedom in sound, ranging from ‘proper trumpet’ to flugel to much inbetween. He was kind enough to let me try it as well, and though it took a little getting used to, it was very nice to play.

Mark is a skilled player and the sounds he could get from this horn are incredibly diverse. In particular, when using a flugel-cup his sound was sweet with just a touch of brightness that made it very well suited for ballads (I believe Mark called it ‘a flugel sound without the lack of back pressure typically present in flugels’).

If you’re interested in hybrid instruments, this MG’s new horn is definitely one to keep an eye on.
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1975 Olds Recording trumpet
1997 Getzen 700SP trumpet
1955 Olds Super cornet
1939 Buescher 280 flugelhorn
AR Resonance mouthpieces
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delano
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Location: The Netherlands

PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 5:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This new horn is now more or less officially presented and got the name of a bird: the Surakav, a North American bird that can change its colors.
Not all the information is available yet. Like I wrote before I played a proto-type of this horn in trumpet configuration and that horn played shockingly well.
Now the design seems to be definitiv and Mark made it very versatil with different leadpipe set-ups so that you now have a trumpet, a cornet and a light sounding flügelhorn in one horn by changing leadpipes and mouthpieces of course.
I did not play the latest version but I'm very curious.

From his website:

NEW!!! SURAKAV - Hybrid Trumpet/Cornet/Trugelhorn
—> more detailed info following soon. For now I hope this will do:

This hybrid instrument is built following a totally new design and new concept. It replaces both the Twister and Twugelhorn designs we used to make.

The Surakav can be used as a trumpet using a trumpet mouthpiece and corresponding leadpipe, as a cornet using a cornet mouthpiece and leadpipe and as a light flugelhorn / ultra dark trumpet using the trugelhorn leadpipe. All the leadpipes have different inside shapes and are the best possible match to the rest of this very well balanced instrument. Nearly the whole instrument slowly “tapers out”.

All three configurations really work and are not a compromise. The trumpet is thick and bright, the cornet dark and agile, and the trugelhorn has a soundcore that sounds like a flugel that can still project, unlike a common flugelhorn that is often hard to use in live situations and where the sound doesn’t carry further than the stage without having to push it. The Trugelhorn sound is thick, warm and carries through beautifully. It’s amazing how the bell can sound so different in each of the individual setups.

It took a long time to develop, and it took some persuasion to have the German manufacturers of the valve section make what we had in vision (they thought we had gone nuts) but it is finally here!


https://www.mgtrumpets.com/rotary-instruments.html
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Halflip
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 6:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds fascinating! I can't wait to see how this marvel looks. It must be rather unique if it requires a specially configured valve section.

(Looks like there are some pictures on the website. Very attractive instrument!)
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"He had no concept of the instrument. He was blowing into it." -- Virgil Starkwell's cello teacher in "Take the Money and Run"
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jhatpro
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 8:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark built a great horn me, not a Twister but one of his Universal Work Horse B-flats. It’s one of the best horns I’ve ever played and I’ve owned horns by Bach, Conn, Schilke, Yamaha, Getzen, Scodwell, Selmer, LeBlanc, Holton and Eclipse.
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2021 Martinus Geelan Custom
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delano
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Joined: 18 Jan 2009
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Location: The Netherlands

PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Halflip wrote:
Sounds fascinating! I can't wait to see how this marvel looks. It must be rather unique if it requires a specially configured valve section.

(Looks like there are some pictures on the website. Very attractive instrument!)


There are indeed some pictures of that new horn on his website.
I own a MG Twister rotary trumpet and that one has quite a wide wrap.
But the new Surakav is a very compact instrument, easy to hold and elegant and cool design with some kind of shepherds crook.
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stuartissimo
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2023 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just in case anyone’s interested, Trent Austin recently made a video review about a MG trumpet (not the Surakav though).
_________________
1975 Olds Recording trumpet
1997 Getzen 700SP trumpet
1955 Olds Super cornet
1939 Buescher 280 flugelhorn
AR Resonance mouthpieces
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delano
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Joined: 18 Jan 2009
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Location: The Netherlands

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2023 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice video! And yes, I am one of the (happy) few who owns a Twister like this one. Up to now I played a Breslmair G2 mouthpiece on it but Trent showed me here what can be done with a mouthpiece with a deeper (flügelish) cup on it.
Also because I sold all my flügelhorns it is indeed a good idea to try this way to have a possibility for a flügel sound without the for me negative implications of the flügelhorn.
BTW the Twister plays great and has a big nice sound. I play it with a medium leadpipe because I want it to sound like a proper rotary.
The valves and the mechanics are superb which make it an easy to play rotary.
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