C tpt to Eb

[mattyayres]

Hi fellow trumpeters

I was wondering if anybody had any experience trimming a C trumpet down to an Eb. I have a Bach C tpt that I don't use, and am considering cutting it down to an Eb. I know Bob Malone used to do this, has anybody played one of these instruments? How do they play?

Thanks for your help

Matt

[brad333]

I'm more than a little skeptical of that. Even if you could get the leadpipe down short enough(never mind the reshaping) without altering the bell the slides would all be too short. And how would you tune it? Would you convert it to a tunable bell? You'd pretty much have to. If you go through with it I'd be interested to hear(and see) more of it but I've got my reservations about how good an idea that is. Eb trumpets are pretty wonky when the built in Eb. How good could it be if you're hacking up an old C?

Did Malone really used to do work like that?

The closest experience I have to this would be Stuart Laughton's(presently playing with Canadian Brass) Eb. He took a Schilke Eb body and a Bach D bell and cut the bell down near the crook with a hacksaw until it was in tune. It plays surprisingly well(I've had the pleasure). I've seen him play it on two occasions with the Canadian Brass but I think Yamaha is eventually going to lay down the law and make him play an Yammie Eb. Maybe it'll be the new one the Jens is playing from Malone.

[Lawler Bb]

I had that thought not too long ago. I talked to Charlie Melk about this and he said he would have no trouble doing it (having done it before) but if the C is a decent horn to begin with, it's probably better just to leave it alone and sell it. I guess it's a pretty tedious process converting a C to an Eb, and once you are done, if you don't like the result it can be pretty hard if not impossible to change it back.
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[johntpt]

Yes it is possible to do something like this. However as there are many good D, Eb and combination instruments on the market today, there really is no need to spend lots of cash to cut down a C trumpet.

On the other hand, what is not readily available is a D-flat trumpet, which can also be made by cutting down a C trumpet. That's something that might be worthwhile doing. Rob Roy McGregor talks about D-flat trumpets in one of his books.

Having a Bach bell installed on a Schilke or Yamaha Eb trumpet is quite common as it improves the sound quality. Wynton Marsalis is one of many who have had this done.

JU

[bgwbold]

brad333 wrote:

...Eb trumpets are pretty wonky when the built in Eb. ...

=====================

I think when it comes to Eb cornets and trumpets, you "get what you pay for," in that higher grade horns have very little of the problems that the lower priced ones have. I have played Holton, Olds, Bach, Yamaha, Schilke, Lawler and Kanstul Ebs and that is what I am basing my opinions on. I would place the last three neck and neck.

Mike

[samlg]

D flat?!?! what is the use of one of them? transposing? if it were any use i know where i could get my hands on an old high pitch C thats now in D flat. i thought about getting my Bb cut down but i decided that if i were to invest in a C i might as well make it a propper one rather than, perhaps, ruining a perfectly useable trumpet. on the other hand if your game go for it! id be quite interested in the high end intonation!

have fun, sam

[trumpetmike]

Having been to a lecture given by Mr McGregor, his idea seemed to be that if you have an instrument in every key you then have the options of playing any piece on an instrument that not only makes it more playable but will sound good as well.
There are times when a Bb trumpet is easier to use than a C trumpet, even if the part is written for a C, sometimes vice versa. Transposition should never be a problem (from anything to anything, on anything!) so you are then able to use the instrument best suited to the piece you are playing.

When it comes to orchestral playing there seem to be two main schools of thought. The first is that you have your main trumpet (Bb in the UK, C in the States) and play everything upon that instrument, transposing everything, sometimes ending up in keys that might not be so comfortable, but that is not a great problem at the highest level. A great exponent of this style in the UK is Maurice Murphy - Bb for almost everything he plays.
The other school of thought seems to be that you have instruments in as many keys as possible, in order to make certain passages easier, or sound better. This does tend towards a lot of transposition (unless you only ever use the key of trumpet for the key that the piece is written, an option, but not often the easiest one), but again, at that level, this is not a problem.

I am probably closer to the second school - I have quite a collection of instruments and tend to play the one that I feel is most suited to the music I am playing. Sometimes it is the same key instrument as the piece is written for, sometimes it is not. There are very few rules governing which trumpet I use, it is which one works. Whether the definition of "works" is what sounds best, what blends best with the section or what gives me the fewest technical problems to deal with, varies depending upon the piece in question.

Not really a very useful post, but it is a complicated subject.

[cwerickson]

Yes, it's possible to cut a C trumpet down to Eb. The catch is this, though -- it pretty much needs to be a ML C. A large bore will be funky, no matter who does the work for you.

If it is, in fact, a ML C, then I encourage you to investigate this some more, though you should know that it won't be cheap -- think $1500 to $2500 for the work (especially if you're buying a bell and going Eb/D -- your bell, if it's a 239, would make a good D bell ).

Good luck!