The One

[GeorgeB]

@Comeback
I can understand that because I find that each of my trumpets and two cornets play differently, though the Selmer and Conn Vintage One are quite close in that they are highly responsive...much more than the Manchester Brass trumpet, that has a larger bell and seems to fit best with the band, while the Selmer and Conn trumpets are really great for solo work and with smaller groups. As for mouthpieces, I pretty much stick to my Wedges, even though I do play a 5C and 3C every once in awhile just for the heck of it.

[Mike Ansberry]

@Tobylou8

@Tobylou8 said in The One:

I bought a bunch of horns trying to find "the one" since I had been playing my Getzen 900H since Jr. high school. There were many that were close, including a first run Severinsen that is a very fine player and a Holton ST-302 that has a big sound but just isn't quite there for me. I've even played a high dollar horn, it was nice, but that's all. The "one" that supplanted my 900H was another 900H only in large bore. If you can make an offer with a price that is more to your liking, I'd go for it. You can't have too many horns and it is nice to pull them out for others to play and watch them drool!

I just bought a 900H large bore from Ivan. It is one sweet horn. But it can't beat my Super Recording out of first chair.

[Mike Ansberry]

@Bob-Pixley said in The One:

@Tobylou8 said in The One:
...You can't have too many horns and it is nice to pull them out for others to play and watch them drool!

I like to watch people drool as much as anyone else, but I've come to the realization that I DO have too many horns. I only play a few of them regularly, and when I do play one of the others (that has no sentimental or rarity value), I always think "why am I keeping this one?". To that end, I sold 3 last year and haven't missed them in the least. I believe a few more may be ripe for the picking, too.

This is my feeling about my collection of horns as well. I have a few that get played regularly and a few that I have sentimental connections with. I have had a few of my horns up for sale: a Committee, a Super Recording (I don't need 2 of them) and a Recording. I have had them for sale at the price I paid to get them. Since I'm not financially strapped I just gonna play them occasionally until someone decides they want them more than I do.

[ROWUK]

I have several "the ones". It all depends on what I am playing. Big band (Selmer Radial), Modern symphony/brass quintet(Monette), early classical (Haydn, CPE Bach, etc.: Saurle natural trumpet copy), romantic german(Heckel rotary Bb), baroque (Haas natural trumpet copy), rennaissance (cornetto). I have opportunities to play most of these genres on varying instruments, but the mentioned horns are my personal preferences. Not every booking gives me a choice about which instrument to use.

That being said, my Monette Raja is the horn where playing involves the least amount of conscious effort. It "speaks" on a whisp of air, sonically goes anywhere that I think about and because of the built in mouthpiece - leaves no room for question marks.

[Dirk020]

The 1991 Getzen Eterna 900 LB that crossed my path one year ago made me sell most of my other horns...

[Bob Pixley]

Earlier, I posted my trumpet that's "the one". I'll follow it up with my cornet that's "the one". I have another that's a close second, but this is my favourite. 1994 Bach Strad 184, large bore with the gold brass bell option and "Bach Stradivarius Deluxe" engraving. Beautiful tone, plays well, and looks nice, too. I recently bought an old Connstellation 5-CW cornet mouthpiece and this little cornet really sings with it. The Conn mouthpiece is in the size range of a Bach 1-1/2C, but has a larger throat and different backbore - it really seems suited to the 184 (and me) for general cornet playing, but brass band demands a different mouthpiece, of course.

[tjveloce]

@Dr-GO said in The One:

I stopped looking once I took delivery of my Harrelson. There is no better modern horn that I have played, with a range of versatility, amazing dynamics and slotting control and design options that allow for fine adjustments. With that said, my Martin Committee still is the one. That horn really understands me.

Same for me. My Benge is like a well worn pair of boots, my Yamaha is like a well built tool or Bob Kramer knife, but my Committee helps me make the kind of sound I yearn to make, and the way it feels in my hands, resonates on my chops, and the feelings it evokes are unparalleled.

-tj

[Dr GO]

@tjveloce said in The One:

@Dr-GO said in The One:
...and the way it feels in my hands, resonates on my chops, and the feelings it evokes are unparalleled.

-tj

It really does feel good in the hands, doesn't it? This is a quality I forget to bring out in this horn. The valve block is so comfy cozy close to the face. The feel is intimate.

[Comeback]

Horn ergonomics doesn’t receive the attention it deserves, in my opinion. Also, what works for one of us is no guarantee it will work for another. Louis Armstrong was just 5’-6” tall, yet he played his Selmer Balanced Model matchlessly. Given my messed up right shoulder and upper arm, I can’t imagine playing that horn comfortably, even though I am 6’ tall. My version of “the one” fits me very well physically and fits my sound concept too. The 6 ounces or so difference in weight between my Severinsen and, say, a regular weight Strad seems to make a positive difference for me as well.

Jim

[tjveloce]

@Dr-GO

Yeah man. I'm guessing yours is similar, given its vintage, that the horn feels soft in my hands....something about brass that's been in the hands of humans for hundreds or thousands of hours. The valve block is certainly up front, and very different from the Olds which is obviously right in the middle.

I do have a bit of a hard time with the third valve slide as I have to use a band on it to keep it from falling out when doing plunger stuff, and I'm just not great at moving it like I am my other horns. It slides very freely, just something about the way my left hand fits in it.

In any event, it's my "ONE" and I can see why people collect them because I'd hate to think of not having a playable Committee in my closet.

-tj

[Dr GO]

@tjveloce said in The One:

@Dr-GO

I do have a bit of a hard time with the third valve slide as I have to use a band on it to keep it from falling out when doing plunger stuff, and I'm just not great at moving it like I am my other horns. It slides very freely, just something about the way my left hand fits in it.
-tj

I solved that problem. I don't use it. Removed it from the horn. I'ts not needed from my experience as the 1,2,3; 1,3 combinations are in perfect tune on my horn. Must be so for Miles and Chris Botti, as if you look at many of the pics of them playing, there is no third valve slide on their Martins.

[Kehaulani]

@Dr-GO said in The One:

. . for Miles and Chris Botti, as if you look at many of the pics of them playing, there is no third valve slide on their Martins.

It's not a Davis or Botti thing. It's a Committee thing.

[J. Jericho]

@Dr-GO said in The One:
I solved that problem. I don't use it. Removed it from the horn..... Must be so for Miles and Chris Botti, as if you look at many of the pics of them playing, there is no third valve slide on their Martins.

[Dr GO]

@J-Jericho said in The One:

@Dr-GO said in The One:
I solved that problem. I don't use it. Removed it from the horn..... Must be so for Miles and Chris Botti, as if you look at many of the pics of them playing, there is no third valve slide on their Martins.

Oops. Thought it was a 3rd valve ring. Yep you kinda need that slide.

[barliman2001]

@Comeback said in The One:

Horn ergonomics doesn’t receive the attention it deserves, in my opinion. Also, what works for one of us is no guarantee it will work for another. Louis Armstrong was just 5’-6” tall, yet he played his Selmer Balanced Model matchlessly. Given my messed up right shoulder and upper arm, I can’t imagine playing that horn comfortably, even though I am 6’ tall. My version of “the one” fits me very well physically and fits my sound concept too. The 6 ounces or so difference in weight between my Severinsen and, say, a regular weight Strad seems to make a positive difference for me as well.

Jim

I did not think the difference between a normal trumpet and a Balanced model would be of any importance as regards ergonomics... then I got my first Balanced, the Courtois I wrote about. And wow, there IS a HUGE difference. With a "normal" trumpet, you are likely, after long playing, to feel a bit crushed. The holding position on the Balanced model is much more comfortable, and playing with mutes is similarly attractive because the weight of the mute (especially if you're dealing with a weight monster like an H&B Harmon) is not dragging down the bell so much. Only drawback is when you are changing quickly between a normal model (or a cornet or flugel) and a Balanced model... when you are taking up the Balanced, you are likely to bash your teeth in.

[tjveloce]

@Dr-GO

While we're on the subject of the Committee's design, do you have any problems with your harmon mute in it?

It's a bit ironic to me, that the mute most closely associated with a guy whose name is almost synonymous with the Committee, Miles Davis, does not work well in my horn.

My harmon is a Jo-Ral Copper Bubble, and the flare on my Committee swallows the mute so much that it takes a lot of air to get it to speak. I mean I really have to work to get any kind of volume out of it. I haven't added cork to it because that would probably make it not well-suited to the Miyashiro, which I usually play in ensemble pieces with mutes. I don't use the harmon much on the Martin because I don't get ballad solos in the big band and I'm not really ready for up tempo stuff on that mute.

What is your experience?

-tj

[Kehaulani]

Do you need to use a mute for each horn and/or a mute for the Committee sanded down? It just takes a few minutes.

[Dr GO]

@tjveloce said in The One:

@Dr-GO

While we're on the subject of the Committee's design, do you have any problems with your harmon mute in it?

What is your experience?

-tj

I use a 1960's vintage Harmon. The cork is worn down significantly. This makes for an exceptional fit and really mellows the tone of the Committee to a dark richness that matches the quality of Miles. LOVE IT WITH A PASSION!

[tjveloce]

@Kehaulani

The problem is that the mute goes in too far....there's about a sixteenth of an inch gap between the mute and the bell....so it's SUPER stuffy. So I need more cork, not less.....

The first photo is of the mute in my Recording, the second in the Committee.

-tj

[Kehaulani]

@tjveloce Yes. Well, in that case then, I would definitely take it to a repairman and have them add larger corks then sand them down a bit to fit perfectly, yet not affect the sound.