Hello, folks. Comeback from the old Trumpetmaster site here. I got a little discouraged with TrumpetMaster and sort of disappeared sometime prior to the site disappearing. Then a health issue compelled me to hang up my horn for a year. It is great to be playing my horn again and great, too, to see so many familiar names. Hopefully, I will be able to contribute meaningfully to some of the threads.

This is getting silly. I restored my OP so any interested parties can parse my words and phrases and determine for themselves if I have committed some sort of villainy.

The post was intended to be a humorous but factual observation - a gentle telling of the way it was. That is all. It may be time for me to take a break from TB. My best efforts to conform to 21st century social mores may be insufficient for a Internet forum.

I was a carpenter early in my career and an EHS manager and construction educator later, when OSHA programs and regulations figured prominently into my responsibilities.

Having purchased a CNC router, you may not need the following encouragement, but here it is anyway. Learn your tools. Do not remove guards. Do not push your tools (let the machine do the work). Do not apply your tools to tasks for which they were not designed.

Lots of other stuff could be written, but this is enough for now. Somehow I managed to make it through a long career with all of my fingers, eyes, toes, and most of my hearing. Others I was acquainted with were not so fortunate. Enjoy your hobby, but please be safe.

Jim

Trumpet homecomings are what I have been thinking about. For the last couple of weeks I have been playing one of my other Bb trumpets instead of The One. I got back on the Sev this evening. Man, what a difference! All of the reasons my Sev is The One, came rushing back, just as they always do. I have been practicing while standing up in order to avoid too much time sitting in the recliner. My other horns leave me fatigued and a little uncomfortable after these vertical practice sessions - not the Sev. It’s weight, adjustability, simplicity, and overall fit seals its place as The One for me time and again!

Jim

I was in my garage earlier this evening. I have a pull up bar out there and in between pull up reps I was regarding my one-man canoe. There was a time many years ago when a good friend and I were a marathon canoe racing team. The one-man canoe hanging on the wall is one thing that connects me to that time. Sadly, I have lost contact with my good friend and teammate.

Thoughts about my canoe led me to memories of fishing from it earlier this year. The spring, summer, and fall of 2019 was not much for my fishing. Really, about all I have to show for it is correspondence related to a speeding ticket (my first in 20 years) I got while on the way to a favored lake. But this thought progression triggered memories of my favorite spinning rod and reel.

My favorite spinning rod is a medium-light graphite job that I have had for a decade or two. The reel, though, is an old Mitchell 300. I do not remember a time when I did not have it. Each spring during my first fishing outing, and after a few casts, the rod, reel, and I pretty much become one. I cast with confidence and accuracy, and the simple joys of fishing are rekindled inside me.

I have been practicing in recent days with my beautiful early 1960s restored LeBlanc 707 Sonic, which is a fine trumpet. For some reason, I pulled my Severinsen from the closet and practiced with it this evening. Almost immediately I was reminded of all of the reasons why I consider it to be "the one". I use it with confidence and accuracy, and the joys of trumpet playing are rekindled inside me.

For those few of you that have read this ramble to this point, I must confess a few things. I am not a good fisherman, but I really enjoy time on the water and plying my favorite rod and reel. Likewise, I am not a highly skilled trumpet player, but I really enjoy playing that old Sev.

Happy Holidays, folks.

Jim

I did a brief search of the site and did not find another thread addressing this topic. I thought it might be interesting to collect stories and photos concerning the horns that first helped us become involved in trumpet/cornet playing.

A post by Dale Proctor, in which he enclosed a photo of his first Conn trumpet, got me thinking about this topic. I will be posting a photo of my first cornet, a Holton Galaxy, and my first trumpet, a LeBlanc 707 Sonic in a subsequent post, along with a little more detail about how those horns drew me more deeply into music making.

Jim

@flugelgirl said in The One:

My A1 is the horn that can do anything. It’s also the horn that I don’t think about having a trumpet in my hands, I just do what I do. No fighting for intonation or squirrelly spots, no limitations except my own.

I appreciated your entire post, flugelgirl, but the part above really impressed me. It may summarize what a Bb trumpet we consider to be “the one” does for us. It’s about time for me to grab my old Sev and get back to it!

Jim

It is difficult for me to determine if life is better today than, say, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Much has changed, some for the good and some not so much. The internet is certainly one of the most impactful changes that has occurred in the last 60 years, and some of its effects sadden me.

My first owned cornet and trumpet were purchased at Bandy’s Music, a stand alone family owned business in a semi-rural location north of Fort Wayne,IN. The building was built into a bluff of sorts. Mr. & Mrs. Bandy lived above the store. They directed me to my trumpet teacher, whose impact on my life continues to this day. Not a single physical trace of Bandy’s Music can be found today, and only a few around these parts harbor any memory of the business and family.

We are fortunate here in the Fort Wayne area to still have two stores specializing in band and orchestra instruments, one is locally owned and one is part of a small chain headquartered in Chicago. I believe their repair shops contribute significantly to their continuing viability. I have successful experience with both of them, and particularly in this season, am honestly thankful that they are here. I stopped by one of them yesterday to get the insertion end of a favorite mouthpiece trued up. The pleasant young lady that greeted me took it back to the technician and I browsed around the store. Several minutes later she returned with my mouthpiece trued up and polished. “What do I owe you?”, I asked. “No charge”, she replied. I thanked her and left. I try to do as much of my trumpet-related shopping locally as I can.

Jim

@tmd said in Getzen Club:

I've never owned a Getzen Bb trumpet, although the new Eterna Deluxe horns look tempting.

Mike

These horns caught my eye too, Mike, though some of the available finishes are a bit too much for my taste. I have not tried one nor seen one, but I would like to.

Jim

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dillonmusic.com%2Fgetzen-eterna-deluxe-series.html&psig=AOvVaw1wydwr8OcHThehW42tb7cw&ust=1587842773239000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCIj--7nlgekCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

@tjcombo said in A little humour:

Showed this to my Mrs. She is very thankful that I play trumpet!

Hetman #2 is my go-to oil for valves and tunable slides on my Strad 37 and LeBlanc 707 Sonic. Works great for me!

Jim

I have had problems logging in too in recent months. I just reset my password and the issue seems fixed.

I have not really had much to write about. My motivation to practice took a pandemic-related hit. I set the horns aside for awhile but could not stay away. My community band hopes to start back up in January. I guess we’ll see...

Jim

What a fine collection of Bach’s, OSE! Among them, that 64 MV 180-37 particularly captures my attention. Thank you for posting the pictures!

Jim

I have been playing my three Bb trumpets on a rotating basis. This week I am playing my Strad, with a Bach 3C mouthpiece. I set aside the Curry 3C. I had been using due to some frustrations that the Bach 3C appears to have relieved. As noted in the OP, my Strad showed little sign of serious playing time before I became its owner. Really, I have been breaking it in and modifying it to suit my tastes. I replaced the dump slide in the third valve slide assembly with another (from Bach) with a water key. I also replaced the second valve slide with a Bach replacement. The third valve slide assembly was stiff to the point where it was not useful for tuning purposes. I remedied this condition with regular lubrication and cycling. It works well now. Playing the Strad this week has been satisfying. I strike notes accurately and cleanly. The sound produced is great. The valves function flawlessly. Perhaps one day I’ll get to use it in Community Band once again. Until then, it has become a most enjoyable instrument for daily practice.

Jim

Thank you for the above post, Gary. Folks in northeast IN are tired of being cooped up and the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases per day proves it - we have not “flattened the curve” here. The outdoor venue for my community band’s summer concert series has canceled all events until 2021. Plans for the band to begin rehearsing again in early July more and more appear to be wishful thinking.

Jim

@stumac said in To log out:

Put your pointer on the top half of the chat ikon, move it to thr right. a half height light blue should appear called profile, click on this, a drop down menu should appear, scroll down to the bottom logout, click.

This works for me.

Regards, Stuart.

Thanks, Stuart! Several weeks ago the logout button disappeared from the screens on my iPad and iPhone, the button remained on my laptop. I have been logging out by clearing history. What you described is much better!

Jim

I thought about this for a while before starting this thread. A vintage Bach club thread was started in the fall of 2019, but this one is simply for Bach brass instruments.

My single Bach is a Model 180S37, which is as common as they come. It is from no noteworthy period of time, having been manufactured several years prior to the Bach strike in April of 2006. I bought it used earlier this year. it appears to have been carried about more than played, but is still in good shape. Of my three Bb trumpets, it produces the best sound in my ears. I play it with a Curry 3C. mouthpiece. I tried a half dozen or so mouthpieces before settling on the Curry. The 37 is not as friendly for me ergonomically as my other two Bb’s, but I am adapting. It is simply a good old horn and I find myself playing it more and more.

Jim

I was a carpenter early in my career and an EHS manager and construction educator later, when OSHA programs and regulations figured prominently into my responsibilities.

Having purchased a CNC router, you may not need the following encouragement, but here it is anyway. Learn your tools. Do not remove guards. Do not push your tools (let the machine do the work). Do not apply your tools to tasks for which they were not designed.

Lots of other stuff could be written, but this is enough for now. Somehow I managed to make it through a long career with all of my fingers, eyes, toes, and most of my hearing. Others I was acquainted with were not so fortunate. Enjoy your hobby, but please be safe.

Jim

James Morrison playing Up A Lazy River. Pretty cool!

No reliable and widely available therapeutic, no vaccine, increasing number of cases in many areas, really, what has changed is that folks are tired of being cooped up and many younger folks really need to get back to work! My state is letting groups of 25 persons or less get together now. Our band can number as many as 100. I do not even know if we will be allowed to meet by early July. And, like you George, I am just not so sure right now if I will participate.

Jim