Posts made by _Mark_

@flugelgirl neither you nor anyone else in this group should take what I'm saying personally. I don't know any of you. I thought I posted in a suggestion~type area for access to information and for shielding from condescending masters and gatekeepers of the guild. I have several horns, because they were practically free for the asking, that probably are failed home jobs. There's no reason for them to not be candidates for minor repairs. They're like stray dogs or cats. I'll never be able to threaten anyone's livelihood as a repairer or as a player, never fear

@barliman2001 thanks. Not really knowing who to go to has been one issue. It's useless to say this, I know and don't need to be told, but I pine for the days when makers and repairers could be found up and down the streets of Cleveland, and opportunities to learn were plentiful and not overpriced luxuries.

@shifty thanks for that. I have been searching. Not coming up with much that isn't promotional. Some physics research, some superficial overviews of processes, most of the 'look at how great we are' kind. I've got Croft & Taylor which I've pored over, but would like more in the nature of brass tacks, pun intended.

@kehaulani please include links and directions to the cornucopia. In a way, you've exemplified my point. You've attempted to nullify the things I've expressed.

As a person who is less than wealthy, I am excluded from a lot of things that require wealth. I cope by doing as much as I can myself. Paying professionals outrageous rates for adjustments and minor repairs is out of the question. I've found that such information is guarded by practitioners to protect their incomes and exclude or discourage DIYers like myself. It's been difficult to discover good and 'open source' types of info. Most often I'm told to go patronize a pro. The same goes for talking about the experience of being self-taught as a player. Skilled veterans treat me with contempt for not having paid a teacher for lessons. So, two things: a clearinghouse for technical info not monopolized by guarded professionals, and an area for self-taught and novice learners to speak without the big, 'kings of the hill' master players swooping down to deride or stifle. Just a thought.

@flugelgirl yes, thanks. This is coming clear as i go along. I've DIYd my way through life, have many & various tools, and generally read, calculate & measure twice or more times before actually making a move. My several inexpensively acquired used and abused trumpets have various issues that I'm working out 'blind'. Learning via apprenticeship isn't even a real world option. So it goes! Thanks for the tips.

Apart from eBay, where does one look for bits pieces, parts & tools, for restoring old & abused instruments? At the moment, I'm looking for (but realizing I may have to make) felt and cork stopper rings for the valve tops of a Carl Fischer Reliable.

@dale-proctor I tried it with a thin hard awl but got nowhere. I'll search up my punches. By the way, although significantly deformed, they play.

@kehaulani the mouth of the shank isn't round anymore. It has flat edges from being dropped.

@_mark_ I'd upload pictures if I knew how.

I got ahead by a few dollars, and I do mean a few. I used it to buy a Carl Fischer Reliable that claimed "just a few scratches." Well, as you might have guessed, there was a fused tuning slide, quite a few significant dents, foul cruddy pistons, one with a flattened bottom edge from being dropped, a broken-off missing guss, a dented bell, a stripped cap thread, and two mouthpieces both of which have flattened edges. Amazingly, after cleaning and oiling, it plays. My question is: how and how badly do flattened mouthpieces affect playing and sound?

@trumpetsplus just a little sticky sometimes. I think the issue are the guides. I'm trying to figure out a safe tool for scraping lightly in the guides. I was hoping that the lubricant would dissolve some of the gunk, and maybe it eventually will. I'll just keep playing, cleaning, and lubricating for now.

I picked up an old horn with sticky valve slides. It wasn't well cared for and the price was right. There is an indelible staining on the pistons. I've tried an alcohol bath and this cleared the gunk from the passages going through the pistons, but not the black stains. Any suggestions?

@rowuk i did not mean to give advice. I'm absolutely unqualified. I hope no one took or takes anything i say in that spirit. One does not learn anything in the manner of being self-taught without analyzing from ones own trial and error experience, but henceforth I'll just keep that part to myself. I appreciate the tips and guidance that have come from this forum. Much obliged.

@mafields627 said in Are diads playable?:

@_mark_ Your description of your issue makes sense as to why you're having a double buzz.

When you are approaching the A, do you try to go straight from G or do you go chromatically from G#? A lot of times approaching from the half step instead of whole step makes it easier to play that note.

Also, I wonder if you would be a candidate for the Wedge mouthpiece?

I've heard of the wedge mp and suspect i'll need it, but I've been wanting to find a way through first. Thanks. I'm just coming up on six months of learning, and I started from total scratch. Never touched a horn in my 64 years of life before. I had no facial muscles to work with. I'm finally able to limp through some tunes and scales. I think, in time, perhaps a bit more time than typical, I'll fight my way up to c above the staff. I've been trying different mouthpieces, and have a wedge in mind for trial in the future.

@mafields627 said in Are diads playable?:

Two things come to mind: an uncontrolled double buzz (which I see most often with my younger low brass students and try to eliminate) and multiphonics (humming a pitch with playing another).

It sounds like you are referring to the uncontrolled double buzz. I don't know anyone that does that purposefully.

I'm struggling with minimal lip cover over some very irregular teeth. It's definitely uncontrolled double buzzing. I'm sure that if I were a young student, my teacher would pull the trumpet out of my hands and tell me i'd never make good. I still haven't found the best placement for the mouthpiece, and i'm sure this is the reason i'm not getting high notes.

In my early attempts to hit the first leger line 'a', i sometimes break out a diad, two tones ringing simultaneously. I know this is due to my pathetic embouchure, but my question is: do people play this way in an intentional ~ controlled way?

@dale-proctor said in Russian horns on eBay:

I’d guess most of us think they’re probably junk and have never owned or played one.

So it would seem

@_mark_ wow. crickets chirping. Did i say something wrong?

@georgeb said in Keying ~fingering:

I've always rested pinky on top of the pinky hook and the thumb between the first and second valve casing. I tried resting on the first valve casing only but found that my fingers tended to wander a bit, so I am back with thumb between first and second valve. This still works best for me, so regardless of what the experts say, you have to use what works for you.

Your post made me conscious that I've been putting my thumb under the lead between the first and second valves, fingers flat over the valve keytops from there. This feels good and natural for now.