Best posts made by barliman2001

Scottish gangsters were easily caught after a smash-and-grab raid.
Why?
They came back for the brick.

@Kehaulani That's more or less a new take on that old Nazi German joke... a guy goes to his town hall and tells the civil servant he wants to change his name. "Well, let's hear your name to see whether a change is permissible." - "Adolf Shittyfuck" - "Oh yes, I can understand you don't want that name changed. But our Führer has made such a change possible. What would you like your new name to be?" - "Albert Shittyfuck".

I can confirm that that iceberg is huge, and in pristine condition. Steve Smith has been hoarding treasures for years... now it is for you all to say "Open Sesame" and get at the treasure...

Welcome in the Club!

For quality at really cheap prices, there are the A&S (Arnold &Sons) copies of Bach mouthpieces, sometimes marketed under the Stoelzel brand. They come at around $12 each, and are really good.

@SSmith1226
Kids at school comparing their Christmas presents.
Ed replies, a bit bored, "A football, a stone sling and an airgun. The usual." -
"Why, "the usual"?" his classmates ask.
"Well, my father's a glazier."

At this stage, please don't start a mouthpiece safari without first consulting a teacher. Otherwise you'll throw good money into the Leprechaun's Pot.

@callmekolak SOLD - sorry. Should have locked the thread.

@fels I've been using a Stork Vacchiano 3 for my Selmer high-G picc, but recently I've fallen in love with Ivan Hunter's Jaegerbrass 3M for the purpose. And as a constant go-to I've got the Stomvi Mouthpiece System (one rim, two stems, eight different cups, and you can get a separate extra-lightweight picc stem - either trp or cornet - as well as any number of additional rims and cups...)

@administrator If you are happy with the 3c, stick to it. If you want to play around, get yourself a Stomvi Combination System (two stems, seen different cups, one rim; but you can order additional rims, different cups, different stems... https://stomvi.com/en/products/mouthpieces/mouthpieces-trumpet/classic/1210-combi-system-trumpet-kit

I've been using it for more than ten years now - apart from my Bach 1C Megatone for Big Band - and several friends have taken to it as well. It's about as pricey as an AR, but much more flexible.

And if you want to play around on a mouthpiece safari first, go for the Arnolds & Sons range, sometimes marketed as Stoelzel. They are reliable copies of Bach favourites at incredibly low prices...

https://www.thomann.de/gb/search_GK_blbmbt_BF_arnolds-sons.html?shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6NCwibGFuZ3VhZ2UiOjJ9&reload=1&oa=ala&gk=BLBMBT&cme=false&manufacturer[]=Arnolds %26 Sons&bn=Arnolds %26 Sons&filter=true

@SSmith1226 Steve, you're incorrigible. What about the time when you went into a hospital and posed as a surgeon?

I totally concur. I have 1957 Courtois Balanced that blows all my other Bb horns to pieces (and that includes a Benge, a Besson Meha, a Buescher Aristocrat and an Olds Studio). I've got the feeling that horn knows beforehand what I am trying to do and just does it. I got the same feeling with a Gaudet (Courtois "student" brand, with Courtois-marked valve blocks) C, and even more so with a Courtois Roger Delmotte D I recently found. And, of course, my incomparable Courtois flugel...

@neal085 By the way, I prefer poached. That way, the egg keeps its integrity while displaying a soft outside. And the inside is thoroughly yellow!

@Vulgano-Brother said in Which picc?:

The Selmer G trumpets are way better in tune than the Bb/A Selmers. Meinl/Lauber makes an excellent Scherzer Bb/A knock off.

I agree with you about the Selmer G - that's why I sold all my piccs, including the Selmer, when I inherited that G from Maurice André... But I'm not into rotaries any more - I've sold off all of my rotaries just recently because I was not playing them enough to keep in shape. You know, a piston trumpet you can have lying about for a year or two, and you can put some oil in and it will work (if necessary, after a sharp blow to the valves. You can't do that with a rotary. My Ganter kept on seizing up if I did not play it at least twice a week, and each time involved a trip to Votruba's to get it going again (I'm no mechanical wizard to fix a rotary myself). So the Ganter went, and the Dowids Eb/D, and a Kuhlohorn by Glier.

Chad, after telling his wife he's bought another trumpet...

@administrator It's relatively easy on a piston picc because you can use your left hand index finger for 4 (as Maurice André did). Difficult to do on early rotary piccs, but some now can be ordered with a left hand button or #4.
Or just change to a high-G and have done with it.

I've test played a few of the TARV cornets from Leningrad, being involved in the Vienna Russian Wind Orchestra - the only orchestra outside the former Soviet Union to concentrate on Russian military band music in original settings and arrangements (

). These instrument were better than they looked; but not better than the usually low prices asked for them. Acceptable as tutti instruments, but usually not capable of solo playing. For that, the Eastern Bloc used either the Amati and Cerveny brands from the CSSR or the GDR-made Weltklang stuff. Most musicians from these countries, however, tried to get hold of Western instruments.
There was a joke in those days: What's the difference between a Capitalist and a Communist violin player? The Capitalist has an old violin and a new car, with the Communist it's the other way round.

As I am now in the grandiose position of Most High Executive Global Moderator of the TB Empire, I've put in a few more bits about myself into my profile. Not too much, mind - I know that anyone who is offended by the GMs actions will be after me with a shotgun at least. And whoever wants to know more is free and welcome to ask for more.

Just had a very disappointing experience with ACB. I had already put a John Packer picc (shop demo, at half price) into my online cart and had by e-mail declared that I wanted it and was just discussing with them how to handle the transfer of funds from Europe when they sent me an e-mail saying, sorry, the horn was just sold at a trade show, and would I want their beginners' picc, the ACB Doubler, instead?

Trent Austin, I respect you as a musician; but as a business man, this kind of going back on a sale already agreed upon would get you banned in Europe.

@administrator
A) It is nothing like a didgeridoo - which, in fact, is just a wooden tube hollowed out by termites, without a proper mouthpiece (the end of the tube is rounded off for comfort)
b) Technically, it is a cornet (because of the conical shape of the bore).
And, to finish off, it is a Tibetan temple trumpet, the use of which is now prohibited due to Chinese rule in Tibet. Any such trumpets seized are sold off to collectors in the West...