Posts made by barliman2001

@TrumpetSweden A pro trumpet, albeit it will need a bit of Tender Loving Care. I am no knowledgeable about Yamahas, but I know that the higher the first number of the type number, the better. A 2 would indicate a beginners' instrument, a 4 a good intermediate, and a 6 a pro instrument (albeit at the lower end of the pro scale). But there are people around here who will know the back history of every screw on your trumpet.

@administrator It's always on the first full weekend of July - see you then.

@ROWUK That Round Stamp Sovereign has enough room to up to A=450... but many of these instrumentsare not consistent in themselves.

So far, my B&H Sovereign Round Stamp has done everything I ever asked it for... I know that these instruments are reviled for wonky intonation, but mine so far has behaved perfectly. And a friend of mine has just - after a long search! - found another one that ain't misbehavin', and has chosen it as his primary sop over the band's 4xxx Yammie...

@administrator You coming? Splendid. Contact Nick Jones directly, will you? He is in charge of reserving accommodation - always the same 3* hotel in the centre of town, and all gigs are within easy walking distance. Most important is a good music stand - you can borrow one of mine if necessary - and a good music light: Some of the gigs are open air at night.

@Kehaulani-0 Perhaps next year? It's always on the first full weekend in July...

@Kehaulani-0 Then why don't you become a repeat offender by going there? Would love to have you!

@administrator A bit over-restored, to my taste. By all means take out the dings and make it play-ready; but re-plating removes all the character of its age from the horn - especially as many horns of that period originally came in a matte finish.

@Kehaulani-0 Exactly. And as Bitburg is a small town attached to a biiig brewery, the brewery picks up most of the cost...

It's that time of year again... Welsh scratch brass band Coronation Brass are recruiting for players to join them for their annual participation at the European Folklore Festival in Bitburg, Germany.
11th to 15th July, 2025
I'll include the official invitation letter.

It's always a really fun event as TBers Steve Smith and Ivan Hunter can bear witness to... five gigs in four days, with no rehearsal (everything sight-read in front of appreciative audiences), with the chance to sit in with other bands of very different descriptions.

Details in the official letter and either from me or from Nick Jones (contacts in the letter).

"Coronation Brass
Coronationbrass@hotmail.com
Y Gaer
Llanfair Caereinion
WELSHPOOL
SY21 0DG
+44 7811 946826
February 2025
Invitation – European Folklore Festival, Bitburg.
11th – 15th July 2025.
Dear All
I hope this finds you well – this is a formal invitation to you to participate in Coronation Brass’s annual trip to the
Festival in Bitburg this July.
We had a fabulous trip last year, and it was fantastic to have a virtually full band for once! All our concerts were a
roaring success as always.
I’m hoping we can get a fairly full band together again this year, and as always if you know of any players who
you think would fit in with us, please feel free to pass this letter on. We always seem to struggle for cornets for
some reason, so get your thinking caps on!
As in the last couple of years, I won’t be arranging transport – the easiest way to reach Bitburg is to fly to
Luxembourg, and there is a bus transit from the airport to the town. If you’re driving, let me know if you’ve got any
spare seats and anyone struggling with transport please drop me a line, and I’ll see what I can do.
Accommodation and meals are provided – The price is the same as last year - £220 for four nights.
The full schedule has not been completed yet, but it is likely that our first performance will be on Saturday
afternoon. This means that you can either arrange to arrive on Friday afternoon, or Saturday morning. The final
concert will be on Monday evening.
For those of you who haven't been before, we play a programme of what can best be described as cheese, sorry,
brass band classics, in a central square in the small city of Bitburg. It's part of the European Folklore Festival
which has, in previous years, seen musicians and dancers from across the world perform to large audiences. We
will play two or three concerts each day and there's plenty of opportunity to enjoy the festival and all the brewery
town has to offer.
I don’t need definite numbers at the moment, but if you would like to join us, please let me know as soon as you
can. Also, if you know you definitely can’t make it, then please get in touch so I can approach another player.
Feel free to contact me for further information
I hope to see you in July!
Nick Jones
Coronation Brass"

And if you don't have a cornet, but would like to join - there are always a few spare cornets around to borrow. Just tell us in advance, and bring a suitable mouthpiece.

@J-Jericho Usually, only the later UMI models show up - and they are, basically, crap...

As some of you may know, I have a Buescher Aristocrat 264 Bb trumpet. I loved playing it, usually in big band and accompanied by my Buescher Aristocrat 265 Bb cornet... now, I am at a point where the 264 does not fit my playing charateristics so well any more, and it is getting relegated in favour of my Olds Recording and my Courtois Balanced (of which I have two...). So the Buescher 264 now leads a very retired life at the back of my trumpet cabinet... and needs to get out more. So I am thinking of selling, but not at any price.
It is yellow brass, with the original lacquer at somewhere like 90%, everything original and lovely short-stroke valves with as-new compression. Now what kind of price would one be able to ask for it?

Hi there,

as many of you will know, I started off playing in concert pitch (in Lutheran trombone choir), and then had things like Ab conversion instruments to cope with normal Bb parts, and then painfully re-learnt my fingering for Bb.
I never managed to learn transposing, and usually cope with bringing the correct pitch instrument with me. Now in May, I am supposed to play Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 which oscillates between five different trumpet pitches... I simply can't bring five instruments for one gig.
Does anyone have a Bb or C transposed 2nd trumpet part they could share with me?
Would be very much appreciated.

This is more or less very cold coffee. The Vuvuzela became popular during the 2010 soccer world championships in South Africa and took over stadiums during the 2014 champoinships in Germany. For that reason, most vuvuzelas on the market today are in the German national colours, black, red and gold (as can be seen in both videos).

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

@flugler Nice offer; but I want that special cornet and none else...

Several reasons come to mind...

1. Many professionals have been contracted as Signature Artists - they get paid (sometimes huge sums) to play on a certain manufacturer's horns, and endorse them. Their personal horns are then crafted to whatever specification they prefer. So it may well be that some professionals are playing Committee clones - we just don't know.
2. Many professionals in the past were playing Committees - when they were still being manufactured and readily available Nowadays, full professionals - whose livelihood depends on being able to perform very full schedules - would probably shy away from using an instrument that could not, in case of accident, be readily replaced. There are myriad stories around of professionals' horns getting lost in transit or being mislaid on airports, or being severely damaged by luggage staff (remember Dave Carroll of Sons of Maxwell fame whose valuable guitar was damaged by United Airlines staff, inspiring him to write an appropriate song...
   and several sequels...

@Dale-Proctor Well done!

All went very well...
Except...
They had said, "it's a modern church, with a good heating system". Indeed. But no warning that for climate protection reasons, they only switch on the heating on Sundays.
Yesterday was a Wednesday. Horribly cold, but was happy to have brought my Brand Turbo mouthpiece (plastic mouthpiece which does not get cold)...
Picture wobbly because I shivered so much!

For those interested - I played that gig on my Gaudet/Courtois C, with a #1 Brand Turbo mouthpiece. My partner on 1st trumpet had a Selmer Radial C... very French trumpet section, blended well.