Posts made by barliman2001

A famous surgeon dies and goes to Heaven. At the Pearly Gates, St. Peter redirects him, saying, "Suppliers at the rear!"

I'm posting this with a heavy heart...
As much as I love trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, mouthpieces, mutes and everything that comes with them... it is taking up too much of my time. I am struggling to keep up with the everyday basics of cleaning and cooking and maintaining my home, so something has to give. I will be getting rid of my collection.
Below is a list of what's available. Serious inquiries only, and please don't insult me with low offers.
Thanks for reading and understanding...

1. Dustpan and broom, as new
2. Sponges, with patina
3. Toilet spray, full
4. Mop and bucket, as new
5. Window cleaner, hardly ever used
6. Vacuum
7. Dishwashing liquid
8. Laundry detergent
9. Fabric softener
10. Laundry baskets
11. Toilet brush, vintage
12. Cleaning sprays
13. Wife thrown in

(stolen from Jerry Ringo)

@SSmith1226 said in How about a "Random Meaningless Image...let's see them string"?:

@Tobylou8 said in How about a "Random Meaningless Image...let's see them string"?:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10211262954408994&set=gm.2888995997829707&type=3&eid=ARCCgF7gxC2rpSlcAruD5bKHY0SrcLc4nrCn1YHCMRbwTN74jgCWMLMuO57edugq5vu6tfLB6QrEtU3o&ifg=1

@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.

A parson is on a trip in a yacht when a gale comes up and sinks the boat. As he's swimming around far from land, a boat approaches. He refuses to be hauled aboard, saying, "The Lord will rescue me."
An hour later, a helicopter hovers above him. The rescue diver wants to get him into the basket, but he refuses with the words, "The Lord will save me."
Finally, he can swim no more. Sinking, he reproaches the Lord, "Oh Lord, why didn't you save me?"
And he gets an answer, "You numbskull, who did you think sent the boat and the chopper? See you in a moment!"

What'sa the advantage of being schizophrenic? - You're never alone.

Why does one talk to oneself? - You always get an expert opinion!

LOCKED, AT DR. GO'S REQUEST.

@SSmith1226 said in A little humour:

A young man wanting to earn some extra money decided to hire himself out as a handy man and started canvassing a nearby well-to-do neighbourhood. He went to the front door of the first house and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for him to do.
“Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch,” the owner said. “How much will you charge me?”
The man quickly responded: “How about $50?”
The owner agreed and told him that the paint and everything he would need were in the garage.

The man’s wife, hearing the conversation, said to her husband: “Does he realise that our porch goes all the way around the house?”
The husband shrugged and went off on his way. A short time later, the man came to the door to collect his money.
“You’re finished already?” the husband asked.
“Yes,” the man replied, “and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats.”
Impressed, the owner reached into his pocket for the $50 and handed it to him.
“And by the way,” the man added, “it’s not a Porch, it’s a Lexus.”

STEVE!!!

Well, there are still a few good personal touch music stores around in Europe. Vienna has Votruba's, which is an old-established family business; Salzburg has the "Brasswerkstatt". In Munich, age-old competitors Hieber and Lindberg amalgamated into a single company, but their services have improved. And smallish family stores are spreading all over, selling ecological and local produce. All is not lost.

My most exquisite trumpet memory is a recital by Maurice André in Munich - or, rather, not the recital but what happened afterwards.
I attended the recital and afterwards, went to the stage door to perhaps get Maurice to autograph my special "signatures case". When I got in, I found Maurice heartbroken and almost in tears. He had broken off the screw to the tuning device on the leadpipe of his picc. It was Saturday night, he had not thought of bringing a second instrument, and was due to play a matinee concert next morning.
Well, I got him to calm down a bit and told him I could help him get that fixed within the next few hours, if he would leave everything to me and just hop into a taxi with me. From the taxi, I called up my good, now departed friend Hermann Ganter who lived over his workshop as an instrument maker and repairer. I just told Hermann that I was coming within the next half hour and that he should be awake and sober.
When our taxi arrived at the very outskirts of Munich, Hermann was on his doorstep with his working apron over his nightshirt and, without really looking, growled that I was in for some rough treatment if... "Oh, Monsieur André, I am enchanted..." The repair was a very minor affair, but Maurice was happy, and invited me to stay a week or two at his place in the South of France. Which I did. We became firm friends, and a few weeks after Maurice's passing, I got a parcel with a lawyer's letter saying that the contents of the parcel were intended by Maurice as a last parting gift to his saviour after the Munich recital.
The contents? A 1966 Selmer high-G picc that Maurice had played during the first years of his career. He still remembered that I did not really like a Bb or A picc, and willed that high-G to me...

@Jolter It's nice; but then, I've got a very, very nice Benge #7 sitting at home...

@Kehaulani It's a dance band in a big band formation.

For other locations: In Germany, the Deutscher Tonkünstlerverband (Musicians' Union) provides contract forms; in Austria the Younion (which includes musicians) does the same.

I'm in trumpet playing for the fun of it; but some of the fun comes of being paid for the fun you're having! From an early point in my trumpet playing, I was a regular member of several church orchestras and got a fee for every performance. Easter weekend was always the best-paying in the year. Usually, the run started off on Easter Sunday at about 4 am in a freezing church, sitting there with the brass quintet waiting for the lighting of the Easter fire (usually about 90 minutes after the beginning of the service), the call "Fiat Lux" and the first fanfare (frozen instruments, frozen fingers, frozen lips). Then, an hour later, the first orchestral Mass. If you were lucky (and sitting in an organ loft or somewhere at the back of the church) sneak out after the last notes of the Agnus Dei, jump into the car and go to the next church to repeat the performance. With good time planning, one could do up to five churches (and five orchestral Masses) in one day, netting between 500 and 700 Euros. And then, on Easter Monday, another three performances so you could reckon with a minimum of 800 Euros for one weekend... Later, joined the Irish RTÉ Concert Orchestra as a paid sub; and nowadays, I'm playing regular paid gigs with the Markus Fluhr Big Band (www.bbmf.de) and a few other bands.

@Jolter said in Is Thomann-USA American-based?:

@grune You're right about the horns branded "Thomann". I agree the ones I've tried were not terrible.

But more importantly, keep in mind this is Europe's largest music business we're talking about here. They have a very complete inventory of almost every imaginable (major) brand of instruments. So to say that their horns are made in China can come off as unnecessarily disparaging.

Well, if you go in at the lower end of the price scale, the Thomann branded horns can be quite discouraging. I had one of their Black Jazz flugels, and test played an Eb Alto Horn and a Euph. All of them were more or less despicable, especially the valve sections.
That said, Thomann list a great many wonderful instruments, and tons of accessories and stuff. Their own brand trumpet cases and gig bags are very good, and there's nowhere else where you can get some of the rarer accessories in quick time.

@Jolter There is a Besson Meha for sale at Votruba's shop in Vienna. I've test played it, and it's one of the really good Mehas... here's the link: https://www.votruba-musik.at/gebrauchte-instrumente/trompeten-fluegelhoerner.php

@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.

Yesterday - first band rehearsal with the Courtois. Very enlightening, and was very happy afterwards. It all happened as always in my relationship with Courtois horns - the trumpet seemed to know in advance what I wanted to do, and simply did it. Mind you, I had to hold back a bit because it is such a loud horn... with any other horn I was always in perfect balance with the other guys (two Strads - 37 and 43 - and a B&S Challenger II). Yesterday, I was always in danger of blaring out... very easy upper register, with a sonorous lower register to boot.

@SSmith1226 said in The One:

@J-Jericho said in The One:
Now, I haven't explored high-dollar trumpets, but the way my Studio plays for me, I have no inclination to do so.

You are a stronger man than I am, J. Jericho!!!

Steve, just be honest. You're following the sethoflagos routine - equal sums for trumpets and your wife's jewellery. And you love your wife so much that you just have to keep on buying trumpets...