Posts made by barliman2001

@m-v WELCOME BACK!!

@shifty That is one shifty solution...

A trombone player has just moved into a new home, and has invited a friend for a first viewing. The friend is duly impressed; but late in the evening, he has one question: "I don't seem to see a single clock anywhere... how do you tell the time?" - "That's simple" replies the bonist, grabs his horn and starts practising. Within a few seconds, the neighbour's window flies open: "That's monstrous! Such a noise at midnight!"

@hotair What if the seller's lack of detail results from his being not the intended seller?

@dr-go It's the wrong slot here because there's not much to laugh about my condition. Since I temporarily left TB, I've had two large-scale eye surgeries, both to repair my retina ablation. #1 was fairly successful in that my torn and folded retina was returned to its rightful place, and after the operation, I still had about 30% vision left. But the retina developed massive scar tissue which tore the repair into pieces, and I had to undergo a second operation which lasted for a full five hours and was extremely painful; this was in mid-January, and since then I haven't seen much improvement - sight in my right eye is down to 10%, there is constant pain because the surgeons (some of the best in the country, fortunately) had to put a tight silicon band all round the eyeball which is still in place six weeks later... I am unable to drive, unable to bend down (because that would risk another ablation), unable to do almost anything, have been prohibited from touching a trumpet for six months now (and that's no empty advice, my ophthalmic surgeon is a trumpet player of some note)... there is the constant threat of a third operation looming, and of course the statistical fact tht there is a 15% risk of my other eye getting a retinal ablation within the year... I honestly don't know how I would survive such a blow. All in all, a pretty bleak outlook.

@bigdub Sir Thomas Beecham is best remembered for this incident... He loved to mingle with the audience in Covent Garden during the interval. One day a guy rushed into him and without apology, asked him where the loo was. Sir Thomas told him to follow a certain passage, adding, "The first door is labelled "Ladies". Don't go in there. The second door is labelled "Gentlemen". Go in there nevertheless."

@OldSchoolEuph Very well put. Could not have done it better myself, and I'm a history professional.

No need to go to Kelly's. Some of their mouthpieces aren't really what you would look for these days, being copies of copies of superannuated junk. But there is a solution:
http://www.mundstuecke.ch/en/
The Brand brand (could not resist that pun, sorry) has established itself as an extremely good and at the same time inexpensive mouthpiece maker. Their mouthpieces have endeared themselves to European players who frequently have to do winter gigs in freezing temperatures - these mouthpieces don't get cold or freeze to the lips.
Actually, I've got one sitting on my desk right beside me, as my "buzz while I'm writing e-mails mouthpiece". And I've played it through several Christmas seasons so far. I'm really happy with it. It usually travels with me, and whenever things get scary, I switch over to it. It does not have quite the punch of a Bach Megatone (which is what I normally play); but it's extremely handy in extremes, like playing an outdoor big band gig in Italy, having half and hour's break and finding that in the sun, the mouthpiece got too hot to handle. Had to take the Bach Megatone off with gloves!! and substitute the Brand for it.
I've heard that, if suitably contacted, they will offer special terms as regards paying in instalments and the like.

Civilian ship, yes; but apart from passengers - many of whom were American volunteers for the British forces - she was carrying a freight of explosives and was in waters declared a war zone by both the British and the Germans.
As to Vinzenz Schrottenbach, he was not just an Austrian Navy reservist, he was a specialized engineer officer after first going through Cadet School and then taking up a Navy career.

No. That was an unsigned autograph card for an already established soloist.

Why can you describe the People of Hungary as "Nazis on Gallows"? -

Because they are Hung Arians.

Journalist: "Why do your buses always travel in groups of three?"
Bus Driver: "We need to protect ourselves against the angry mob."
Journalist: "And why is the mob so angry?"
Bus Driver: "Because we always travel in groups of three."

What's the worst nightmare of a sleeping bat?
Diarrhoea.

Single guy: Goes to the fridge, does not find anything interesting and goes to bed.
Married guy: Goes to bed, does not find anything interesting and goes to the fridge.

"Emergency! There's a young man climbing up to my room!" -
"Madam, this is for the police. You called the fire service."
"Exactly! He needs a longer ladder!"

"Men are like lava lamps: Nice to look at, but not very bright."

Some are, some aren't.

Ok, here's further information. Walter Nirschl - yes, he's still in business! - is a craftsman who got into difficulties and then put his workshop under the umbrella of bm symphonic, the parent company of Miraphone and a few other brands. During the first years of his cooperation with bm symphonic, he was a part-time employee of bm and put together some top-intermediate trumpets getting the parts from a variety of sources and just putting them together and getting in the finishing touches. Until very recently, he specialized on professional low brass, mostly with rotaries, and produced one model of rotary Bb, the "Model Uwe Komischke", named after a Munich-based professional trumpet player and professor (who, by this time, has switched over to Dowids). The "Elkhart" stamp was put on for a bit of customs and tax evasion... after finishing, they took out the valve cylinders and sent trumpet bodies and valve cylinders in separate packages, to be re-united in Elkhart, thus making both packages "unfinished goods" which at the time incurred less import duties than finished trumpets. And of course, "made in Elkhart" still has a good sound in the US...

Here's a bit from the web:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/W-Nirschl/B-300-Series-Bb-Trumpet.gc

That word "Geretsried" is a very good indication that its manufacture may be connected to the Miraphone company which is the only musical instruments company in the small town of Geretsried.

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...