Posts made by Dale Proctor

Sorry to hear how they treated you. I can empathize with you, since I was moved around on trumpet seats in a local semi-professional symphony orchestra years ago to make room for someone who didn’t really want to be there. I had to re-audition for my seat (3rd trumpet), which had never happened to anyone, and “lost” to the reluctant player, who was a jazz player. There were 3 judges at the audition, and two told me privately they had voted for me. So, I became 4th trumpet and rarely got to play.

The few union members of the orchestra, one of which was my replacement, went on strike for more money, and I was notified I’d be playing 3rd part in the next concert. With the assurance I would play the concert even if the strike was settled beforehand, I played all the rehearsals. The strike was settled about a week before the concert and guess what…I was replaced with the striker.

Summer came and as was the norm, I was contacted by the symphony manager, along with everyone else, to confirm we would be back for the next season, and I affirmed I would. The next season rolled around and I wasn’t notified I’d be playing the first concert, so as usual, there was no 4th part. I ran into the 1st trumpet at a restaurant a month or two later and he asked why I didn’t play the concert. It seems they played a piece that also required off stage trumpets, and local high school kids were hired to play those parts.

The symphony personnel manager received my scathing resignation letter a few days later, and I’m sorry I stuck around as long as I did.

1993 Bach Stradivarius 184 cornet, large bore, gold brass bell, “Stradivarius Deluxe” engraving.

1962 Conn 9A Victor cornet, Coprion bell and leadpipe, .485 bore.

1976 Bach Mercedes, almost a Stradivarius…

@Shifty said in Oiling trumpet:

@Dr-GO
I had a co-worker who went through college on a band scholarship. He said their entire trumpet section used STP as a slide lubricant.

I can’t imagine that working unless they thinned it out with some other oil. STP is as thick and stringy as honey.

Not much eye candy here, but I just ran across photos of a couple late 1960s trumpets I used to own. The first is a Conn 22B Victor, and the second is a Conn 15B Director.

The Danish National Symphony
Youtube Video

I have a couple…a 1969 L-12 flugelhorn with a GR/Melk leadpipe and a 1977 A-11E Eb/D trumpet.

Welcome! Our local concert band sponsors a New Horizons program, and a few folks have already “graduated” to the concert band. Glad to hear you’re playing again and hope you have fun with it.

@Newell-Post said in Odd Mouthpice:

Well, according to my trusty micrometer, it mics out at 0.419" at the receiver and 0.363" at the tip, which doesn't match any of the dimensions Dale kindly provided. It's probably something made for some antiquated brand of mellophone that doesn't exist any more.

I’d say you truly have an odd mouthpiece, then…

@Newell-Post
According to the chart, the end of the alto horn shank is larger than a trumpet shank, and you previously said the mystery mouthpiece shank is smaller than a trumpet shank.

My guess is that it’s a mellophone mouthpiece. Although the Bach cup diameter measurements don’t agree with yours, the Bach literature indicates the 7 mellophone mouthpiece cup diameter is 2.5 mm wider than the Bach 3C cornet mouthpiece.

@Bb-Brass said in $800 Box of Mouthpieces!:

I like the plastic box you use. Did you upcycle something? Looks like an organizer for nuts and bolts.

I bought a 2-pack of them in the craft area of the local Wal-Mart. Perfect size for trumpet and cornet mouthpieces, but I haven’t seen any there in a couple years.

Bach flugelhorn mouthpieces do have a slightly smaller shank than a Yamaha, but the size would typically be marked 7FL. Could it be a cornet mouthpiece? A Bach 7 cornet piece would have a really deep cup.

Do you store the horns at any angle that would cause the valve oil to run toward the stems?

@ROWUK said in Student trumpet:

@Trumpetb, I report my first hand experience. I did not say that the importer dictated price. I said that the manufacturers have a catalog of options and that the importer can put instruments together from junk to great. The assumption that there must be a moral obligation in commerce is simply naive on your part. That is why there are laws to protect the end customer…

There’s a similar perception about Lucas electronics produced in England years ago for the automotive and motorcycle industry. The popular joke was “Lucas, prince of darkness”, because they were notoriously unreliable. However, the electronics were built to the price point required by the companies using them in their products. Lucas also built electronics for the aircraft industry, and had a reputation for high quality with those, because they were built to a much higher standard and price point. So, Lucas built products that were “just good enough” and products that were world class at the same time. The various markets dictated the quality level the factory produced.

Thanks for your concern. It sits on a shelf in the spare bedroom, and I’m not overly concerned about any health hazards or deterioration of the bugle itself. It’s probably 80 years old and still looks fine, I don’t handle it, and it will probably still be on the shelf for my daughter to dispose of when I’m gone…

Typically when a trumpet is new, it’s best to oil the valves frequently because of the tighter fit in the bore, and wiping them down before re-oiling is a good idea, too. After they wear in a bit, I don’t think they will need oiling quite as much, but oiling a little too much is better than not enough.

As for the “before and after” comment, if you oil them after you play, that would seem to take care of the before when you pick it up again. Most oil evaporates a bit over time, but if you play every day, I wouldn’t think it would need oiling again if you oiled them after playing just the day before.

Still playing the Mercedes, and tired of the awkward 3rd slide ring assembly. I took the horn to Southeastern Musical Services and asked them to replace it with a fixed ring I had bought on eBay. About a week later I picked it up - old adjustable ring assembly removed, new ring soldered on, slide polished and relacquered, all for $50.