Posts made by Dr GO

@mediocreplayer said in Are you a collector? Why?:

...Half the horns I bought were cheap to begin with so I'm not too worried about losing money on them. ..I'll sell the ones I don't want for a reduced price and be happy that someone else will get an opportunity to try these wonderful horns for themselves without having to spend full retail.

Watch for my obituary as I am sure my wife will likely be selling off my horns, hopefully for a good deal when I go (I turn 70 tomorrow), except for my Fulletron Olds Recording. I instructed her to put my ashes in that horn.

I have collected over the years, but will provide the logic to my accumulation of horns in order of procurement.

Olds Ambassador - My parents bought this as my first horn when in 5th grade

Olds Recording - Fullerton - My parents bought this for me when starting high school, mainly as my trumpet teacher at that time recommended, I move to that horn. My younger brother then had my Ambassador as a hand-me-down. My brother gave it back to me many years later, very damaged so had it refurbished by Tome Greene.

Getzen 4-Valve Eterna - Went professional in College and acquired this horn as I was enthralled by Rick Braun's sound and this was the horn he was playing at that time.

Martin Committee - Was playing more and more small ensemble gigs and had the chance to play this horn at a Trumpet Hang. Fell in love with the feel and sound. Would up finding a great buy on e-bay for a vintage 1946 horn rarely played, and sold by a wife after the original owners passing. Came with original case, mouthpiece, and owner's manual. Replaced my Recording as my jazz horn. Still used Recording for classical.

Kanstul 4-Valve Flugelhorn - Was playing more ensemble recording sessions and this horn had the buttery sound that made it all perfect. Discovered this at the same Trumpet hang as the Martin Committee. That was a very expensive Trumpet Hang. Purchased this horn through Bruce Haag, that has the distinction of being in Elvis's Las Vagas Band.

Olds Recording - LA - Bought this from a TrumpetMater member when he was selling horns to help pay for his wife's cancer treatments. Use it for classical alternating with the Fullerton. To me they have identical blows. The LA carries the edge on the engraving. His wife by the way was completely cured!

Allora Pocket Trumpet - Had to travel to Saudia Arabia for business, but needed to play for the extended stay to keep my embouchure. Was told music was illegal so bought this dirt cheap horn in case it was confiscated. It was. Three times. Went through Security Administrator all 3 times to get it back when I promised I would only play it in the hotel room with my Yamaha Silent Mute. Got it returned each time. (Did play it once out in a remote desert - nobody heard this, still have my lips to prove it).

Olds Super Recording - Had to buy it when ANA Mendez called this the unicorn on TrumpetMaster. It did serve as my lead horn until I finally received my Harrelson (see below). It served its purpose well. A very easy blow. (It took 4 years to build the Harrelson).

Getzen Power Bore - Totally an impulse buy from a close friend and member of both TM and TB. He sold it to me for a price I could not refused. I also used this as a lead horn until I got my Harrelson, but this horn works even better at the second chair of a big band as it slots like a laser.

Harrelson Summit - Was playing lead trumpet, more often and regularly. Getting older was not helping. Got to play this model at a show that came through Dayton and fell in love with it so placed an order. That was during the time soon Jason had his stroke, but he recovered fully and he finally built me this horn at the price when I ordered it and threw in a Gold 5 mm mouthpiece as well for my patience and understanding. This has made the blow so amazingly easy... and has built my biceps.

@grune said in Tough Decision to make:

+3yrs later and this is active? what have you decided?

His decision was posted above:

I ended up purchasing several horns, but for Bb, I bought an Olds Super Recording (jazz/commercial) and a Thein MH One (classical). They are both very fine instruments.

@Trumpetsplus said in YouTube Suggestion:

You might like to check out my tube channel in which I post short animated talks; my opinions on musical issues that are not often discussed. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmrjZSItiMiFqwSLZsrdVlw

I checked these out and Ivan, they are so instructional and insightful. Keep them flowing!

@J-Jericho said in YouTube Suggestion:

The tea kettles are hot!

That last note brought my dogs into the room. No. Seriously, they were out in the hall but as soon as that last note was hit, they came running in. Amazing.

Hard to advise without more detail and being there to watch and hear.

The most important question is: How long has it been since you have been back on the trumpet? It takes weeks (on average 6 weeks) to tone muscle to the point of getting a consistent response. Time playing may be a relevant issue.

Once the basic embouchure development is well underway, than yes, playing with others and listening and then hearing the changes you need to make would be of high value.

Is the trumpet in need of repair? Have you had other experienced trumpet players play your trumpet and if so, is the intonation fine when others play? If so, we can likely exclude instrument contribution out of the discussion.

By the way, I believe it was the Yamaha 631 that Chuck Mangione used, and word on the street was it Feels So Good.

If TrumpetBoards had an award for most creative and artistic design, I know you would get it! So amazing, functional and esthetic, and a heck of a lot more economical then getting a hand surgeon consultant.

Playing a big band gig tonight and the director passed out the charts to sight read "Feel So Good" giving me the solo flugelhorn part. That one was for you Chuck.

May I suggest directly contacting Charlie Melk (https://charliesbrassworks.com/) or Tom Green (https://www.facebook.com/GreensBuffingAndInstrumentRepair/) by contact information on their website for more specifics. For personal advice: "Not in mint condition" makes it difficult for me to advise.

They may suggest a cost as well to have it refurbished. That cost may well be recovered in selling a repaired horn. In my case, I bought my Olds Super Recording through (ANA Mandez) on TrumpetMasters and an early member but without recent posts on TrumpetBoards. He is a good resource for Super Recordings, and sold me a Charlie Melk refurbished (secondary to significant bell damage) and unlacquered horn for $3,000. I was very pleased with that price and Charlie did an excellent repair on the bell. Maas brass polish is used once a year and keeps it as shinny as all my remaining horns with lacquer.

As for your kidney transplant, I do hope all is going well. As a physician, I care for several patients undergoing kidney transplant and they do very well with very long lasting transplant renal functions. I do not see many complications at all with the anti-rejection medications that are needed to maintain function.

I play two 4-Valve Flugelhorns, a Getzen and a Kanstul. For the flugelhorn, the 4th valve provides better intonation for 1,3 and 1,2,3 valve configurations all such combinations starting from the first D below staff. It also eases the bridge between lower register and pedal tone and does get me to harmonics that I could not reach easily on a 3 valve flugelhorn. My experience is unique however to a flugelhorn, not a trumpet.

I have never played a 4 valve trumpet and not sure the upper range argument would be reasoning for me to have such a horn after watching the Stomvi's 4 valve video. The double high C played by the 4 valve trumpet on the last note is performed with no valves used (standard key use). So I am not sure why they would make such a claim. I have not trouble incorporating the double high C on my Harrelson, Martin Committee and Olds Ambassador trumpets, all with 3 valves.

Again, I love the 4 valve feature on the flugelhorn for intonation and lower note bridging features. Also hate the idea of playing the fourth valve with the index finger of the left hand. Many people use 4 valve horns this way. I like keeping the right hand in charge of all the valve work so have no pinky finger ring on the 4 valve Getzen (which is the standard issue for that horn) and had Kanstul not install the pinky ring ring on their flugelhorn (which was their standard feature).

So since my last post a while ago, my first valve on my Kanstul has gotten a little "wonky" with occasional slowing of response. Immediately after using my standard valve oil (Ultrapure), the wonkyness continues. Robert Love of Brasswind research loaned me a valve lubricant called: Rouge Lube. Worked like a charm, but did need additional application in about a month. Robert said the magic ingredient was transmission fluid (added to a valve oil at a 1:2 ratio) by his analysis.

So again works like a charm, but only rarely does go into reverse unexpectedly.

I have been "semi" retired. I left my medical practice the end of May, and have been doing 2 months of home tasks, such as building a washer/dryer counter top for my wife, wainscoting our dining room, rebuilding concrete lawn sculptures, mulching 9 cubic yards of our home gardens, staining decks, power washing concrete walls and gutters. And after all of that... I am ready to go back to work so have an interview with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine to go back into an academic practice in a rural community.

Also due to my retirement, I have been playing more gigs with multiple bands. I have been sitting in for vacationing friends in civic bands, playing some nice paying gigs with two big bands, working regularly backing up a female jazz vocalist in her quintet, and was recently added to an "Elvis Presley" 10 piece Vegas style band that plays fairly regularly.

Then there were days like today were I had a day of doing nothing other than dog sitting 4 Schnauzers for my wife and mother in law while they were out and about only to get a call at 2 pm to play a jazz fusion gig at 7 pm.. Just got back from the gig and feeling kind of energized from the vibe. And the Schnauzers are still alive! Picture of the Jazz Fusion Band (Mosaic) I sat in with:

So overall life is good!

Thanks for asking Shifty. Hope all is well with you as well.

I do not have a Callet trumpet but have one of his mouthpieces that he hand lathed for my Olds Recording in his studio when I lived in New York City. An amazingly wonderful individual.

My reply is more however based on you noting the more recent maker of his trumpet, Kanstul is now defunct. I have a Kanstul that recently had an issue that I was unaware a valve cap had fallen off. I tried on line to find a replacement and had a heck of a time (I have had no problems for instance finding parts for my 1946 vintage Martin Committee).

So out of desperation, I contacted Jason Harrelson to see if he has machined caps for the Kanstul, and he did. So I got a complete set of valve caps from him and they fit and work perfectly.

So if you doe need any replacement parts for your Callet, do contact Harrelson Trumpets and they would most likely accommodate your needs.

@administrator Watch the video. There are studies that compare different wind instrument effects on ocular pressure.

I am a physician and see the "red eye" as a common presentation. The fact that you do not describe seeing "floaters" makes it less likely (but does not rule out) a retinal detachment or hemorrhage. The red eye is caused by many benign conditions, so yes it can be common. But it can also be a sign of conditions that need investigation if lingering more than a couple days.

I am concerned regarding sensation you feel with air vibration causing pain. Red eye and pain with pressures suggests glaucoma, and continued playing would not be recommended with glaucoma. This would be my most likely concern. So I would recommend scheduling a visit with an ophthalmologist to get at a minimum, ocular pressures measured, as well as a slit lamp exam.

I am also sharing a video that discusses trumpet playing with eye disease. Hope you find this information useful:

Played it loud and clear from the back deck of my home. Felt so good and even more proud.