I am a total believer in putting it on your face and not thinking about it - let it work where it’s naturally meant to work. If we were all the same, than the same formula for placement or equipment would work for everyone. I have seen people destroy themselves by overthinking and changing for no real reason other than to see if “maybe it works better over here”, or trying to get some textbook formula of placement. I have seen students struggle because teachers told them their teeth had to align perfectly before they could play, so the student spent several minutes trying to line up teeth and embouchure every time they tried to play, and all sorts of other foolishness. Unless your embouchure is truly messed up and weird, it’s better not to mess with it, especially over the internet where no one can really see what you’re doing. A couple of lessons to make sure you’re not damaging yourself with a good teacher would be the way to go.

Here’s one I took for work - that’s our mascot, Primo! Head tech made him out of old mutes and woodwind mouthpieces and caps. I’ve started taking yearly holiday photos of him

Range building should be a long term goal, not a short term goal. Musical Directors can hope all they want, but you can only build what you can build, and we’re all different. Don’t hurt yourself to force out some unreliable pitches that aren’t part of your regular daily ability. Build what you can and find a musical way around the rest - your audience will thank you, and so will your chops!

I figured I would add to this discussion by posting a link to my shop’s page - I do fairly regular blog posts there, usually about the more interesting horns that cross my bench. I’ve had a few that belong in this category because even though they might be in perfect shape, they don’t function properly in a modern playing situation. This one is a prime example - perfect and beautiful but not a good player, probably why they didn’t make it for long! It sold easily to a collector, though.
https://www.brassandwinds.com/blogs/news/1921-conn-20a-flugelhorn

Funny how no one is shaming fat old men in speedos.......
Really, though - what’s the problem with old ladies with tattoos? I intend to be one eventually, and feel zero shame about it.

I thought you all might enjoy my latest bench post - I do certainly get to work on some fun stuff!
https://www.brassandwinds.com/blogs/news/what-s-on-my-bench-a-1904-conn-connquerer-cornet

It’s fine to say “buy the best”, but then we have many other arguments on what is the best and why. When you get into professional trumpets, you don’t necessarily get into better quality for every dollar spent. You do get to the point of buying one instrument over another because it suits you better. A prime argument is that I could spend $1k more for a Bach or Yamaha than I did for my Adams A1, but they don’t suit me as well. Then we get into the vintage horn argument - is it really a bang for your buck if it’s a pro model and costs you less, but is worn to the point of being unplayable. There is a Connstellation on my bench that I would never think of gigging on, but I could grab any one of those Jupiter 1100s and have a successful gig tomorrow. In 5 years my chances would still be better on that Jupiter than on some of the worn out Bach Strads we’ve had that badly need a valve job, though the Jupiter may not have the same resale value as either of those horns. Are we looking for resale value or playability? Good questions to consider!
I also agree with comments about Manchester Brass and Carolbrass - nice players at their price point.

Finally found that on iPad, if I resize to square the pics will upload!! 1939 King Silver Tone Master cornet, silver finish with gold accents. Love how this one plays!! All it needed was a clean, and even came with original case and case candy.

I find most of the synthetics to leave a lot of residue over time, especially with horns that don’t get cleaned. If you don’t like to clean regularly, Hetman is not for you. It will degrade into a sticky yellow residue that is not fun to clean up! Yamaha synthetic likes to become a green cement in horns that sit too long, even new ones. It works great until you let it sit a few months, and then is best cleaned out in a chem clean. I like the Berp products because they stay very clean, tend not to react with other oils, and I have not had a horn freeze up in storage in over 10yrs. There’s nothing wrong with using synthetics, but for any you use, clean regularly, and be sure to clean out all old oil before switching brands - this includes brand new horns! Many synthetics will react badly when mixed with other synthetics or petroleum products - I have had customers return instruments only to find out they mixed two brands of valve oil and there are beads of goo in all the pistons - really annoying, especially when the customer has caused damage I have to fix when they cannot get the pistons out! This happened recently with a brand new Yamaha. Customer had applied Ultra Pure without cleaning out the Yamaha, let the horn sit for two days, and then freaked out when the pistons were frozen. Swore up and down they “did nothing to it - it works on all my other new Yamahas!” Got it back withbadly scratched pistons from being forced out improperly, and big balls of goo where the oils had reacted. Brand new horn that had to be repaired and sold as used because someone couldn’t be bothered to clean out the old oil.

Pedagogy can be a difficult topic to describe online. It’s pretty normal in these forums to see someone asking a question that would be better answered in person, and getting a lot of varied answers, most making little sense. Theory questions are easier to answer on a forum, except that I see a lot of people here posting about how they don’t think knowing it makes one a better player as soon as someone brings it up. If you are my student, you are learning theory while you play, because understanding what you are playing makes you both a more musical player and a better sight reader. If you are my student, though, you are also very lucky because I don’t take many!
As for our “former user”, I don’t miss him at all. He seemed to post a lot just to feel superior, and wasn’t always right about it. I do agree, though, that too many useful threads devolve into stupid humor, which is too bad.

If I remember right, Josh Landress had a trumpet that was given to Jerry Lewis by Dizzy.

@administrator it actually plays really well! The trick is just finding a situation to play it in - not like there’s been any demand for it in modern groups!

It really is an exceptional little horn! It’s also tiny - about the size of an Eb cornet. Cutest tiny flugel ever!

Thought you all might enjoy my newest blog post - this horn was super fun to work on and is a great player as well!
https://www.brassandwinds.com/blogs/news/what-s-on-amanda-s-bench-a-conn-eb-soprano-flugelhorn

Nice buy! I like the 43 and 72 bells much better than the 37 - better sound IMO. The 37 always feels a bit more nasal to me. Good news is since Bach’s tend to retain their value, even if you have to put some $$ into it you’ll get it back. Whether you end up liking it or not, it could always end up a good trade towards something you like better.

I have one from 1939, and a short shank fits best, which is why your Bach doesn’t fit correctly. Any Denis Wick or ACB short shank fits perfectly. Probably any other brand as long as it’s short shank.

I wouldn’t really go for a vintage C if you want something reliable unless you’re certain it’s in good condition. Many of them do not really have great intonation, and were built with a different sound concept in mind than what’s currently acceptable for an orchestral setting. However, I play a vintage Schilke, it plays quite well in tune, but I use it more for church services and brass quintet than anything else. My last C was a French Besson Classic and they are quite good for any situation- built by Kanstul and can be picked up at a fair price. Good one to look for - I only sold mine because it didn’t suit me as well as my Schilke does. We have plenty of Yamaha in stock, and my favorites are the Chicago and the NY with Malone bell. PM if you’re interested in one of them and I can tell you my personal favorites in stock as I play test them all. When testing, I check for intonation, resonance, and general ease of play, and if the horn meets that criteria and I could gig comfortably with it tomorrow, I recommend it first to customers.
www.brassandwinds.com

Pedagogy can be a difficult topic to describe online. It’s pretty normal in these forums to see someone asking a question that would be better answered in person, and getting a lot of varied answers, most making little sense. Theory questions are easier to answer on a forum, except that I see a lot of people here posting about how they don’t think knowing it makes one a better player as soon as someone brings it up. If you are my student, you are learning theory while you play, because understanding what you are playing makes you both a more musical player and a better sight reader. If you are my student, though, you are also very lucky because I don’t take many!
As for our “former user”, I don’t miss him at all. He seemed to post a lot just to feel superior, and wasn’t always right about it. I do agree, though, that too many useful threads devolve into stupid humor, which is too bad.

I’ll be posting mine to our shop Facebook page as well as to the Taps for Veterans page.

Welcome! I totally understand the frustration of starting a new instrument, though my journey is the opposite of yours! I started ukulele a month ago, but have been getting paid to play the trumpet for 35yrs, and they are nothing alike! What is the same, though, is understanding how to practice efficiently and fit it in your schedule. I hope you have a lot of fun! I certainly am having fun with uke, even though I’m still kind of terrible!