Posts made by flugelgirl

@tjveloce seems a couple of our posts disappeared with the update! Anyhow, Yamaha concert last year was kind of lame, so a couple of coworkers and I skipped it and went to Disneyland. We had a blast! Heard a much better band there than we’d heard at the Conn-Selmer party Wednesday night .
As for the new LA, got to hold it in my hands but not play it - I have a feeling it will be a great horn. Just a touch of added weight and that new valve block will bring a few nice changes, I suspect, even though the old one plays very well.
As far as the Adams A9 vs A4, you might have really liked the large bore A9. I love the A4, but had one on a trial for a couple of weeks and found it to be far too heavy for me. It hurt my hands and back, and didn’t project well enough for my needs. It was wonderful to play changes on, though! In any case, I like the A4LT much better. Lighter valve block, heavier bell, and can do anything for me except play lead. My A1 can do it all, but I miss the tonal colors I get from the A4LT for soloing, and the majority of the sub gigs I do require improv and relief lead. I think this new A1 is going to bridge that gap - seems to be everything I have in both other horns! I’ll find out in April.....

@SSmith1226 I didn’t get to do much playing at Yamaha due to other commitments- it’s kind of a pain that they are in such a separate spot from everything else! I did get to have a great conversation with Wayne Bergeron when I was over there for our dealer meeting, though. He had the finalized version of the gen II LA, which looks fantastic! It’s got the same valve block as the new Shew, but they anneal it a bit differently. It also has heavy phosphor bronze bottom caps. He had to pull it out of his personal case to show me - that was pretty awesome! I’m pleased to say I was able to have a constructive adult conversation and didn’t fangirl squeal once!
I have played the gen I and II Vizutti - I like the gen II much better. To me it plays kind of in between the New York and Chicago - a bit of both worlds there.
Our meeting with Yamaha went very well, and we will have more great stuff on the way soon! All of the companies we are a dealer for treated us so well - we must be pretty important to them

So, yesterday was a great day at NAMM! Had meetings with Conn-Selmer and Jupiter for the new year, and I played a bunch of new horns, including the Adams Fulcrum model and gen II A1,BAC Plaza, and the new B&S C trumpet designed by Josh Landress. For anyone looking for a brand new horn that plays like a Super Recording, the Fulcrum is it - great valves, beautiful fit and finish. I enjoyed the Plaza with the copper bell most of the plaza models. BAC is stepping up with their trumpets using the new tooling, but they were not my favorite. The new B&S C is amazing!!! It has a set of weights that screw on the pull knobs, and they change the slotting and intonation incredibly! I played with the lighter weight and had the typical flat d and e. Josh put on a heavier weight and they were in tune, but sound became a bit stuffy. I asked for something in between and perfection! Resonated beautifully and played in tune!
I ended up ordering myself a custom A1 that will be delivered in April. Fantastic horn I know I’ll get a lot of gigs done with. It really has a lot of the characteristics of both my current A1 and my A4LT, and I’m looking forward to getting it! I ordered mine with two Amado water keys as I hate pulling a third slide to empty, and I dislike the saturns as well.
Getting ready for day two and a meeting with Yamaha this morning! For those of you at the show, how are you enjoying it?

@Kehaulani the cylindrical provides more resistance, and it was a bit too much for me. I like a horn to be a bit more free blowing, but not too much. This conical slide was a great balance for me compared to an elliptical.

@Kehaulani good question - I had to look! Conical has two rings on the ferrule.

@Kehaulani most definitely! I’ll be looking to see whether I want to get the gen II or not. I use the conical slides only - I dislike the other one, to the point that I didn’t even take it with me when I bought my first A1! FWIW, Trent didn’t use it, either - when I bought his first A1 (my primary player), it came with two conical slides, one in satin gold lacquer that matched the horn, and one in Sterling. I prefer the sterling one on my other A1.

I’m looking forward to trying the new BAC stuff at NAMM. So far their trumpets have been nice but nothing I was very interested in. We’ll see as time goes on.

Lots to do! We got 3 shipments of new brass within a week not long after we bought an estate, all the while used horns coming in at their usual rate. I only have about 15 horns left from those large shipments, but there is an enormous pile of used and vintage waiting!
Gigs have also been nonstop through December and January. Many days I finish work and head straight to a gig. Next week is NAMM, and I’m also prepping to run SWOJO’s Girls Jazz Band program this year. I have worked as an improv coach the past two years, but will be running the big band this year. I plan on including some theory and improv lessons in the big band rehearsal, so have been getting my material ready for that. Though I have taught privately in the past, I’m a performer and not an educator, so I like to spend some time making sure I can be clear for young kids and break things down simply enough. So much to do, so little time!

Geez!! My 1400sqft ranch is worth $350k now - give it a Seattle zip and it would go for around $700k. The most expensive home for sale in my hometown in ME is listed for $100k, and is overpriced in that area. It’s a 6 bed Victorian with an apartment over the carriage house and a guest cottage. We could buy that house and never have to work again, and be bored out of our minds for the rest of our lives. We’ll happily stick with what we’ve got!

Wow, those are definitely not homes paid for as musicians! We are fortunate that we’ve saved and planned well, and bought and sold houses at most of our duty stations. In our area south of Seattle that gets us a Nice 1980 ranch In an affordable price range. The same size 50s ranch in SoCal cost us about $50k less, and our 50s Cape Cod in Norfolk about $100k less. New homes in developments near us start at $500k, while similar homes in Woodinville near my work start at 1.1mil. Our house would be worth at least twice it’s current value if it were in that area with no other changes to house or lot! This isn’t the most affordable place to live, but it sure does feel like home. We could have bought a house with cash in my hometown area and still have had plenty of savings, but what an awful place for musicians to live! It’s all about happiness in the end.

@tjveloce no booth - we go as buyers. It’s when we negotiate the big deals

@ACB sorry I’ll miss you this year! It’s the only time I get to see you! Glad to see Josh and Kyle, though!

Subbing for a big band job, and then a blues band on New Year’s Day. Never had a New Year’s Day gig before - I guess there’s a first for everything!

I’ll be there Wed-Sun with the team from work

@ButchA What amp is it? I got my husband some exotic wood picks and found a really neat old Sears toy guitar for a wall hanger. It actually plays and takes real acoustic strings, but the action is so ridiculously high that it’s difficult to play! No trussrod - whole thing is molded plastic.
This weekend I turn my attention to the real guitars waiting for me - got some shielding to install as well as some new strings and action set ups.

@Vulgano-Brother I agree. Where once their picc was the best lower cost option, it is not today. There are other options that are much better at the same price point or lower.

The merriest wishes to all of you! We had our work holiday party last night - fancy food, too much wine, an amazing gift swap, and great company! Another party with a band my husband subs with tonight, and the new Star Wars movie with a friend tomorrow. Christmas will be just the two of us at home with critters, and FaceTime with the relatives.
Now, off to sew a sock monkey for tonight’s gift swap - the stuffed hedgehog I sewed for last night’s was very popular. It’s fun to watch adults fight over homemade stuffed toys

So in response to 2B vs 22B, I guess it really depends on what year the 2B is. Testing a 1926 2B, 1927 2B, 1927 24B, 1941 22B, and 1937 8B back to back, here’s what I found: both 2Bs played evenly from top to bottom and felt very modern. 26B, which is basically a heavier 2B, was not as open in the upper register. 8B intonation and slotting is a bit squirrelly compared to the others, but that horn is also not in quite as playable shape as the others. I do have a later 2B in that bunch that is basically the same as the 8B, so I’ll be interested to see how that one plays. The 22B is quite resonant until it gets in the upper register, where it closes off a bit for me. We have a whole lot more 22Bs in the lot so there will be plenty more coming up! There’s also a couple more 2Bs and 40Bs, and a bunch of Conn and King cornets of different models with their complete kits - too much fun!