Best posts made by Newell Post

...and what about piccolos and D/Eb horns where the #2 slide is fixed? I use one of these bladder things intended for flushing pipes to flush my horns. Make sure all of the slides are tight or tied in place, go out on the back deck, hook it up to the garden hose, stick it in the bell, and give the horn a good flush. Press the valves, and you flush all of the slides and valve ports. Before flushing, I usually use the snake brush on the lead pipe and main slide, and a 28 gauge shotgun swab on the valve casings. Then a good thorough flush of the whole horn is the last step before lubricating. Of course, I live in the Peoples Republic of California where I can do this outdoors on the back deck all year round...

1. Chemical cleaning. Soak the pistons for a limited time in a mild acid solution. Details are discussed elsewhere in TM.
2. Mild hand lapping with very fine abrasive lapping compound. Also discussed elsewhere in TM. Lapping can also improve the sticky slides.

Do not try these things at home on any instrument of any real value, unless you have training in how they are best done. If it is a mostly worthless "project horn" for experimenting and fooling around, have at it.

@Tobylou8 LOL. That would have been an improvement.

@Tobylou8 Thanks. I actually wrap the brass tip of the bladder thing in electrical tape, just in case it comes into contact with the bell. Although the way the bladder swells up under water pressure, it has never been a problem. Some of the bladder things they sell don't have the brass tip. The picture is from a web advertisement, not the actual one it use. And, oh yeah, get a new clean one from the hardware store! Finally, I don't turn the water on at full pressure. About half pressure seems right.

It's easy to install Bach valves backwards. Not so with Getzen. That was one of the things I always liked about Getzen.

@j-jericho Our band did that one right before COVID. What great fun. English tunes tend to be tasty and elegant while American ones tend to be more exuberant. Both are great as long as the two different styles don't get commingled.

@J-Jericho https://groovyhistory.com/mikey-likes-it-life-cereal

Sort of. I had piano lessons through most of elementary school, which I neither liked nor excelled at. When I got to Jr. Hi, I wanted to be in the band, partly because it seemed like fun and partly because I thought it might get me out of piano lessons. My cousin had played the cornet for a year or two before quitting, and my mom gave her sis $20 for the old cornet. I already knew how to read music, so I got out the fingering chart and figured it out by myself. After a couple of years in band, I convinced mom to buy me lessons first from a local symphony player and later from another guy that played in a jazz club and the pit orchestra for the local ballet company, among other gigs. ...but playing the trumpet never got me out of piano lessons.

LOL. I still have it, 53 years later. Besson Stratford cornet. Weirdly enough, it still has some of the smoothest valves and slides I have ever owned. Sound quality, not so much.

In another "compartment" of my life I am actually a local politician. (Sorry. Don't hate me.) But I'm not really a "natural" politician. I'm really more of a technocrat, but I get by in local politics. But one of my colleagues is the most natural politician I have ever seen. Among other things he has a freakish natural ability to remember names. I was at a campaign meeting last night and he went around the room and introduced at least 50 people by name without error with no notes. I could never do that without messing it up. He has surely learned some political skills over time, but he also has some natural abilities that are just not normal. There might be some similarities in trumpet playing.

Try the Bach 10.5C. They are easy to find. You could probably find one used somewhere for $25. They have a nice, flat rim similar to the 3C, but a "smaller" cup. That's what I switch to when running out of gas. Vincent Bach himself said it was the perfect mouthpiece for C trumpet or for "anyone with weak lips." It might not be right for you, but it's a cheap experiment.

@Kehaulani

LOL. Oh, how I wish I had a photo of my old rock band! Those were the days of horn bands, and we pirated tunes from BS&T, Chicago, and even a couple of simplified Chase tunes. The horn section (me plus one other trumpet and one t-bone) played on about half of the songs. I was even the emergency, back-up keyboard man. The other songs were R&R standards, but they let us play tambourine and cow bell on those. More cow bell! More cow bell!

• Martin Committee. Probably needs all of the felt, cork, and rubber bits replaced.
• View from the 2,450 SF house. Too much space taken up with work-from-home offices to have a trumpet room.

It has been suggested by more than one commentator that they were inspired by Mel Brooks.

If you want to try one of the "cushion" rims, I have a Bach 10.75CW that I tried as an experiment. I tried it a few times, but it's just not my thing. I'm sticking with the boring Wick 3C for most things and Bach 10.5C when I'm getting tired. PM me if you want to try the 10.75CW.

@ROWUK

Haven't heard that phrase since I lived in London 40 years ago.

Reposting from another source...

10.5C Readily available, cheap, used. Worth a try. I never liked the 7C, even when I was a beginner, due to the shape of the rim. (Very sharp inner lip and heavily rounded outer lip.) I don't know who ever came up with that concept or why. But, for me, it was terrible for endurance. The 10.5C is slightly smaller, but with a fairly flat rim that is much more comfortable. IMO.