Best posts made by ROWUK

@trumpetb I will insist that "stretching" the spring will not improve performance. We may be able to squeeze a bit more life out of it, but if our stretch is NOT ABSOLUTELY STRAIGHT, the spring is damaged and will actually have worse performance.
Stretching a spring for more tension also assumes that the stretched wire will hold the stretch, that would have to be proven on a case by case basis.

I would insist that Hookes law does not apply here.

F = kx

“F” being the amount of push or pull is on the spring

“k” being a constant, indicating the stiffness of the spring

“x” being the distance the spring was pushed or pulled

Our distance that we stretched is a deformation of the wire and the "new" base for testing. Stretching the spring means that we exceed its elasticity, thus destroying all of the original parameters. What K is left after deformation depends on the spring material and tension. Now, if we retemper after stretch, we have a new animal. I have never read about retempering valve springs.

Saw the facebook entry. Lose the heavy caps and replace the leadpipe and receiver and the horn would be well on its way to at least being in tune. This problem pops up even with professional trumpets. Monke rotary Bb and C trumpets occasionally had the same issue. The G on my natural trumpet is "naturally a bit high". Not quite this much, but it does require attention on a regular basis.

@tjcombo I use drones. It simply keeps intonation on the map when practicing. A 6th in C major is much different than the third in F!

@administrator said in Mouthpiece issue:

A wider rim will likely lead to quicker fatigue. That's been my experience, at least.

Maybe you should try some mouthpieces from the baroque era. They are much larger than modern mouthpieces and have very large flat rims - but no shortage of high notes!

I really do not spend much time here (there are various reasons), but when I do, I sometimes find very annoying things.

Today: Multiple threads were locked down "for obvious reasons" - but no obvious reasons were anywhere to be found. Could it be that the threads are cleansed and then locked down? If they are censured, what does the lock accomplish? If there is no indication as to why, how does the casual user even make sense of what goes and what does not. What is the motivation on locking threads down? Is there a policy governing this?

As I had an administrative function at TrumpetMaster, there was regularly an "urge" to lock down a thread not going anywhere. We (I) only did when the posting got really ugly. The ugly words were replaced with a clear note as to why. Sometimes the member got a vacation. Keeping threads open kept them alive. A bump after a year or two brought forgotten subjects back to life - even if the original poster was long gone.

I would appreciate a real reason when threads are locked down. I never appreciate completely deleting anyones posts - or intentions. Unsuitable language is easy enough to smooth out and publicly document.

I am not expecting or demanding an answer. I would consider a detailed why in the respective threads to be "courteous".

I guess that we will get no agreement, so let us agree to disagree. Every stretched spring experiment that I know about (with my 55+ years of playing there were a few), have not improved anything. Sticky valves remained sticky, the valves were never faster and more often than not, the scraping noise from bent springs. Pages of irrelevant math do not change the basic premise, so why argue? I have all of the stuff to measure and document the changes (I train our employees and customers to operate and service thermal cutting machines where we use springs in various functions), but have no interest as I have never had a positive experience related to the trumpet or our machines.
I would further advance that springs do not increase playing speed as our fine motor activity is what it is and the quality of the valve lubrication is the deciding factor and very much subject to environmental factors (temperature, aerosols, stroke angle when depressing the valve).
In my world, stiffer springs are for calming the brain of certain players, not increasing performance.
I am always amazed at how smooth and light the action of my valves are after a „maintenance“ by technicians that I trust. I am anally retentive about cleanliness next to godliness when applied to trumpet valves, but still, they apply magic, not springs. They also are very adament about not stretching.

@SSmith1226 The F being sharp is very unusual. E and D will be sharp and need a bit of correction. That being said, vintage instruments (the days before first valve slides) often had a slightly too long first valve slide. Someone that had habits from a vintage instrument can have acclimatisation issues when switching to a "new" horn. If it bothers you, there is nothing wrong with putting a spacer on the first valve so that it does not go all the way in.

I personally never agree with the "lowest common denominator" type of decisions. Something currently very relevant to society in general happened at the New York Philharmonic. It was clear that a thread like this would draw a great variety of responses.

If a member gets out of line (for instance sexually explicit, lies, politics), I would expect a PM from a moderator to that person, perhaps even a short vacation for those not willing to be part of the family, but not locking the whole thread down unless there was a reason. I looked at the thread, do not see anything requiring it to be locked down. If someone has trouble with topics like this, just don't go there. I never really got into TH for this very reason: snipers and trigger happy moderators. I was accused of this at TrumpetMaster, but seldom got any decent feedback when I offered my perspective (even by PM). I basically came to the realization that many were not even interested in learning. They are only looking for a venue and some others to agree.

I think that this is an area where Trumpetboards.com can and should grow. If we can't discuss difficult things, what is the justification for another forum like the rest?

I officially disagree with the decision to lock down the thread. I consider shutting something down because "my question was answered" also to be a very "weak" comment and probably not completely true. It is obvious to me that the question was only partly answered and the admin simply did not want to see the rest on line.

The issue is a big deal (2 premiere players were "fired" because of it) and the thread is a big deal as we know enough to discuss the legalities, how decisions are made and what type of recourse someone charged has. In this case, both players were reinstated, happy end? I think not. We will see if they decide to stay or not.

Training wheels/ breath marks. Sounds like fightin‘ words!
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Measures on a tank of air? Equally juvenile.

We have to inhale in a way that lets us exhale without having to release „compression“ or „expansion“ muscle tension first. One of the major flaws in tanking up for maximum measures is that we create tension that we have no routine to remove musically for.
Yes, we can expand breathing capacity. That involves an organized, prepared body, no brute force!

@barliman2001 I guess, I just disagree in principle with locking down non-abusive threads - regardless of age. I see no logic or necessity (your argumentation of cluttering simply does not apply in my view), but I guess I have never really felt "at home" here - at least not enough to start actively posting. I find this behavior of locking down unique to you and not standard at any other forums that I am a member of.

This issue is not enough to make me stop visiting, but it certainly was enough reason to address the issue. As I said, it is just one of the things here that I find unnecessarily "annoying".

Kehaulani, perhaps it does not matter but I felt a need to address what I feel is an admin looking for work instead of a valuable forum feature. I do understand that this was never policy. I know that Elmar is not doing this with malicious intent, but I have the impression that this is not something that anyone ever asked for.

@trumpetb I am in my late 60s and have been playing for over 50 years.
My Bach C229 was purchased in 1974 and still has the original springs
My Monette Raja C was built in 1989/1990 and still has the original springs
My Selmer Radial 2° Model 75 was built in 1974 and still has the original springs
My Selmer Radial 2° D trumpet was built in 1978 and still has the original springs
My Heckel rotary Bb was built in 1938 and still has the original springs
My Getzen 4 valve flugelhorn was built in the 1970s and still has the original springs

The rest of my horns are similar. They ALL get played a lot but do not need stretching or replacement. That being said, my horns do go to a technician every couple of years for a checkup and chemical clean (no ultrasound bath). My suspicion is that the spring gets blamed for valve dirt, distortion and damage because stretching is a supposed "cheaper fix".

I will not deny that there are causes to replace springs, but I see little to no reason to ever stretch - unless the valve has exceptionally long throw (like old Benges). Stretching to fine tune tension simply has no benefit.

The short throw of typical trumpet valves does not cause excessive wear on spring tension. If the valves are regularly cleaned and oiled, the spring has a very easy job and as I noted above, lasts for decades with no hit in performance.

As I previously posted, stretching the spring does unpredictable things to K - the tension. No general statement can be made except that the stretching was not worth it.

@SSmith1226 said in First Valve Slide and more:

Thanks for both of your opinions. Relative to the spacer suggestion, is it possible that the valves need an alignment?

Out of alignment valves cause more "focus" issues with the tone, not direct intonation problems.

I have no specific preference, it just has to be artistically rewarding and not "demo music".

We must always keep in view that trumpet playing is a fine motor activity - not weight lifting. Endurance comes through training efficiency and body use. The goal is NOT a six pack!
The problem with Caruso is if we in fact treat the exercises as "calisthenics". This is a 100% wrong image.
Remember: the harder you press your lips together, the more blow force that you need to get them vibrating. The #1 problem that I observe is that way too much force is used - with the lips being forcefully pressed together as well as being mashed against the teeth.
Our embouchure must speak with a whisper of airflow. Starting from this side of playing, we develop that efficiency and NEVER need a hurricane to blow the lips apart.

To add a bit to my comment about cheap tools twice:

We ALWAYS have to consider what we are using the instruments for. An amateur in a town band will certainly have different NECESSITIES than the working pro. If I read the comments by many amateurs on the internet, I wonder how they really play. The comments do not match the requirements. Many times we have a luxury issue - more money than common sense. We cannot necessarily equate price with performance but there is a bottom line for quality.

At the end of the day, no one can answer the Bang for the Buck question for someone else. How much is pride in ownership worth? How much inspiration do we get from having something special in our hands? How many owners handicap themselves by believing the yarns that they spin.

Breaking in the valves can take a while. The tighter the tolerances, the longer it takes.

I also use T2 oil which is on the very thin side - which is good for tight valves.

In many cases, the player does not push the valves down straight when playing. When valves are not broken in, that can cause them to bind. The solution is to practice more, fast and slow which will cause minor wear (breaking in) according to the geometry of your hand.

A second possibility is the grip of death from the left hand. I remember in the Renold Schilke days his new horns needing considerable break in and easing up the intensity of the left hand grip went a long way in improving the situation.

It is important that you inform your dealer and wait for instructions. I would be VERY hesitant to have any hack try to polish something out. The correct procedure is called lapping.

@Dr-GO said in Best Off-brand Trumpets:

Here is a pic of my Allora Pocket Trumpet

Can't get more "off" than that...

@_mark_ Well Hakan Hardenberger is in my view with a couple others, at the top of the heap.

New Years Eve: Spectacular baroque D- Major (actually in historic pitch so it is glorious Db major)

New Years (and the rest of January): New Years concerts with operetta works from Strauss father and Son, Lehár, Bizet, Liszt, Kálmán, Stoltz plus musicals.

Every generation has had their heros. In Bachs day it was the Haas, Ehe and Leichamschneider families, then came Michael Saurle at the turn of the 19th century.
After that we have Couesnon, Heckel, Distin and many others.
The 20th century brought Besson, White, Bach, Conn, Holton and later Selmer.

Many of you will have additional "heros". Kanstul did not make it because the business model was not sustainable without the myth Zig. The real problem is zero innovation. There was no reason to buy a Kanstul over a Bach, Yamaha, Jupiter, Getzen or other brand. Sure, they were well built and sounded OK, but that is not enough. If there had been innovation, they would have been snapped up - if nothing else for the patents (what patents?). Can you base a company on Martin Committee copies or a better Bach?

Look at the last 20 years. Yamaha has smoked Bach, Schilke and many other manufacturers. Many of the major symphony orchestra and jazz/studio musicians play Xenos. They are being used in places that no other manufacturers have been able to penetrate.
Who will miss the Kanstul brand in 10 years? Have you seen prices for used Kanstuls going up since they closed their doors?