Posts made by ROWUK

I do not understand the excitement. Is horn X a rip off? Well, that depends on our definition.

Most „civilized“ countries have trademark laws. If a manufacturer breaks those laws, then they pay the price. That does not make the product bad or the price point irrelevant.
What bothers me most, is the selective use of emotion. Why should anyone be pissed off when a company in China or elsewhere fills an economic need? Are we mad because the word „Stradivarius“ has been used twice? Are we mad because a band teacher should „know better“? Are we just mad because that is the current popular political vent?

I see nothing wrong with this horn. I personally have a high performance standard for my own instruments not yet filled by a cheap instrument and I discuss this issue openly with my students and their parents. If they make another decision, fine. The most important thing is that the student enjoys playing and practicing. Everything else rests on those shoulders.

In 1975 a Bach trumpet was <$500 at Giardinellis in New York. I wish that salaries had inflated this much....

Kodak learned the hard way what happens when the market and the product no longer match. The digital revolution blew them out of the water. How many manufacturers of instruments are now dead. Why are they dead?

To be honest, for many kids, it is the cheap horn or no horn. They are not interested in flea market bargains on „vintage“ instruments with 50% lacquer.

Let us not let elitism screw up something very precious. There can be value at this level.

We can play longtones intelligently or carelessly. That is the difference between working or wasting.

That horn probably has a tone that peels paint - or lacquer...

There are no "best" valves. Each type has its advantage and disadvantages. For a student horn, bulletproof stainless valves have a strong selling point. To a professional player that takes meticulous care in oiling and cleaning, no technology is better or worse.

As far as design goes, the Selmer Radial 2° valve block had definite ergonomic advantages. I can't say that they are faster than Bach, Getzen, Monette or Schilke valves however.

@J-Jericho Everything makes a difference. Sometimes a couple of grams of mass can change response dramatically. I notice a huge difference between rotary and piston valves too. The Wiss valve block is so different in mass and geometry, I am sure that there is a difference in how it plays. That being said, I cannot attribute any deficite in trumpet design to valve blocks. Small imperfections in the bore are what makes a trumpet even playable. The closer we get to a "perfect" horn, the harder it is to tune and the more uneven the blow is.

@stumac said in Trumpets Made ONLY by Their Maker:

Jerome Wiss, a French maker who has completely redesigned the trumpet including the valve block with only 2 passages through the valves, in the up position the air goes through one port in one direction, in the down position the same port in the opposite direction, makes it all himself.

He came on TH three years ago announcing his new trumpet and was driven off by people who could not understand how it worked.

I ordered one beginning of April, delivery November/December.

Regards, Stuart.

I am anxious to hear of your first and lasting impressions. While standard valves (rotary and piston) in many respects are really "dumb design" (in respect to geometry, wear, mass, friction), they have stood the test of time. It is great that we have some free thinkers like Wiss, Monette and others that push the envelope - in spite of the nay sayers.

@Dr-GO you know my opinion of Jason Harrelson and his business practices. I do not consider his palette of instruments that adaptive. Sure, there is a lot to customize, I consider his approach to give a very „playable“ instrument but it locks the player into a certain shade of color. That is the bogusness of the concept. It is not what is in the players head, it is the shade injected by the maker.

This is my point. Those that buy those instruments do not „have to“, they simply can. The story comes after the fact.

I was with a student recently at a well stocked music store. The student was looking for a C trumpet. There were 6 instruments there, additionally I had my modified tuning bell Bach CL229H and my Monette Raja. For that student, a used Schilke screamed buy me! He sounded better with that instrument than with all the others. We had rehearsed auditioning instruments weeks before the trip. The student stuck to the audition procedures and was able to easily sift through the choices. We used my Monette as a reference but in the students case, it did not have that something special that the Schilke did.

I know of one manufacturer in Munich that has built „reference“ trumpets that are not sold or loaned. Potential buyers get a valve section and add parts with the goal of putting an instrument together that is better than the reference. They have a box of over 100 leadpipes -all essentially that all measure the same - but play differently. With the right audition procedure it only takes an hour to get the „best one“. Then comes the bell - much harder to zero in. At the end, braces are fitted. With another student of mine, we needed 3 hours to select the parts. This is what I was talking about. We got a horn that matched what was in the players head. It took 100 leadpipes and 10+ bells. This is NOT the Harrelson or Monette experience.

I can‘t speak for Harrelson as I have only played them but never bought one. In the case of Monette where I have 3, I can testify that the first one changed me. The second one was built on 10 years of communication with Monette and the positive experiences with the first instrument. He changed it. The third instrument is simply pick it up and play. There is no need to „think“ about color. It just happens.

The time frame needed to make musical decisions precludes „magic“.

Even although I own some trumpets that qualify in this thread, I think that the concept is bogus. Players buy custom horns because they CAN, not because they musically "have to".

There is a concept that the horn finds the player that I think is very true - but how much opportunity do we get to play those custom horns long enough before we pay? Being honest - essentially never. Has anyone checked out how many used custom horns are available - more than one would expect considering how special they are supposed to be.

Another misconception is the custom horn built for the player. Well, the truth is that all of those custom builders are giving you what they believe. You may get a choice of bell, bore or weight, but what trumpeter really understands how a trumpet works AND how they work? What builder takes the time to really get to know the intimate side of a clients playing. Who has the ability to finesse the strengths of a player in the match of instrument. I can only think of one manufacturer that does and it only works like that on the second, third or fourth instrument.

So, my take is:

1. start safe with a "standard" Bach, Schilke, Yamaha if you are really serious. Then as time goes on and dues are paid, play everything that you can get your hands on. Visit players that have "interesting horns" and take your time.
2. if you get a second horn, play it exclusively for a while to get intimate with it
3. NEVER EVER believe that hardware will solve a software problem.

@JorgePD said in Did anyone made a copy of "The Circle of Breath":

So based on what I’m reading here, the Circle of Breath is more than just a breathing exercise. It also helps to relax the body and mind, which prepares us to be more effective when playing the trumpet. Is that correct?

It is simply a collection of things that work well together with a clear order to what to do when.

@JorgePD said in Did anyone made a copy of "The Circle of Breath":

Would working on the circle of breath be part of your warm up?

It is the core of everything that I do. If I have time for a warmup, for sure. If not, some other time of the day. We need to stay connected to the needs of our bodies and attitudes.

@Kehaulani said in Did anyone made a copy of "The Circle of Breath":

If rowuk posts here he might disagree with me, but regarding the Circle of Breath explanation, and that it might be too much to process all at once, I would think that some of this information might, in real life, be parsed out over a couple of lessons. Which translates to several weeks. If presented like that it gives more time for it to sink in.

The basis for this concept probably can be given as introduction, but unfolding all of the information may take a little time. And for those needing more clarification, I'll bet a teacher will pace himself.

I agree. This is a lifelong process as we are ingenious at creating tension in our bodies. In the beginning it is advantageous to do this as a monitored process by a teacher who practices good playing hygiene.

@Kehaulani said in RIP Trumpet "Master":

If I'm not mistaking, the Circle of Breath is not rowuk's but is just another way of describing time honored techniques. No disrespect to rowuk, who's posts I always enjoyed and am grateful for lot of good advice, but what is unique about it to give it a distinct name and attribute the techniques to any one man. What did I miss?

I will assume that this statement was made because I only posted Circle of Breath at the now dead Trumpetmaster.

This is true. The concepts in the „Circle of Breath“ are age old, tried and true. They are a complete routine that I have been using since the 1970s. I do not know of anyone else that coined the phrase „Circle of Breath“ in this context so I will take credit for the name. Aligning the body first(Yoga, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique), deep relaxed breath, playing longtones and slurs without an attack (Irons and others) are certainly not unique. I was always surprised that there are many (even accomplished) players that were never introduced to these basic concepts. This combination has been effective with every player that I have worked with. Just to outline the process:

1. Prepared body - straight/aligned to allow for a deep relaxed breath
2. exhale into long tones. We teach our lips to ignite on a wisp of air. The tongue tip is later used only to shape the articulation - not enable ignition of the lips
3. exhale into lipslurs

The circle is divided into two sections. At the bottom (6 o‘clock) we start our inhale. At 12 o‘clock we switch to exhale with all of the smoothness that a circle has. We exhale to 6 o‘clock and then the smooth transition to inhale starts. The time to inhale is not fixed.

We breathe through the nose as long as there is time enough. The air is moistened and adjusted in temperature.
If we do NOT have time, we breathe through the mouth.

Both methods of inhale must be practiced as well as their transition to exhale and back.

I use the Irons lip flexibilities book for the lipslur part.

Please feel free to move this post anywhere that would better serve the community.

@Dr-GO Yes, I do browse the site from time to time. I do happen to be busy with many things (performances and preparing for a master class) that keep me away from casual computing.

As far as my posting at TrumpetMaster, that was an outlet for many concepts that I use when teaching and in my „industry“ job.

As far as grudges go, I am sorry that hindsight has not changed some peoples view of the world. Those that were banned had a „long series“ of behavior that was not „community“. In general, the admins posted in a protected area about those people and we were able to get other opinions before taking any action. Who actually banned who was not always clear as there was no flag visible to admins.

Wilmer died, may he rest in piece. All of the real professionals at TrumpetMaster had a certain degree of frustration with certain members who seemed to think that the supposed anonimity of the web gave them license to spew stupidity. I am convinced that in a real 1 on 1 lesson, the tone would have been completely different - far more respectful. I also often considered leaving TrumpetMaster but in the end, the real problem children (those only on transmit (TX) but not receive (RX)) were so few and the quantity of „respectful“ members gave me joy.

The essence of what I posted was just to take a step back, view the issue in its entirety and address the root cause instead of offering a patch for a symptom. This strategy works everywhere except in marriage (that being said, I have been with the same wife - my first - since 1978).

I still am not ready to make a commitment like I made to myself at TrumpetMaster. I am disappointed in the owner of TrumpetMaster for no warning or communication about closure. I certainly hope that the problem was not due to death or health issues.

Keep practicing!

Robin