My Adams F2 in brushed copper.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

Apologies for the repost. I'd hoped to get the thread I started here but in lieu of that here's what I posted.

This is "TJ," aka "the chief gearhead" on Trumpet Master.

A few days after TrumpetMaster bit the wax termite, my Martin Committee arrived. Like many, I hoped it would return, thinking perhaps it was just another brief outage.

Like you, I'm also a member of TH, but for some reason TM was where I posted the most. I just happened upon some topics others were interested in, and discussions ensued.

Since trumpet pedagogy is complex even when discussed in person, the discussions I found most interesting where equipment focused, specifically threads about vintage horns. I loved the vintage horns "eye candy" thread, and also the Martin Committee "Club."

So first things first, I'm not trying to recreate another MCC, but I would like to solicit the opinions and knowledge of those who either play or have experience with these horns, because quite candidly, I'm absolutely smitten with my recent acquisition, and even the story of how I found her is a good one. If ever there was a horn which lived up to its hype, at least from my perspective, the Martin Committee does so swimmingly.

I'd been wanting to play one for years, starting back when I was a young lad. Then, after my return to playing, and my love of vintage horns (I have a 53 Olds Recording which I bought from the daughter of the original owner) I began searching for a Committee, specifically one from the "preferred era." I played a couple Medium Bore horns, and found them similar enough to my Olds that I didn't see a reason to pursue them.

After searching the usual online marketplaces I found one in, of all places, Facebook Marketplace. Had the seller not been a music professor, author of trumpet methodology books, and mutual friends of a couple people whom I hold in the highest esteem, I'd likely have moved on. But he is all those things, and after a couple FB messages I committed to buy the horn. He was in fact not the seller, but was representing the seller, who was a 70 year old woman, who had owned the horn since 1965 when her mother bought it for her at a used music store in Texas. The previous owner was, according to her, a local musician who played in jazz clubs in the area. She played it in high school honor band, and then apparently put it away and didn't do anything with it for.....50 years.

It is a large bore "Deluxe" model, SN 194587, which puts its build date sometime in 1956 as far as I can tell.

During the week that it took for it to arrive, I completely geeked out on the horn, reading and re-reading what little has been written about them. At this point TM was gone, so I could not read about it there, although occasionally I'd read it through Google archives.

When the horn arrived, I heard the UPS truck at our gate, and then saw my wife walking up the driveway with the box in her hands. She too had been looking forward to its arrival, because she loves me and because, well, she was probably tired of me saying "you know what happens in 2 days?"

I opened the box, opened the sadly non-original case, put my mouthpiece in the receiver, and blew air in to it. After quickly slightly modifying my approach to the kind of air the horn wants, I immediately realized that this horn is unlike any other horn I've ever played, and I was in love. I can't really put in to words how it feels, but the way it resonates and the feeling in my embouchure are large, round, sonorous, without edge, dark, and rich.

The horn is in very good condition mechanically. The valves are fast and not badly worn, and there are only a couple small signs of repair. The only disappointing aspect of it is that someone buffed and re-lacquered the bell, making the beautiful engraving hard to see. There's still enough left for an experienced artist to touch up, and that's what I intend to do, as soon as I am willing to go without having it for a couple weeks. I sent it to my local brass tech to have the bent lead pipe straightened and the horn cleaned, and I washed it in hot water which removed the old cellulose lacquer.

I bought a set of Harrelson's mouthpiece gap shim kit and have been trying different gaps. With my Monette Classic Resonance MP the gap was .226", which by all accounts is way too large, and which strangely made the horn very sharp. With the gap reduced to <.100" it's much better, although still slippery and still produces the known flat 2/3 valve combo sound.

Here are some photos...I'll update the thread when I have more to share. Oh, by the way, I found a woman who can do the engraving through Robb Stewart, and I spoke with her.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

I took my mute and the Committee to my horn tech today and in less than 30 minutes he cut and glued another layer of cork on to the mute. It now has enough "standoff" or gap and the horn blows much more freely and sounds better. Problem solved.

-tj

A friend of a dear friend had an old Blessing Artist that had belonged to her dad. She offered it to me and I graciously accepted it. It's a bit banged up but plays nicely. With a few dents removed and things straightened it will be a neat old horn. The serial number is 40756 which seems to indicate a pre-1946 build date (perhaps 44 or 45).

Curiously the horn came in a Conn case, which I'm assuming is non-original. Does anyone recognize the case?

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

Not together, but each of these young musicians have my attention these days; Dominick for his tone and musicality, Aubrey for her brilliant reimagining of vapid pop tunes, with stunning vocal AND trombone chops.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

This is "TJ," aka "the chief gearhead" on Trumpet Master.

A few days after TrumpetMaster bit the wax termite, my Martin Committee arrived. Like many, I hoped it would return, thinking perhaps it was just another brief outage.

Like you, I'm also a member of TH, but for some reason TM was where I posted the most. I just happened upon some topics others were interested in, and discussions ensued.

Since trumpet pedagogy is complex even when discussed in person, the discussions I found most interesting where equipment focused, specifically threads about vintage horns. I loved the vintage horns "eye candy" thread, and also the Martin Committee "Club."

So first things first, I'm not trying to recreate another MCC, but I would like to solicit the opinions and knowledge of those who either play or have experience with these horns, because quite candidly, I'm absolutely smitten with my recent acquisition, and even the story of how I found her is a good one. If ever there was a horn which lived up to its hype, at least from my perspective, the Martin Committee does so swimmingly.

I'd been wanting to play one for years, starting back when I was a young lad. Then, after my return to playing, and my love of vintage horns (I have a 53 Olds Recording which I bought from the daughter of the original owner) I began searching for a Committee, specifically one from the "preferred era." I played a couple Medium Bore horns, and found them similar enough to my Olds that I didn't see a reason to pursue them.

After searching the usual online marketplaces I found one in, of all places, Facebook Marketplace. Had the seller not been a music professor, author of trumpet methodology books, and mutual friends of a couple people whom I hold in the highest esteem, I'd likely have moved on. But he is all those things, and after a couple FB messages I committed to buy the horn. He was in fact not the seller, but was representing the seller, who was a 70 year old woman, who had owned the horn since 1965 when her mother bought it for her at a used music store in Texas. The previous owner was, according to her, a local musician who played in jazz clubs in the area. She played it in high school honor band, and then apparently put it away and didn't do anything with it for.....50 years.

It is a large bore "Deluxe" model, SN 194587, which puts its build date sometime in 1956 as far as I can tell.

During the week that it took for it to arrive, I completely geeked out on the horn, reading and re-reading what little has been written about them. At this point TM was gone, so I could not read about it there, although occasionally I'd read it through Google archives.

When the horn arrived, I heard the UPS truck at our gate, and then saw my wife walking up the driveway with the box in her hands. She too had been looking forward to its arrival, because she loves me and because, well, she was probably tired of me saying "you know what happens in 2 days?"

I opened the box, opened the sadly non-original case, put my mouthpiece in the receiver, and blew air in to it. After quickly slightly modifying my approach to the kind of air the horn wants, I immediately realized that this horn is unlike any other horn I've ever played, and I was in love. I can't really put in to words how it feels, but the way it resonates and the feeling in my embouchure are large, round, sonorous, without edge, dark, and rich.

The horn is in very good condition mechanically. The valves are fast and not badly worn, and there are only a couple small signs of repair. The only disappointing aspect of it is that someone buffed and re-lacquered the bell, making the beautiful engraving hard to see. There's still enough left for an experienced artist to touch up, and that's what I intend to do, as soon as I am willing to go without having it for a couple weeks. I sent it to my local brass tech to have the bent lead pipe straightened and the horn cleaned, and I washed it in hot water which removed the old cellulose lacquer.

I bought a set of Harrelson's mouthpiece gap shim kit and have been trying different gaps. With my Monette Classic Resonance MP the gap was .226", which by all accounts is way too large, and which strangely made the horn very sharp. With the gap reduced to <.100" it's much better, although still slippery and still produces the known flat 2/3 valve combo sound.

Here are some photos...I'll update the thread when I have more to share. Oh, by the way, I found a woman who can do the engraving through Robb Stewart, and I spoke with her.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

Well I'm sad to see it gone...as others have pointed out, there was a lot of great information and personality to that forum. I owned a social networking domain and site once and we got Distributed Denial Of Service attacks numerous times, which would then cause the hosting service to take us offline. I hope that didn't happen to TM.

In any event, it's nice to see some familiar names here. I was "chiefgearhead" on TM.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

I was playing a 2 valve G bugle but without a doubt my favorite musical memory was being part of the Santa Clara Vanguard 50th Anniversary Alumni Corps and our performance at the end of DCI Semi-Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 11th, 2017.

-tj

Be safe and come back soon! ️

-tj

My band leader was on that flight! She’s the one you refer to.

-tj

@Kehaulani

Hey brother,

Thanks for your editorial assistance!

It's a case that Eric wanted for his horn, and only available with his horn. I don't even know if Yamaha will sell them separately. You're supposed to be able to carry a flugelhorn and trumpet in it. I tried it once and didn't dig. I never used it because I have a Cronkite triple trumpet that I carry my flugel and trumpet in.

-tj

This Yamaha Miyashiro (Bb) in raw yellow brass, is in excellent condition and features a brand new OE Yamaha lead pipe that was installed by Yamaha Technicians at their repair facility. I've owned the horn for 2 years, and bought it from the original owner who bought it and a silver plated horn at the same time. That owner kept the silver horn and I bought this horn from him.

The horn has limited hours of playing on it, has been treated exceptionally carefully and is almost perfect. There is a tiny ping on the bell that's so hard to see you have to look for it. I can't even get a picture of it.

The original lead pipe got red rot in it and Yamaha replaced it under warranty. At that time I asked if they would be willing to strip the lacquer, which they did. You can either polish it or let it continue to gain patina. The last photo is of it upon return from Yamaha, and the rest are of it in its current appearance. It comes with the Miyahshiro case (virutally unused and in perfect condition) and Eric's mouthpiece.

This is an outstanding horn in just about every aspect. It's efficient, resonant, and I can get decent dark, round, notes out of it with the right approach, and yet it can be made shimmery and bright in the upper register with a different approach and mouthpiece.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have or send additional photos.

$2000 +shipping and insurance anywhere in the CONUS.

-tj

I don't know how I missed this band but I'd never heard of them until I was looking at the results of the Grammys a few weeks ago. Since then I've probably listened to this record 40 or 50 times. I can't get enough of it. While I'm sad The Phat Band didn't get a nomination (The Gordian Knot is outstanding) I'm happy that someone is representing modern big band jazz with pride and ability.

Dig. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMHLjUzaCsWA0lS4AVtMroqiDJ2NjNqTE

-tj

I love it! Vintage horns are so cool.

-tj

@Kehaulani

Thanks for sharing...that is OUTSTANDING!

-tj

@tjveloce

Following a frustratingly long turn around time for having the lead pipe repair, I got my Miyashiro back last weekend. As I mentioned, I had the lacquer stripped after the repair.

Back home in my studio I sat down and set out to run through my daily routine (Irons Method, Clarke's, running my maj/min/dom7 and blues scales) and after 5 or 10 minutes of getting my chops warm (if not completely ready) I had a realization that I did not expect; I'm working harder to make notes on this than I do on my Committee.

Now, I'm a re-entry player of intermediate skill level, and I'm not enough in tune with my approach to my playing to be aware of how I am changing it to match a given horn. I know that I do, whether it's air support, embouchure, speed and volume of air, or even my posture, but I don't know the details of those details. I know that I can produce pianissimo notes, low in the register, on my Committee with gentle, precise attacks. And even though some of the note transitions (depending on valves used) are sometimes not as effortless as they are on other horns, I know how to manage my air to make them more precise. It was a shock to me that the Yamaha would be harder for me to play than the Committee, but then I felt that way about the Committee when I first got it, following a year of playing the Japanese horn.

I got the Martin out and played some passages back to back on both horns, before returning to the Miyashiro for the rest of my routine. My lead suggested perhaps I had been opening my embouchure up to play the Martin, and that the Yamaha doesn't respond as well to that. I'm not experienced enough to weigh in on that.

I'm not looking for any deep truths or discoveries here. Perhaps the takeaway is simply that within the broad spectrum of trumpet design and playing characteristics, the Committee is probably the one which is the outlier. I don't know that I'd have the same experience if I'd been playing my Benge or Olds for three months and returned to the Yamaha.

We'll see what the coming days and weeks bring.

-tj

I got the call. After three months my horn is back and ready for me to pick up. It will be very interesting to play it again because since I dropped it off at the music store last October I have been playing my Committee exclusively.

On our way to NAMM my lead (who also plays a Miyashiro, which also has red rot) and I stopped by Bob Reeves Brass for valve checks/alignments. My Committees valves were of by negative 9 thousands (on the upstroke) on two and 10 thousandths on one. Daniel's Miyashiro was off by nearly thirty thou and as we did not have time to get both horns' valves aligned I let him get his done. I did blow a few notes on his horn and other than the fact it's a silver horn, it felt fairly similar to mine, but after months on the Martin it was quite an experience. I love the sound of my Martin but you definitely have to work harder on it. I will likely return to my Yamaha for the big band ensemble stuff as my skill level dictates that I should use the most efficient horn I can find, and the Yamaha his that.

While they had the horn apart for the lead pipe replacement I asked them to strip the lacquer so I'll likely have the only raw brass Miyashiro in North America. It will also be interesting to see if the quality of the sound changes at all, although again, after 3 months I'm not sure how much of a critical faculty I'll have for such things.

I'll report back tomorrow afternoon!

-tj

Yeah, our experience at the concert was gnarly.

WRT the new LA, my lead is more interested in it that I am for obvious reasons. I’m pretty happy with my Miyashiro, or I was until I sent it off to have the lead pipe replaced (red rot). It’s been three months now and my Committee has become my daily ax, so it will be interesting to see how I feel about my Yamaha. I did play Dan’s Miyashiro after he got the valves aligned by the guys at Bob Reeves and it was impressive. The modern horns are just more efficient and accurate, even if they lack that Committee sound that is apparently impossible to replicate perfectly.

-tj

@flugelgirl said in NAMM 2020:

@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.....