@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.....

@flugelgirl said in NAMM 2020:

@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

My lead and I were hoping to see Wayne's new horn. We talked to him at Yoshi's last fall and he said they were in the final stages of it's design. I know he played it on The Gordian Knot and at the gig, and it sounds amazing, but then....Wayne.

Anyway, we were disappointed it wasn't there, and also to learn that it likely won't be out for quite a while longer. Apparently they only just finalized its design and they've not begun production. I'm not interested in it for anything but curiosity. It's not a horn for me, but it would be interesting to compare it to my Miyashiro. The horn I'm smitten with is the Adams A4, the heavy one with a large bore. It felt more like my Committee than any of the Committee replicas at the show.

Glad you got to chat with Wayne....did you hear him with the band Friday night? We heard them sound checking but were too cold, hungry, and tired to stick around for the show.

-tj

@flugelgirl

I’m sorry we didn’t connect. I spent a lot of time with Josh and Kyle in the Adams area. I played almost every single horn on their racks but am in love with the A4. I love their Sonic Flugelhorn as well as the F1 lightweight. The large bore heavy weight A4 felt more like my Committee than any other horn that I played, but their “Committee” was delightful as well (it was a medium bore).

Other horns that impressed where the Schilke “Committee and their flugelhorn, and some of the BAC models.

My first NAMM was a great experience. It’s probably not an every year event for me but I do hope to attend again in the future.

-tj