[Trombone-l] Bass Trumpets

[jscot@ucalgary.ca]

>Gabe & listers -

I would second the recommendation of the Mike Mulcahy CD - his playing is
fantastic on both the Bass Trumpet and on the Euphonium. The CD is on
Summit records however, and he plays on an Alexander bass trumpet in C
with a Bach 15C mouthpiece.

The old Mt. Vernon Bachs can be great - the Met has a pair of either Mt.
Vernon or NY Bachs that if I remember correctly, can be tuned in C or B
flat. I've tried newer Bachs, and some are quite good, while some are
awful. I played one at Manny's in NYC several years ago, where the low B
flat was more like a B natural, the middle one was OK, and the high one
was really an A. Good luck trying to find fingerings that work on that
horn!

I still kick myself for not buying an old Conn in another NYC shop some
years ago. It had a nice sound - slightly bright like you want from a horn
that has to fit into a trpt. section. The scale was good, and the blow was
fairly free - comfortable for a trombonist. They were asking $600, and at
the time cash was tight and I couldn't see an immediate use for it.

The Getzens are OK, not anything to write home about, but user friendly
for the most part.

I know that some people who play the instrument a lot like to use
something like a Bach B flat for the Janacek - Sinfonnietta and for the
Stravinsky - Rite of Spring, where the part is scored low, and a German C
bass trpt. for the Wagner - Ring Cycle.

My $.02 (CDN) = $.022 (US) these days.

Jim Scott


 I have played bass trumpet myself very little, but I've heard a good
> friend play-test lots of them.
> Mt. Vernon/New York Bachs are often great, newer ones probably OK.
> The ones by Josef Lidl are surprisingly good for the money. I borrowed a
> 3-piston valve Bb to play Rite of Spring a few years ago and had an easy
> time. It was a little stuffy (to be fair, I was playing a mouthpiece that
> was probably too big), but the pitch was very good and the response was
> even enough for me to play comfortably. My friend has a couple of the
> rotary Eb's, and they are also pretty good.
> I love the sound Michael Mulcahy gets on the Crystal Records excerpts CD,
> with I think a Mirafone 4-valve C and a very small mouthpiece.
> I think the Meinl-Weston 4-rotary comes in C convertible to Bb, and I hear
> it's a good horn, probably worth checking out.
> That's all I know...
> Gabe
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: ALEX ILES <alexiles at earthlink.net>
> To: Trombone-L Trombone <trombone-l at samford.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, June 8, 2008 6:06:22 PM
> Subject: [Trombone-l] Bass Trumpets
>
> I am in the market for a bass trumpet and I am taking an informal 
> survey.
>
> What brands do you all prefer?
>
> Rotary vs. piston?
>
> C vs. Bb?
>
> On or off-list responses are welcome...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Alex Iles
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