The holidays are typically a slow time for trumpeting, at least for me. But there have been a few things going on that are noteworthy. See what I did there? See? C’mon, it wasn’t THAT bad!
First, in repair news, the lacquered Olds Ambassador has gone to a local music store for an estimate on pulling the tuning slide. If it’s not too much, they will proceed.
Since I don’t have very much in this trumpet, I have been considering trying to put a satin or brushed finish on it using either a Scotch pad or some very fine grit sandpaper. A “professional” version of this task, including a rebuild, sells for $219.00 on eBay. Goodness knows what a local shop would charge for something like this. If this was a Strat or something expensive, it might be worth it. But it’s not for a $50 Ambassador. I’m still debating. Feel free to leave your opinions and comments below.
This past week, I did get to spend a few hours one evening with a very good friend and brother in Christ, Donnie, who’s also a fantastic trumpet player. We played some duets together out of one of the technique-building trumpet books, which was great fun. Donnie majored in trumpet in college, while I am simply a woodwind guy trying to play trumpet.
Donnie tried my silver Ambassador out, and pronounced it a good choice for me. Yaay, although I was pretty much stuck with it even if it wasn’t.
He also pulled out some of the mouthpieces he’s collected over the years, and we had fun listening to the differences in sound between the different ones. There was one in particular that was comparable to a Bach 2C, but had a very tapered and conical cup. It didn’t seem to work as well in the lower registers, but gave the trumpet a flugelhorn-like tone. Donnie normally uses a Bach Megatone mouthpiece, and there was a very big difference in the sound between it and the 2C. He loaned me a Dennis Wick mouthpiece to try, and I’m looking forward to that.
Afterwards, we had home-made apple crisp (delicious!) and vanilla ice cream. Yum.
Community band practice starts up again this coming Monday, and I can’t wait. Until next time, happy trumpeting!