Played some new Bach C trumpets today

[Dr. Trumpet]

Five horn, all 25H leadpipes, all with some variation of 229 bells. All
with serials in the 570,xxx-587,xxx range. Two were made back to back,
with serial number xxx,x23 and xxx,x24.

My findings:

Solder joints on leadpipes were sloppy. Several of us looked at these
horns, and all agreed that the leadpipe fittings were without a doubt
poorly fitted. The tuning slide sleeve was the particular area of poor
worksmanship on at least two.

Valves were fast. Well made, but almost all suffered from some
rotational alignment problems.

Plating was well done.

Horns were lighter than I recall them, and definitely lighter than the
Xeno horns.

Two of the regular horns played well, in tune, with a decent tone. One
was very light, very sharp, and rather shrill to the ear. It was the
only one I would have openly rejected based on playing qualities.

Both gold brass bell trumpets were superior to the standard brass in
tone, depth of sound, response and tuning. If i were forced to select
one of these trumpets today, I would without a doubt pick a gold brass
bell trumpet.

Cases still suck.

Horns that were made back to back were nearly identical in terms of
playing and response, but WERE different in weight. The heavier horn
had a slightly more stable pitch center and played maybe a bit more open.

I am happy to report that aside from the noticeable poor assembly on
several of the leadpipes (not to the the trumpet, but the leadpipe
itself), the trumpets were a pleasant surprise compared to many of the
Bachs that I have bashed in the past.

At least from the 5 I played today, Bach has improved its product and
the quality control, which is a GOOD thing.

Al

[Ken Fung]

Dear Al,

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

My experience with recent batch of Bach trumpets (Bb) is more or less
like yours. They seems to be playing better than their previous
generation but there are also some noticeable flaws in the workmanship.
(For me, there was one missed solder spot and 2 valve slides too thin in
part, probably due to too much buffing.)

Yes, it is important that they play well!

Best wishes,
Ken

[Daniel Duncan]

I'm sorry, Al, I must have missed prior posting on this. Where did you try
these trumpets? I have a friend who is in the market for a new Bach C, so
I'm keeping a look out for him.
Dan

"Dr. Trumpet" <dr_trpt-...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:jo1qa.539$764....@news.iquest.net...

[Dr. Trumpet]

In article <U_bqa.615023$3D1.337577@sccrnsc01>,
"Daniel Duncan" <ler...@attbi.com> wrote:

> I'm sorry, Al, I must have missed prior posting on this. Where did you try
> these trumpets? I have a friend who is in the market for a new Bach C, so
> I'm keeping a look out for him.
> Dan

Pro Winds in Bloomington, IN

1-800-789-8509

Ask for Mike, tell him I sent you.

Al

[William F. Dishman]

I agree generally with your assessment of the Gold Brass Bells.
Overall for general and/or orchestral-symphonic playing, these sound
great. My Bach rotary has a Gold Brass 255 Bell and a wonderful tone.
My Vindabona Gold Brass 65 Bell is also a winner IMO. My recent Bach
C 238 Heavy Gold Brass Bell is my favorite.Tone quality, projection,
stability, consistancy across registers are all excellent. The 25S
leadpipe is very good at keeping the pitch centers good and very well
in tune. No alternate fingerings needed.

Craftsmanship is excellent in all areas you mentioned. This was a
special order horn and it has been mentioned to me that maybe more
care is taken on special orders than stock horns with normal specs.

Bill Dishman
Gainesville, Florida

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