My Horns, No. 8 - Getzen Capri Cornet

 Latest of a series of blog posts about the various horns I own or have owned in the past - click here for other posts in the series.

There are a few reasons why a trumpet/cornet player may want to have more than one horn of a particular type in their quiver - it could be that they like to play around with the different timbres produced by manufacturing differences, or they could be a collector and enjoy owning little pieces of history. If one plays a lot, it is wise to have what many call a "back-up" horn, so that if or when your main horn is out of action for any reason, you don't have a mad scramble to find another horn to play, that you may not be used to.

If you are a brass-band player, there may be another reason that you might like an extra cornet - marching. Personally, I don't like taking my Olds Ambassador A6 marching, as opportunities for damage abound outdoors and in crowds, so I always like to have a "marching" cornet on hand - good, cheaper, and less stressful to carry around with me. Which is where my Getzen Capri comes in. Purchased second hand by me, after being refurbished by the previous owner, it fitted my needs perfectly - cheap, good quality, and wouldn't break my heart if it got damaged.

Getzen is one of the few American companies that has managed to break into the British brass band world, with their Eterna and 3850 models popping up now and again in the hands of cornet players. The Capri is marketed as an intermediate model, and one sees it now and then in the hands of students, and better players too (I know of at least one principal cornet in a good band who uses one as his main horn). Getzen has a long history as a family-owned company (there are lots of twists and turns in the history of Getzen, which I won't go into here), and the Capri cornet has been one of their mainstay instruments for some time.

For a cornet, the Capri has a small bore of 0.460", and in fact the entire cornet is on the compact side - suitable for the smaller hands of students - so if you have big hands it's a tight fit. Like most American cornets, the sound is on the bright side - no Besson wooliness here - which is a bonus for my needs when marching, where that brightness and sizzle is what's required. Marketed as an intermediate horn, the Capri comes equipped with a first slide trigger only, with the standard finger ring for the third valve slide. Given its tight wrap, there is no trouble manipulating either the trigger or the finger ring - if I had a criticism, it would be that the throw of the first valve trigger is not enough for all tuning eventualities, but again, for the use I'm putting it to, not a problem.

As always with Getzen, the valves are amazing. Stainless steel, and almost too quick. I'm a player that likes to "slam" the valves, and the super slick action of the Capri sometimes catches me out. This of course could be changed with some stiffer springs. Having stated that, these are some of the best valves I've ever encountered.

For me, used to larger bore cornets, it can be easy to over-blow on the Getzen: this may have something to do with my choice of mouthpiece (Curry 3BBC), which has a wider throat and backbore - something a little smaller and tighter might suit the Capri better.

Overall though, I can highly recommend the Capri as a cornet worth hunting out if you are a student looking to step up, someone who wants to go brass-banding but doesn't want to break the bank or, like me, looking for a good quality back up to your main horn.

My Horns No. 7 - Olds Ambassador A6ST Cornet

Latest of a series of blog posts about the various horns I own or have owned in the past - click here for other posts in the series.

For those who have read my other posts, you'll know that I've written twice before about the Olds instrument company, so you can read those posts for more information about the long and noble history of that brand, or check out the Olds Central site.

Today I'm writing about an instrument that was quite possibly the last instrument designed by the factory, and was Olds' final and futile throw of the dice in an effort to remain a viable concern, through tapping into the British brass band market.

Many readers will be aware that the Ambassador nametag was used for many years by Olds to designate the instrument at the bottom of their lineup - Olds Ambassador trumpets and (long) cornets have become legendary instruments in their own right - good quality almost indestructible instruments that can take a beginner a long way before they look for something else. The horn I'm writing about today may share the name, but that's about all it shares with it's student based siblings. Which begs the question - why did Olds use the Ambassador name for what they were marketing as a top line instrument, when it was so connected to their student offering?

There was some sense in the decision, looked at from the vantage point of the rest of the World. What American readers may be less aware of is that the original, student line Ambassadors were nearly exclusively sold in the US, so overseas the name had no instant recognition. The British brass band market, at which the A6 was aimed, was a conservative one, with Besson (Boosey & Hawkes), having a lock on instrument sales to bands (brass bands have a tradition of supplying instruments for their players, so instrument makers sold more to bands than to individuals). Olds thought that the Ambassador name was a good fit for an instrument that would very much be the new kid on the block in the UK, and trying to win over bands and players.

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The A6 was first produced in the mid-late 70s. It's unclear who helped design the horn, but it was designed specifically with British brass bands in mind, and marketed as such. It is a heavyweight horn at 40oz., a 0.468" bore, and a 4.75" bell. It came with silver plate as the standard finish. You could spec the horn with triggers (my horn, the A6ST), or without, the A6S. You can see from the picture of my horn above that the water keys go either way, but the 1977 catalogue picture on Olds Central has a horn with water keys both underslung, so there were changes made over the model's short life. The model had a short life because it was unsuccessful in breaking into the British market: depending on who you believe, only 477 of these horns were ever made.

The failure of the A6 to break into the UK market had nothing to do with quality issues - the 1977 catalogue states "this is the finest cornet available", and at the time that was no idle boast. Even today in 2015, it is very hard to find a horn that can beat it - it certainly plays as well if not better as the currently available top-line cornets from Yamaha and Besson. For some years I played the famous "Globe Stamp" Sovereign cornet, and this Ambassador is better than that horn.

So, how does it play? Very well is the short answer. It is a large bore cornet, so it can take a lot of air, although it doesn't need a lot to make it speak. It has nice firm slots for the notes, wonderfully quick valves (all Olds valves are great, in my experience), and a tone that covers the entire palette of brass band requirements, from a beautiful mellow hymn tone to a commanding march sound. It never feels stuffy, and although it can take a lot of air, it doesn't tire you out. It is quite simply one of the best horns of any type I've ever had the pleasure of owning.

You don't often see these horns about obviously - mine is the only one I've ever seen in the "flesh". Given their rarity, it can be quite hard to purchase one of these horns, so patience is definitely a virtue if you want one. Price isn't actually too bad in my experience, starting around the $1K mark.  I was on the market for one for about five years, and in that time I think I saw three come up for sale on the sites I peruse from around the World.

If you have a hankering for something different to take to band, I can highly recommend the Ambassador A6 - still a fantastic cornet.

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Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

My Horns No. 6 - Weril Regium II Flugelhorn

Weril is not a brand that rings immediate bells with brass players, at least in the West. A Brazilian company, Weril has been making instruments for over 100 years, mostly to support the South American market, and, as I understand it, historically mostly with student-level instruments.

The Regium line was Weril's attempt to both move into higher-end instruments, and to grab a slice of the European and US markets. The Regium II was the next step, and they did get at least one endorsement, from Marcus Printup, who has since moved on to another brand. The Regium II line is no longer made by Weril, and they no longer seem to export instruments to Europe or the US.

Many stories abound around the trumpet interwebs about the poor design and quality of Weril, so you might be thinking why did I buy one? Well, right place, right time and right price sum up my experience with the brand. I happened to be in the market for a Flugelhorn for occasional use just when the Australian distributor for the brand was closing out his stock, and he had his remaining Regium II flugelhorns at more than 50% off RRP.

So I went down and had a blow, and came back with a horn.

So what have we got here? Two-piece copper bell, at a standard flugel 6" bell size, bore size of 0.435" (not measured by me, have also heard they are a 0.460"). Top-sprung valves with "traditional" vertical branches, waterkey on 1st and 3rd valves as well as main, and a tuning trigger on the 3rd valve. Weril uses a "standard" or large morse taper leadpipe, similar to Yamaha, Getzen etc. As you can see from the photos, the horn comes in a fine Bach-style hard case, with wrap-over cloth and space for music etc. The horn also came with some Weril-branded valve oil, and a Weril mouthpiece, which made the horn sound like a trumpet.

It has to be stated that the construction quality of the horn is not quite up to the standard of the big manufacturers. Some of the soldering is a little haphazard, and the valve caps etc. seem a little lightweight and fragile-looking for what is meant to be a professional level instrument. However, everything is where it's meant to be, and works in the way intended, so no complaints there. As I bought this horn unplayed, the valves have taken a little time to bed in, which is natural.

So what's it like to play? In a word, good. With the right mouthpiece, it produces a wonderfully warm and mellow flugelhorn sound. Within limits, it's a very flexible instrument. Intonation is OK, with the usual flugelhorn quirks being evident, but not as bad as on some horns I've played. Like many flugelhorns, it's very reluctant to go higher than A above the staff, but realistically with flugel music, that doesn't happen very often.

In terms of the design, there are a couple of areas where the performance could be better. The valves feel like those on cheap Chinese products - although they have never failed me, they always feel like they might, and that can be disconcerting. The other design issue is the tuning trigger on the third slide - it's just too long, so my fingers get in the way when I try to use it. Many other brands of flugelhorn have a much shorter trigger actuation mechanism, and it would be of benefit to Weril if they had changed to a similar sort of trigger.

For the price I paid, this flugelhorn was a good buy, and is perfect for the trumpet player who occasionally needs to use a flugel for Jazz or Brass Band work (although there is no lyre attachment).

My advice would be if the price is right, don't discount a Weril, but do play it, as it seems quality can be a little hit-and-miss, but a good one is a good horn.

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell

My Horns No. 5 - Olds Super (Fullerton)

For those who have wandered around this blog a bit, you might have seen my post regarding my Olds Studio here. I went a little into the history of Olds in that post, so I won't repeat myself too much here.

The Olds Super was a horn that figured in the lineup from Olds' early days, and had a few changes in configuration, which have been discussed on various forums such as Trumpet Herald, and which can be seen by looking at the old Olds catalogues on Olds Central.

My particular Super is a mid-late 60s horn (66-67), made in Fullerton California, with no first valve tuning slide adjustment, trombone-style main water key and traditional water key on the third slide. The horn is of yellow brass construction, with nickel silver valve balusters and trim on slides, and a nickel silver bell garland. The bell garland was the distinctive feature of the Super, and was a carry-over from earlier times of trumpet construction - the garland is more common on rotary trumpets in Europe, as a means of intensifying the sound, which on a rotary trumpet with a short leadpipe can be handy.

It has the same effect here on the Super - this horn is effortlessly loud. While I would not call the horn overly bright, it has such a dense core to the sound that it cuts through and over most other trumpets. There are no diffuse edges to the sound on this horn - it never gets airy when played lightly. It's a totally different sound to the Studio, despite the basic specs (0.460" bore, 4.75" Bell) being the same.

While those specs are the same, this is a different horn in other respects - it's a long horn, to the extent that it won't fit in my Yamaha case, and it's very slightly remeniscent of the "peashooter" horns of the 20s -a tight wrap, and a tight fit for the hand - definitely a "Vulcan grip" for me to use, which is the opposite to the Studio's very open wrap.

The valves are typical Olds smooth - with a very short throw, which is again opposite to the Studio.

While I don't often use this trumpet in group settings, it is a wonderful, smooth trumpet to play. I've noted that the price of these horns has been increasing over the last few years - a recognition of their quality.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

My Horns No. 4 - Olds Studio T-10

For those that don't know, Olds was one of the major brass instrument manufacturers in the USA. I say was, for they folded in 1979. Over their history they produced many legendary horns, being noted mostly for their Super Recording and Recording trumpets and cornets (they also made fantastic Trombones, but I won't go into that here). A good resource for finding out more about Olds is Olds Central.

There is a general opinion out there in the "trumpet world" that the early Los Angeles made Olds are better quality than the later horns made in Fullerton, with quality deteriorating markedly in the 1970s. I'm not sure if this received wisdom is really all that accurate - I've had contact with several Fullerton horns, even some made in the '70s, and they've all been good horns for what they were.

Which brings me to my Olds Studio*. The Olds Studio went through some significant changes throughout it's construction life at Olds. As originally conceived in the late '40s, this was an instrument of yellow brass with a spun Nickel Silver bell flare, with the advertising material emphasizing a brilliant tone. Around 1966 the conception of the trumpet changed - long cornet-style valves were added, and rather than having a Nickel Silver bell flare, the whole trumpet was plated in Nickel. The marketing material emphasized the sonorous tone, increased resistance, and the ability to blend with cornets in a concert band setting.

The Olds trumpet lineup in the mid-late '60s went something like this (from cheapest/student to expensive/professional) - Ambassador, Special, Studio, Super, Recording, Opera, Mendez, Custom - so it can be seen that the Studio was bridging the gap between the more student horns (Ambassador/Special), and the pro horns (Super upwards).

My Studio was built somewhere around 1967, so is now over 45 years old. One thing that can be said for Olds trumpets is that they were built to last - the valves never seem to wear out, and they have a general feeling of solidity about them.

First impressions of this horn are - big and heavy. With its cornet-style valves, there is plenty of room in the wrap of this horn - I'm able to fit the first three fingers of my left hand around the casings, which I struggle to do with many other horns (I'm 6'2" - 188cms, with hands to match....). The Nickel plate I'm sure adds considerably to the weight of this horn - way heavier than my Yamaha YTR 634 or 732 which are lightweight horns.

 As with most nearly every Olds horn of the time, bore is .460", with a 4.8" bell (for those that think it's only bore and bell size that make the difference between horns, compare this horn or a Recording with a Super - all the same bore and bell size, but very different horns to play).

This is a pretty straightforward horn to play - it has a very clear bright tone that stays pretty even through all registers - it's not a horn that can do smokey or breathy ballads well, as even as soft volumes the tone is still clear and bell-like. I'd say this horn is more suited to orchestral or concert band music owing to these characteristics.

My Studio has a very even blow - the resistance does build as you ascend the range, but it never feels stuffy or constricted, and I find my higher range easier to access using this horn than some others.

The first valve slide trigger is big and meaty looking, so no worries about it bending, but it can be awkward to use, as it's not in a natural position for the thumb.

The valves are slick, with a longish throw, and are hexagonal (a la Schilke), and it has standard water keys.

This is not the favourite horn in my "quiver", but having written that, when I was recently asked to play trumpet in a performance of Carmina Burana, this is the horn I turned to, and it did that job very well.

I'd recommend anyone who mostly plays classical or concert band music to check these horns out - they seem practically indestructible - the only issue seems to be the nickel plate can start pitting (which doesn't affect the playing characteristics), and they are pretty cheap when you can find them.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

* No longer mine, has moved on to greener pastures, where it has more use than I was giving it.
Cheers,
AVOtB

My Horns No. 3 - Besson 700 series Cornet

After a break of many years, I recently decided to get back into the world of Brass Bands. When I was in my University years I played in an A Grade Brass Band here in Australia, and competed in a few contests. Now that I'm older and wiser (and busier), I didn't want to commit to the time and practice required for such a high level of banding, and so have joined a small local band, that is lots of fun to play in and is within my skills as a musician, if not as a marching bandsman!

When I played A Grade, the band gave me a lovely Besson Sovereign to play (the one known as a "Globe Stamp", which is also known as one of the better cornets ever made), but of course when I left I had to give it back. The band I have recently joined is in a small rural town, and their instrument collection is old and worn - most of the cornets are old Boosey & Hawkes Internationals, which have seen better days. So, the search was on for a horn of my own - requirements - it had to be relatively cheap, and be suitable for Brass Band use.

That put most new cornets out of the equation, as here in Australia new professional level cornets are $2,000 and over, and even new student cornets are around the four figure mark. Ebay can be less than helpful too, as it's packed with cheap and nasty instruments you wouldn't want to touch with a barge-pole. So it was off into the wilds of the Internets to see what was floating around.

Fortunately the friendly folk at Quality Brass came to the rescue, and a few short emails later, and for about a quarter the cost of a new pro cornet, the horn that is subject of this review winged it's way over the Pacific to me.

The Besson 700 series of instruments were an intermediate range that was made by Besson / Boosey & Hawkes in England up to the 1990s. The range included most Brass Band Instruments, and the cornet I now own is technically a Besson 723. Wiser heads than mine inform me it was made around 1992, so it's possible it's spent a lot of time in a cupboard, as it is still in very new condition.

As an intermediate model, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but does come with a third valve slide trigger, and is 0.462" bore, which is middling as far as short cornets go. Unfortunately this horn did not come with an original case, and was missing it's lyre, but apart from that it's a fantastic horn.

It exhibits the true British Cornet Sound, very mellow and fluid, and easy to work with. The upper register can be problematic at times with tuning and staying up there, but that is probably more down to my relative lack of "cornet chops" than any inherent flaw in the instrument.

A nice horn at a nice price - if you can find one in good condition, it's worth a look.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

My Horns No. 2 - Yamaha YTR-732

The second trumpet in my "stable" that I'd like to mention is the "little brother" to the Yamaha YTR-634, which I wrote about here.

Another of the 70s Yamaha professional horns designed by Schilke, the YTR-732 differs in a few areas from the YTR-634. Firstly, silver plate - denoted by the "7" of 732 - the lacquered horns all had numbers beginning with 6.

Bell material is Yellow Brass, with a bore size of .445", 5" bell.

The particular example that I own has the letter "A" after the serial number, designating it as a horn built in the USA. Stories say that the American assembled horns of this era were actually built in the Schilke factory itself - certainly if you look at my YTR-732 it is almost an exact copy of a Schilke, so much so that it has fooled several people at first look. The details of this horn are quite different to the YTR-634, something that I have documented on the TrumpetHerald forum.

I have only owned this horn since the middle of this year, and I can't say too much about it's history, apart from the fact that it hasn't been heavily played - it's in very good condition, with only minor dings and wear marks. It has had one of the leadpipe braces re-soldered at some stage in it's life. The silver plate has worn in places, particularly in the valve casings, where fingers and thumbs rest.

This horn is a dream to play. It certainly doesn't need much air, it's easy to overblow and when you do the horn does get stuffy. If you back off though, you get a nice compact sound, which can be very honey-like if played lyrically, to a nice bright commercial sound if that's what's needed. It has lightning fast reaction to input, and is very quick to accept changes. Coming from mostly playing medium large bore horns, I find if I'm not careful it's easy to overpitch notes, especially with intervallic jumps.

The horn is compact in the hand as well, with a tighter wrap than my YTR-634.

I've already used the YTR-732 for a season in the pit playing for a local musical theatre production. It's perfect for that sort of job, where two shows a day mean conserving your air, and the wide array of styles of playing call for a horn that's adaptable. I think it will get a lot more work in the future.

The YTR-732 has been developed over the years, and it's progeny went on to become the famous "Bobby Shew" line of horns that Yamaha now sell. It's almost as good as them, for about a third of the cost - if you get the chance, give one a try. Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to know more about this horn.

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell

My Horns No. 1 - Yamaha YTR-634

(This is the first post in a small series about the brass instruments that I own and play. Probably a bit self indulgent, but I know I've scoured the internet looking for information on instruments, so hopefully someone will find these notes useful.)

The first trumpet I will write about is actually my second trumpet - that is, the second trumpet that I ever owned - the first was a Zenith, and the less said about that, the better.

The Yamaha YTR-634 was one of the first "professional" model trumpets made by Yamaha. In the late 1960s,the Yamaha Corporation made the decision to try and break into the high-end trumpet market, which at that time was ruled over by American companies.

They hired Renold Schilke, a renowned trumpet builder, to assist them with their project, and he designed a series of trumpets for Yamaha (and rumour has it that some of the trumpets built in America were actually put together in the Schilke factory, but that's another story...).

The YTR-634 was the medium-large bore trumpet designed by Schilke for Yamaha at this time. It's a lightweight horn, .460" bore, with a 5" bell, and a red brass reverse leadpipe and bell. There is no bracing in the bow of the leadpipe. According to the Yamaha USA website, construction of the YTR-634 ran from 1969-1978.

It is quite a free-blowing horn, with a wide ranging timbre, from breathy when played very softly, to syrupy and velvety in the middle register. It needs to be pushed to get a real bark out of it, but it can mix it in any situation.

As stated above, the YTR-634 shown in the picture below was the second trumpet I ever owned. It was purchased for me by my parents in 1980, after my new trumpet teacher suggested that the Zenith was holding me back. It was purchased second-hand, and had apparently been unused in the last couple of years before I got it, with an unknown build date, but possibly 1976-1977 [although see the comments section, where an expert explains my horn is about 9 years older than I thought!]. An interesting aside on Yamaha trumpets from this period is that they apparently did not give their horns sequential serial numbers, so it is impossible to tell the age of the horns from their serial numbers.

It was basically as-new when I got it, and has served me well for 30 years. During the rest of my schooling it was played up to five hours a day, from symphonic pieces, through concert band, big band, and small group work. After finishing school there were periods where it was put aside, but again covered me for more symphonic work, big band, and forays into rock, pop and ska.

It certainly doesn't look as fresh as it once did, and is starting to get a bit of the "grandfather's axe" about it. The lacquer has lasted remarkably well in comparison to other trumpets of this vintage that I have seen, but has largely delaminated from the leadpipe, and is patchy around the valve slides, with a few spots on the bell.

The bell has been repaired, after being bent when the horn fell off the back of my pushbike on the way home from school one day. The valves have been refurbished owing to them beginning to stick.

The biggest fix came after trying to show the horn some love - I took it to be chemically cleaned, and when it came back to me I found that the chemicals had made a small hole in the tuning slide near the water key. The brass around the water key has basically worn away from the inside, and unfortunately the tuning slide was a total loss - unfixable. Thankfully the good people at Brass and Woodwind in Ormond (Melbourne, Australia), were able to build me a new tuning slide, using the original slides and water key from my horn, with a bow from a newer Yamaha trumpet (6310Z). Good as new!

Overall I would say that the YTR-634 is a very underrated trumpet - it was underrated in it's time and it's underrated now. You can pick one up in good condition for under $700, and for that money they are magnificent. You can turn them to any style of music with success, and they are now just beginning to earn a niche in the "vintage" horn milieu.

Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to know more about the Yamaha YTR-634

Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell