The Other Mike Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I'll bet good money that few if any people on this board could tell the difference in sound between a lacquered versus plated horn in a blind test, True, but I'd bet I can tell the difference between a Bb trumpet and a G bugle from 3 blocks away ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OdeToArsenal47 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Color combinations are pretty important to notice too. Warmer, darker colors go great with the brass look. Cooler, lighter colors tend to go with silver. Light with light, dark with dark. Silver also goes really well with black. Provides a very sharp, sexy contrast between light and the absence of light. As for white, it all depends on the trim colors. Phantom can pull off silver horns with white uniforms because they use cooler colors with the white. If Phantom ever went with a burgundy on white (perhaps burgundy cape-stripe-thingy), I think that the lacquer finish would look great. Crown is another great example of what would go with lacquer. If crown went with more purple in their uniforms to go with the cream, lacquer would look fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Finishes can absolutely affect the timbre of the horns. It all has to do with the rigidity of the coating/plating and the ability of the bell to reverberate. The reason the chrome horns had such a focused projection is due to the very rigid qualities of the chrome plating. It also explains the brightness of the quality of sound. Garry in Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 ...and you played what, again? In all seriousness, that's true, especially with chrome. But the difference between lacquer and brass is not nearly as significant in a situation like this, especially with the sheer numbers of horns. Now if I was buying a horn for use in an orchestra or some other professional situation, I can see myself descending to that level of pickiness, but for drum corps it's not a big enough difference between what are nowadays the typical choices available on horns to put timbre above issues like appearance and ease of care on the "reasons to get x finish" list. EDIT: Arg, that should be "lacquer and silver." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDale Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 ...and you played what, again? Ah....you beat me to it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memphomello08 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Finishes can absolutely affect the timbre of the horns. It all has to do with the rigidity of the coating/plating and the ability of the bell to reverberate. The reason the chrome horns had such a focused projection is due to the very rigid qualities of the chrome plating. It also explains the brightness of the quality of sound.Garry in Vegas The finish also affects the natural over/undertones of the instrument. Raw brass, for instance, has zero lacquer or finish (duh) and this is allowed to vibrate more freely, opening up crazy overtones (which is why Monette trumpets, in particular, have that distinctive tone). However, when an instrument is gold lacquered or silver/chrome plated, the horn does not vibrate as freely, thus closing off those natural over/undertones of the instrument. Many jazz musicians (trumpet players, especially) choose their horns not to be lacquered or remove any lacquer off their horns so they can have access to those overtones. And yes, I know that Monette offers finishes other than raw brass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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