kyttle_kadiver Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Recently i have been looking at a professional trumpet and my instructor told me that if i have the extra cash to spend it on the reverse constructed mouthpipe. I just want to know what the advantages of having one are; and if any, are there disadvantages? And i'm just curious, how does everyone else clean their horn? I'm just looking for new ideas to add on to my own knowledge. If you own a professional trumpet or other horn what do you do to keep it in great condition? -Kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaringbrass Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Im not so sure about the reversed lead pipe thing, dont have one so i can tell ya whats up with those. Good ole snake through the horn in the bath tub it works great, its out all the chunks that may accumulate in the horn hahaha jk but after you get that out try some valelene on the slides, thicker that regular slide grease but alot easier to move the slides, try that on the 3rd valve slide with some valve oil on top of it and that thing will be slippery as heck. Brasso on the inner slides makes them look all shinny too. Just keep your horn up and it'll last for ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 I'm not a trumpet player, but the general opinion of reverse leadpipes amongst the trumpet players at my school is that they aren't that great; many have tuning issues, it seems. As for horn cleaning: I clean my horn by removing the piston valves and all slides (which, on my concert horn, is nine slides and four valves; I leave the rotor valve in) and give it a bath in the tub; I just did this the other night with my horn after some time without being able to clean it, and some not so pretty things came out of it. While it sits in the tub, I clean the slides out by running warm water through them and using a snake. Then I use Brasso to clean off the slide, and Silvo on the silver plating (always remember to wash the Brasso off the slide and wipe it off as well; you don't want it sitting on the slide). I also clean the valves out with a valve brush in warm water. By this point the horn's pretty well clean, so I pull it out of the tub and polish up the body with Silvo. Then I reassemble the horn. Don't forget to clean the tub out; I'd hate to see what would happen when some unsuspecting person comes in to use the tub and finds the nasty stuff from your horn in the tub. ;)^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screeaamer Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Well... the question remains what kid of horn are you looking into buying? I have a reversed lead pipe and a straight old standard lead pipe, both bachs. I love both my horns. Neither have tonality issues and both play very well. The idea is that less AIR is lost from small gaps between the lead pipe and the tuning slide. But to be honest I do not think you will notice the difference. My advice has been and will always be, go to the store go to another store, and another store... etc... until you find a horn that apeals to you!! Try horns multiple times. Pick horns aren't like picking your nose... you do have a choice! Cullen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaNors77 Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Recently i have been looking at a professional trumpet and my instructor told me that if i have the extra cash to spend it on the reverse constructed mouthpipe. I just want to know what the advantages of having one are; and if any, are there disadvantages? And i'm just curious, how does everyone else clean their horn? I'm just looking for new ideas to add on to my own knowledge. If you own a professional trumpet or other horn what do you do to keep it in great condition?-Kyle WEll, let's see. Like another poster mentioned, the reverse leadpipe is supposed to eliminate air leakage, but at the same time if you have a good slide grease on your tuning slide THAT's then taken care of. I've been told tho (by the manufacturers) that it's supposed to cut down on air turbulence, that you supposedly get with a regular slide with the tube edge up the leadpipe. I certainly haven't noticed much difference in the "blow" really and I'm someone who can tell different bore sizes with my eyes closed playing horns. One thing a reverse pipe will do is because of it's location, they have to solder the bell/pipe brace closer to the valve section. This gives you a brighter tone and makes the horn vibrate more. Cleaning: well what I do is take the horn apart. All the little parts including the valves but without their felt pads, go into the bathroom sink in hot(silver horn) or luke warm(laquered horn) water. Also, I have a wash cloth at the bottom as kind of a net.(good for lifting out all the parts at once when time) Then with the rest of the horn body I take a trombone(that's right not trumpet) snake to the bell crook. I have other straight brushes for all the other tubes, leadpipe,etc. After brushing the insides a little then it's to the shower nozzle. I have a step stool and my shower has glass doors, so I stand on the stool with my arms and horn just over the top. I then "whoosh" out whatever's in there with strong hot or luke warm water. If it's a silver horn, after the insides are flushed out I use "Twinkle" silver polish for the outside. Obviously just a pat dry if it's a laquered horn. After taking it out I dry the insides with a piece of soft cloth on a cleaning rod. Also the bell crook I have a little cloth on the end of a shoestring which I put the end through the bell,heh. Then after drying the inside AND outside I go to the sink, lift out the little parts and clean the insides with brushes,polish the silver outsides with Twinkle, or pat dry ,etc. Seem like a lot? Well maybe but I play everyday. Play gigs, record,etc. my horns usually last me for 10-20 years. The horn I have now, i've had for like 4-5 years. The one before that I had gotten in 1984. hope this helps, you can wake up now from trying to read this long post. haha. Phil Norris 77-78 Kingsmen pro player today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassguymike Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 ...And i'm just curious, how does everyone else clean their horn? I'm just looking for new ideas to add on to my own knowledge. -Kyle If you are interested in some more ideas on how to clean your horn, I have a long detailed list of instructions that I have compiled for my students. It's too much to post here, but I'd be glad to email them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleHighEZ Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Kyle, How much are you willing to spend on a trumpet? You pretty much get what you pay for. My Flip Oakes' Wild Thing cost me $2300 and it 's worth every penny! If you don't want an extra large bore horn like that, then I would recommend a Callichio. If those are out of you're price range then a Bach Strad would be an excellent choice. Almost all of my students have bought a Strad for their first professional model. It also depends on what type of playing you mostly do. Of course if money is no object, Monette is the way to go IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyttle_kadiver Posted January 8, 2003 Author Share Posted January 8, 2003 Thanks everyone for the advice, this a great site for help! anyway i will certainly try some of your ideas for cleaning and as for the reverse leadpipe i have purchased a Bach Strad with a the reverse constructed leadpipe (which i got an awesome deal through a friend so i couldn't pass) as my first professional horn. My instructor, Andy Smart, said it would be a great horn for my college years. I hope none of those Stad haters attack me, i understand that there are lots of great horns out there that may be better, but i tried a lot of them and found this one to be the most responsive with my playing. I will definitely check out some different horns as my life goes on, i am not bound to one horn for all my life. So HOT water is best for silver horns? i never knew that, i was just playing it safe before so should i try that? oh and BRASSGUYMIKE i would love to see your list for cleaning horns that would be even more helpful. email it to kyttle_kadiver@yahoo.com. Thanks again to everyone, and keep posting your ideas. -Krazy Kyle with a K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screeaamer Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 Kyle, NICE CHOICE!!! I hope it serves you well. Treat it as the most beautiful woman in the world, spoil it... play her every day, clean her often and give her a rub down (polish cloth you sickos!) and love her more and more and I garuntee you she will never steer you wrong! Peace, Cullen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezedogg 23 Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 Well i only have one horn. Its a proffesional Bach strad. All that good stuff. Yeah i clean it with a good ol snake. I use gun solvent on the sides.. It disolves all the gunk on the inner slides without havein to wear away at the metal.. Its great for trombone slides too.. I also put Soft scrub on cloths and run it through my horn.. it helps with keepin it clean in between cleanings. I clean it monthly usually.. give or take. And polish it, cheap stuff is fine, just do it often. AS for cleanin cloths, i avoid them, if used to often it can wear away the finish. AS for reverse lead pipes, i've never played one, But i know people that do. If you use proper air support than there is nothign wrong with it. It does have tuning problems for people that use inproper breathing, far worse than standard horns, but if everything is working right, i see now reason why you can use one with it, and if you've been advised to do so. Go for it. Well good luck, good music comes more from the player, than the horn. A greta player can sound good on a terrible horn, but can sound even better and with much greater ease on a great horn, thats the main difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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