Hey!

As you can tell, you`ve struck a rather resonant nerve! You`ve asked a rather common question and most likely with the proper motivation.

The Bach question:

I owned a 1969 Bach which my parents purchased for me in 1970. It was an Early Elkhart model. Our band teacher told us (as many band teachers do) to "Get a Bach Strad". Well, I played for a few years and put it away after high school.

Eventually, I picked my horn back up and eventually found my old range/endurance limits where they used to be. My pastor was telling me that my sound was breaking up. I was trying to do "Lead trumpet" work on the strad.

The Strad can be a very good horn. They are not as even in quality as they were in the New York/Mt. Vernon days...before they were bought out by Selmer and were no longer hand made. The lesson? If you are interested in a Bach, try many of them.

Ok. So what happened with me and my Strad? Well, I began hanging out at the TrumpetHerald forum online and just did alot of reading about horns. Eventually, I picked a Burbank Benge (they were made by hand). I found the problems I mentioned above disappeared. My pastor immediately commented on a marked improvement on my sound and range. No more breaking up of the sound.

My Benge is a very open player. My Bach was markedly stuffy. Now, some people prefer the "stuffiness" to help them center notes. I don`t.

I have a friend who plays pro (www.exalt.org). He plays an Edwards Generation II with an XL leadpipe and a large bore. It is a bit stuffy at the pedal tones but opens up as you ascend. I found I like that for some reason. The horn is also made so you can swap out leadpipes and bells easily. Of course, it isn`t a cheap horn, either.

What is my point? No one can tell you that "Horn X is best". I think Bachs are promoted heavily by band instructors for whatever reason (uniformity of sound in a section?)...plus maybe it`s because that`s what people have heard through the decades. My take on my old Strad 37 is that it is/was a good ensemble/orchestral horn but not a good lead horn. If you`re in a brass section, it was good for that use.

If you like what you have and can get a good sound out of it, who cares? Yamaha makes good horns, Kanstul makes good horns (Zig Kanstul used to make Benge and kept the tools and mandrels when the Benge name went to UMI).

King makes good players...as a matter of fact I understand that King owned Benge for a period of time the 70`s, although I could be wrong.

As far as finish is concerned, Silver plated horns TEND to be brighter than Lacquer horns. Edgier. Now, you can have other variants such as bronze bells, copper bells, etc...and just heavier ones. Again, if you are looking for a horn, decide what type of sound you want and go from there.

My Benge needs a new leadpipe. It also needs replated. HOWEVER, when I have this done, I am considering having the inside of the bell gold-washed to darken the tone.

"What horn is best" is a volatile subject. For a given person, that will vary, but I hope maybe I`ve helped just a little

Take care my friend!

TIm

thanks for the novel, man.

i agree

he knows what hes talking about guys... sorry that it took you 45 minutes to read it... maybe you should try picture books for now

all i can say is.....monettes own everything out there hands down no disscussions period

thanks Candice, you are very kind!

tim

i try... sometimes

okay guys, thats it, he`s solved the riddle

what riddel is that John? we need to talk more often... email me or add me to msn trumpetandme@hotmail.com!!!

hmm. I have a Lazer and it seems good.. but I havent had or tried any other trumpets. what do you guys think of Lazer trumpets?
PS its brass, for whoever cares

how good are B&S trumpets?
I play one and i think it is excellent. but how do they compare to Bachs?

I think, Shilke and Monke are the best, bur they are not very cheap

but Bach is also very good
I play one, but I dont come very high with it, its very difficult
The sound is very good

humm, well ifs its named B&S sounds like umm `B`ull `S`h** to me

bachs are good if they`re the old ones but the newer ones are having problems. try a getzen 700s eterna 1 0r 2. also try benge if you know how to play good. ebay