Kansas City
· Yamaha, YTR-9445HS. This was my first C trumpet. It was a gift from my parents in ninth grade. I loved it. I even started playing it in band as much as I could get by with it. I really needed to make sure my transposition skills were stellar!
· Bach, 229LR, later modified to changeable bell. I had it set up with the option of either using my 229 or a new 239HG bell. I also added a Blackburn 20 leadpipe.
Minneapolis
· Monette MC61X, it was a great horn and didn’t fit many of the stigmas typically associated with Monette trumpets. I bought it used and got it for roughly $2000. When I moved to Chicago, I sold it and got a new Bach AND paid off our car!!
Chicago
· Bach 229, A pipe, later modified by Bob Malone with a MC1 pipe and tuning slide. I also had a Hagstrom style pitch finder added by Wayne Tanabe, who now work for Yamaha. I sold this horn to a student who is now playing in the Major Command Band at Fort Bragg.
Nashville
· Yamaha Chicago Artist Model. The Bach I had was already a step in this direction. The Yamaha seemed to be the next logical choice. Having worked with John Hagstrom, I got to see some of the preliminary work on the artist model. It was an amazing horn and really fit. I probably would have stayed on it if members of the Nashville Symphony had not moved to Blackburn. That being said, I kept the horn for a long time and only sold it when a student begged me to sell it to him. I’m still not sure that I made the right decision selling it. At least I can pick another one up in the future.
· Finally – I play a gold plated Blackburn C trumpet. It has a MD19A24S bell and a 19-350XH leadpipe. MD19 is the mandrel, A stands for ambronze, a brass alloy used only by Blackburn, 24 is the thickness, and S means it has a steel bead wire. The leadpipe has a 350 venturi and a heavy weight receiver. I will say that I think I am finally settled. It sort of makes sense as I have taken quite a while figuring out what I like. Between Cliff Blackburn’s designs and stellar business ethic I am completely sold! Since acquiring my C, I have also had a Bb and Eb trumpet made. This C has also been equipped with a Charlie Melk pitch finder. I have added and extra picture so you can see this up close. Charlie is in Milwaukee and does outstanding brass work and modification. Additionally, he now makes trumpets as well.
· Yamaha, YTR-9445HS. This was my first C trumpet. It was a gift from my parents in ninth grade. I loved it. I even started playing it in band as much as I could get by with it. I really needed to make sure my transposition skills were stellar!
· Bach, 229LR, later modified to changeable bell. I had it set up with the option of either using my 229 or a new 239HG bell. I also added a Blackburn 20 leadpipe.
Minneapolis
· Monette MC61X, it was a great horn and didn’t fit many of the stigmas typically associated with Monette trumpets. I bought it used and got it for roughly $2000. When I moved to Chicago, I sold it and got a new Bach AND paid off our car!!
Chicago
· Bach 229, A pipe, later modified by Bob Malone with a MC1 pipe and tuning slide. I also had a Hagstrom style pitch finder added by Wayne Tanabe, who now work for Yamaha. I sold this horn to a student who is now playing in the Major Command Band at Fort Bragg.
Nashville
· Yamaha Chicago Artist Model. The Bach I had was already a step in this direction. The Yamaha seemed to be the next logical choice. Having worked with John Hagstrom, I got to see some of the preliminary work on the artist model. It was an amazing horn and really fit. I probably would have stayed on it if members of the Nashville Symphony had not moved to Blackburn. That being said, I kept the horn for a long time and only sold it when a student begged me to sell it to him. I’m still not sure that I made the right decision selling it. At least I can pick another one up in the future.
· Finally – I play a gold plated Blackburn C trumpet. It has a MD19A24S bell and a 19-350XH leadpipe. MD19 is the mandrel, A stands for ambronze, a brass alloy used only by Blackburn, 24 is the thickness, and S means it has a steel bead wire. The leadpipe has a 350 venturi and a heavy weight receiver. I will say that I think I am finally settled. It sort of makes sense as I have taken quite a while figuring out what I like. Between Cliff Blackburn’s designs and stellar business ethic I am completely sold! Since acquiring my C, I have also had a Bb and Eb trumpet made. This C has also been equipped with a Charlie Melk pitch finder. I have added and extra picture so you can see this up close. Charlie is in Milwaukee and does outstanding brass work and modification. Additionally, he now makes trumpets as well.