Just a wee video with the new horn. Happy 4th July to all my American friends!

Took some pics of the Bravura on Saturday as it was sunny outside…

Have just taken delivery of my new Bravura on Friday. Not much time to blow it, but 2 gigs later & I really like it.  The spec is LP1, Bell6, medium round slide with medium (1/2″) caps, amado keys & brushed raw brass.

I play mainly bigband lead stuff, with some jazz as well, so need a versatile horn that can change character quite quickly. First thing is that feedback from behind the horn is less than a ‘normal’ one, this is pretty much in line with most heavy horns & to be expected. What has been said previously about not overblowing goes double for the Bravura I feel. The sound doesn’t break up or sound ‘blatty’, but it definitely doesn’t sound it’s best when overblown (does any trumpet?).

For very high lead stuff, I use a Bobby Shew lead with a permanently attached Denis Wick booster. This piece really does scream on the Bravura. First song of the first gig I did with it on Saturday, we played Blue Birdland. I played the cleanest double A on it on the last chord, so much so, that I was very surprised that with a bit more air on the double A, a very clear, audible triple A came out (highest note I’ve ever played in public).

The only slight issue I have with using the Shew lead all the time is that when I start getting a bit tired on it, the sound becomes slightly brittle. (again- me getting carried away & overblowing) I also use a Monette MFIII for lead, which has a far richer sound, but isn’t quite as bright as the Shew. The MFIII is a good match for the Bravura, and the horn balances perfectly in the hand as well.

For Jazz, I’ve been using a standard 3C. With this, the horn takes a different character & sounds very much like the medium weight Monettes. There’s a lot of body to the sound & an extra richness that I haven’t heard from other horns barring Monette. Once you start to push some air through the 3C, it keeps taking it, the sound becomes slightly edgier (brighter) & the sheer volume & tone just takes over the room (middle C made my ears ring in a large ballroom).

The valves, after a good clean are really nice, although one thing I noticed is that the vertical alignment is off due to the felts. I contacted Jason about this & he said that the felts need some time to ‘bed’ in. I’m an impatient guy, so I’m getting these switched over today to a harder felt with an option of rubber by a great tech over here. (Bryce Fergusonwww.brassandwoodwind.co.uk). The valve springs I find are nice and firm, with a very positive feedback.

Intonation with all 3 mouthpieces is excellent, very little compensation required as long as you blow down the centre of the horn. It’s one of those horns that really rewards relaxed, non-tensioned playing with a huge, rich sound. As soon as tension creeps into your playing (as it sometimes does with mine), the horn seems to tense up along with it. It’s a good marker as to how your physical approach is working throughout a gig.

Got another gig tonight with it on the new felts/rubbers, but I’m looking forward to getting into the practice room with it as well to really get to know it. Build quality/workmanship is fantastic – no solder splats etc., & very cleanly finished. Yes it’s been a long wait, but as my very good friend says. “Good, fast or cheap – it can only ever be any two of these at any one time”.

Trying out a new (old) mouthpiece – a Yamaha Bobby Shew Lead with a Denis Wick Booster permanently attached to it – nice & bright for lead work – I like it!!

Well – it’s now on UK soil all finished! Just need to wait on HMRC doing their stuff.

Got an email from Paul@Harrelson trumpets this evening with 2 pics of my new trumpet being built. It’s been a really long wait, nearly 7 months, with innumerable hold-ups due to Jason moving shop & upgrading his equipment. I really hope it’s going to be a great horn.

Been having some chop issues recently & have been going through the usual hit head off wall with frustration syndrome. Nick Drozdoff posted a great blog article on his site in relation to this.
In addition to this I cannot stress the importance of a good, gentle warm-up.

I can’t stress how important it is to warm-up. A good warm-up I find gives me uber-chops all night. I can easily do lead & solo pad on a demanding big band for 3 hours & still have more.

this guy is something else

So – the receiver split on the Vintage One I’m currently borrowing – grrrr. Anyway – got a loan of another one from Robert at Brass Impact – this one has the standard 46 leadpipe – jeeez – the thing can strip paint! So much nicer than the 34 leadpipe one which is supposedly meant to be more suited for lead playing – duh- figure that one out!

Can’t wait on the Harrelson coming – getting itchy fingers now…