I had to stop using brass valve guides when I fitted Harrelson brass valve stems. It made the slots totally solid. Switching back to nylon made a massive difference. Hard to believe. I'm still not sure which combination I prefer. Still using the 43 as my main trumpet.
Hey Gordon! That interesting, I've heard of some people just using one brass guide on the 3rd valve, not tried it myself but I definitely stand by the core sound of the instrument being fuller and richer. What Harrelson stems did you go for? The Schilke will always be my main lead horn but this strad is truly awesome, I had a great 43 too once, bell had seen too much trauma but the sound was still fantastic. Great to read your comments as always 😁
@@CameronJay I am intending to try one brass valve guide, but the instrument needs professionally serviced. It's 12 years old now and there's definitely dirt in there that I can't get out. If I get that done and try it again I might get a different result. The Harrelson stems are identical to the Bach ones, but heavier. Doesn't change the look of the instrument either. I still have Bach's own heavy bottom caps fitted, but they are not massive.
@@GordonHudson probably a sonic / chem clean from Bryce would sort that out. I've tried the heavier caps and they've killed the response of almost every instrument I've tried them on. I get the theory but they just don't 'resonate' with me - see what I did there 😂?
@@CameronJay I found that the slightly heavier ones made the placement of notes above top C clearer without really affecting the sound. I have too many trumpets. Need to get rid of two or three really. Was thinking of sending them to Prozone to sell on commission. Retiring from my day job next summer and need to rationalise my collection of stuff. Having said that i bought a 1920 Courtois cornet this week.
Bach sounds way better. I appreciate the Schilke trumpet fit and finish, and the engineering behind them, but the sound is just NOT there. Especially if you're trying to blend with other trumpet players...schilkes just don't blend.
Hey Brad, thanks for your comment! That's quite an interesting point. I think the section blend is really dependent on the lead player, (obviously in a commercial / Jazz setting - I don't really work in the concert or classical industry) and I'm often on lead. I have noticed however that if I'm not on lead then I have to either tailor my my sound or change back bore on the AR Resonance piece I'm using which the B1 is really sensitive too. Also interesting is that I don't really enjoy soloing on the Schilke as much as I do on the 25G. Thnks again for the comment! What horns do you use and what type of playing do you do?
@@CameronJay Hey man, I should've said all that with the caveat of it being my opinion. I know a lot of great players that play Schilke trumpets and love them, and they sound great on them. But...sitting next to someone who's playing a Schilke, and you're playing just about any other brand, it's really hard to blend your sound with them. I'm thinking four horn pop or salsa stuff, small big bands, like 9 - 10 piece, that of thing. And in a brass quintet, absolutely forget about blending. Can't be done. Afa my gear and such, I play a HIGHLY customized Strad. It's a standard weight, ML bore body, but I've converted it to a tunable bell. The bell is a 43 lightweight, but it has a large bore bell tail (it actually says 43*L on the bell). I've added a small "choke" between where the bell tail comes out of the first valve, and goes into the outer slide. I initially did it to stop the rail from going too far forward, but I found by adding different sized chokes, or inserts, it helped or hindered the horn. Really hard to describe over text! Lol!! I used to play a ton of wedding band/commercial stuff. Lots of salsa. Some small group jazz and quintet work. Your basic musical whore. 😁 Anyway, the 25 bell can be tricky for lead. Doesn't project as well as a 37, 43 or 72. Great for small group jazz or small ensemble classical stuff, or if you have a mic and PA system, but I've never played a big band hit that used anything like that. Like I said, the Bach sounds like a monster. My personal preference between the two horns. Cheers mate! Happy holidays!
@@bradfowler6464 Thanks mate - I'm assuming your in the states so Happy Thanksgiving! :) Your Strad 43 sounds really interesting, I've never really dug into a 43 bell other than for a few months about 10yrs ago but that old horn had loads of issues. I did have a couple of the commercial trumpets which have a version of the 43 bell but I didn't get on with them either. Before I gush on strads - the B1 is a bit of a security blanket because it works, is strident and commanding when needed and very, very consistent. The 25G is definitely not a lead horn, I think I've actually had better results from my old Vindabona. I had a Mariachi style thing to play..., big broad sound, loadsa vib etc and it wiped the floor with the Schilke. They're all great horns in the right situation. I did have a standard 25 which I managed to make a brilliant lead horn out of - each to their own, but I'm not getting any younger 😝 Re. Tuneable bell. I've had a vintage (73/74) B7l and B3L and they were both insane. Both horns were part of his fact finding mission and I think I've decide to stay with fixed bells but getting that adjustment dialled in made both horn amazing. I've not used my 25G for a few weeks now as I've had to be dialled in to the Schilke so I am looking to get back into it. I'm planning on doing a comparison video with a Strad LT180-77 which I've previously reviewed on the channel and the L18025G. This is purely for the reason of playing with strads! Anyways, have a fantastic Turkey day, ( I don't quite understand Thanksgiving from Scotland but then I don't expect you understand haggis!). Loving this chat and your input. Cheers Brad. C.
I had to stop using brass valve guides when I fitted Harrelson brass valve stems. It made the slots totally solid. Switching back to nylon made a massive difference. Hard to believe. I'm still not sure which combination I prefer. Still using the 43 as my main trumpet.
Hey Gordon! That interesting, I've heard of some people just using one brass guide on the 3rd valve, not tried it myself but I definitely stand by the core sound of the instrument being fuller and richer. What Harrelson stems did you go for?
The Schilke will always be my main lead horn but this strad is truly awesome, I had a great 43 too once, bell had seen too much trauma but the sound was still fantastic.
Great to read your comments as always 😁
@@CameronJay I am intending to try one brass valve guide, but the instrument needs professionally serviced. It's 12 years old now and there's definitely dirt in there that I can't get out. If I get that done and try it again I might get a different result. The Harrelson stems are identical to the Bach ones, but heavier. Doesn't change the look of the instrument either. I still have Bach's own heavy bottom caps fitted, but they are not massive.
@@GordonHudson probably a sonic / chem clean from Bryce would sort that out. I've tried the heavier caps and they've killed the response of almost every instrument I've tried them on. I get the theory but they just don't 'resonate' with me - see what I did there 😂?
@@CameronJay I found that the slightly heavier ones made the placement of notes above top C clearer without really affecting the sound. I have too many trumpets. Need to get rid of two or three really. Was thinking of sending them to Prozone to sell on commission. Retiring from my day job next summer and need to rationalise my collection of stuff. Having said that i bought a 1920 Courtois cornet this week.
@@GordonHudson You don't have a Schilke B6 or X3 in your collection do you?
Bach sounds way better.
I appreciate the Schilke trumpet fit and finish, and the engineering behind them, but the sound is just NOT there.
Especially if you're trying to blend with other trumpet players...schilkes just don't blend.
Hey Brad, thanks for your comment! That's quite an interesting point. I think the section blend is really dependent on the lead player, (obviously in a commercial / Jazz setting - I don't really work in the concert or classical industry) and I'm often on lead. I have noticed however that if I'm not on lead then I have to either tailor my my sound or change back bore on the AR Resonance piece I'm using which the B1 is really sensitive too. Also interesting is that I don't really enjoy soloing on the Schilke as much as I do on the 25G.
Thnks again for the comment! What horns do you use and what type of playing do you do?
@@CameronJay
Hey man, I should've said all that with the caveat of it being my opinion.
I know a lot of great players that play Schilke trumpets and love them, and they sound great on them.
But...sitting next to someone who's playing a Schilke, and you're playing just about any other brand, it's really hard to blend your sound with them.
I'm thinking four horn pop or salsa stuff, small big bands, like 9 - 10 piece, that of thing.
And in a brass quintet, absolutely forget about blending. Can't be done.
Afa my gear and such, I play a HIGHLY customized Strad.
It's a standard weight, ML bore body, but I've converted it to a tunable bell. The bell is a 43 lightweight, but it has a large bore bell tail (it actually says 43*L on the bell).
I've added a small "choke" between where the bell tail comes out of the first valve, and goes into the outer slide.
I initially did it to stop the rail from going too far forward, but I found by adding different sized chokes, or inserts, it helped or hindered the horn.
Really hard to describe over text!
Lol!!
I used to play a ton of wedding band/commercial stuff. Lots of salsa. Some small group jazz and quintet work.
Your basic musical whore.
😁
Anyway, the 25 bell can be tricky for lead. Doesn't project as well as a 37, 43 or 72.
Great for small group jazz or small ensemble classical stuff, or if you have a mic and PA system, but I've never played a big band hit that used anything like that.
Like I said, the Bach sounds like a monster.
My personal preference between the two horns.
Cheers mate!
Happy holidays!
@@bradfowler6464 Thanks mate - I'm assuming your in the states so Happy Thanksgiving! :)
Your Strad 43 sounds really interesting, I've never really dug into a 43 bell other than for a few months about 10yrs ago but that old horn had loads of issues. I did have a couple of the commercial trumpets which have a version of the 43 bell but I didn't get on with them either. Before I gush on strads - the B1 is a bit of a security blanket because it works, is strident and commanding when needed and very, very consistent.
The 25G is definitely not a lead horn, I think I've actually had better results from my old Vindabona. I had a Mariachi style thing to play..., big broad sound, loadsa vib etc and it wiped the floor with the Schilke. They're all great horns in the right situation. I did have a standard 25 which I managed to make a brilliant lead horn out of - each to their own, but I'm not getting any younger 😝
Re. Tuneable bell. I've had a vintage (73/74) B7l and B3L and they were both insane. Both horns were part of his fact finding mission and I think I've decide to stay with fixed bells but getting that adjustment dialled in made both horn amazing.
I've not used my 25G for a few weeks now as I've had to be dialled in to the Schilke so I am looking to get back into it. I'm planning on doing a comparison video with a Strad LT180-77 which I've previously reviewed on the channel and the L18025G. This is purely for the reason of playing with strads!
Anyways, have a fantastic Turkey day, ( I don't quite understand Thanksgiving from Scotland but then I don't expect you understand haggis!). Loving this chat and your input. Cheers Brad. C.