Now the only question left is – can you justify the price tag to do this ‘tweak’? – or do add mass in another way?  For those with Curry mouthpieces – I suggest purchasing a Curry Monster Sleeve for significantly less.

This is quite an interesting horn given that is has the full thickness leadpipe and a number of modifications around the leadpipe and bracing. The bottom caps were originally the heavy weight caps but they have since been ground down to between the medium and lightweight caps.

If you are living in New Zealand and  interested in testing out these caps visit the website www.trumpetgear.co.nz and let us know via the contact page.

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Perhaps this is where Jason Harrelson and his SWE (Standing Wave Efficiency) modification for mouthpieces comes in? (or for that matter any Mouthpiece manufacturer that makes a heavyweight mouthpiece blank – I personally prefer Dr Daves Wedge Heavyweight Backbore myself)

What I was really looking for originally was a Martin Committee vintage – but do you think I could find one that didn’t require at least US$700 worth of repairs to it for under US$2000 – no way!

(I mentioned I have 3 very different instruments in the stable and what I liked/dislike about each – then I went on to describe what I thought was the perfect sound concept and resistance factor for me – a Martin Committee Deluxe Medium Bore)

All-in-all this was an excellent buy and I intend to keep this one a while as it makes a great partner to my Harrelson Summit.

For those of you pondering if you should try out some additional mass on your horn I say – why not? There are several options out there to customize your horn – but I just want to focus on one element as the topic for discussion, and that is the mouthpiece.

Weight – I’m not sure this is really a negative or a positive – but this horn does weight substantially more than others I have tried.

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My theory (and it’s probably common science/physics) is that with the additional mass more energy is delivered into the horn where you need it to be – thus allowing better control on loud and soft volume. I also notice that with the lighter weight mouthpieces there is more physical feedback on the mouthpiece through the minute vibrations – and this is enough to throw you off ever so slightly when going to highs and lows in the range of the instrument.

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This is a great trumpet and I would happily recommend this to anyone who was looking for a nice dark and smooth sounding horn.

I’ve seen a few custom horns recently and I’d have to say his fit and finishing is some of the best I have seen. I love how when I first picked up this horn it felt almost exactly the same as my old horn (all-be-it a little heavier of course)

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To use imagery – it’s like a cold winter’s day where you are able throw a blanket and start up the open fire in the living room kind of feeling. That’s the kind of warmth that goes right to the core and warms you all over.

I get the impression from this one that very little escapes the horn before the sounds you created at the business end travels of the bell rim.

I have to make it known now though –  when they say (meaning his previous customers) it will be worth the wait they are not wrong.

He asked a few questions about what kind of music I am playing (Big Band and Jazz Combo) – what kind of sounds concept I would like, and we went through the order form step by step discussing each step.

Well it’s been a long time between last updates – and the reason for this has been due to the fact that there has been little to update you all on.

I doubt that will take long – after one gig you can see finger marks starting to show in the pics and the dark brown section on the 3rd valve.

The system will be a $300 refundable deposit is required for each full set that goes out, or $150 for each set of bottom caps that goes out, and you will have a 5 day trial period on the sets.  P&P will be $5 to most of NZ.

Mic – Audio Technica AT-2035 linked into a Stienberg CI-1 Audio interface and Audacity software – there are no effects added to this recording – it’s raw and ‘as-is’

I had never really played a C trumpet properly for an extended period before – but I found this very easily to acclimatize too and have since been playing where I can a number of C charts to ensure that I can switch between a C and Bb trumpet with ease.

This horn is really for me to branch out more into Combo playing and have something that I can blow all night long and not tire on – the 6310Z fits the bill most of the way but not quite.

Adjustment – Well I picked this horn up and could go up and down 2 octaves (low G to G above the staff) no problem – but it kicked me a little when I wanted to go higher. (Normally I can go to the high G without to much issue). Pretty sure this is just me adjusting to the horn.

But seriously – if you’ve been watching Ebay lately you’ll see that Harrelson Bravura’s are selling for less than what you would pay for a new Bach or a Yamaha.

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I’ve had the horn less than a day upon writing this – but I wanted to give some feedback in stages so you can see all the stages that you will be going through in buying, selecting, receiving and adjusting to your new horn should you decide to purchase a Harrelson.

If you can find a used Harrelson – most of the time they make excellent purchases as long as you get specs that are close to what you are looking for. (Especially the 907 and 908 modifications as they were based on existing horns and modified to improve efficiency and sound)

Well, last week came and went – and yes I did have a conversation with Jason from Harrelson trumpets about my new instrument that he is designing for me.

Of course at the moment she’s looking a little fresh – but over time she will develop a lovely tan and get a more mature look about her.

So a big apology goes out to Jason for reminding him each time the horn was delayed a little. I guess being a first time rookie to having a horn custom built and having thousands of dollars out there in the land of the US where someone was hopefully building me something – was a little too much to bear in some stages.

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I used an interesting analogy just the other day about the ‘feel’ of  playing a SWE mouthpiece. I’m not sure if this is the best analogy (perhaps better to explain a heavyweight leadpipe – but the concept is the same) Imagine picking up and old straw and blowing air down that straw in a stready stream – the straw will handle that level of air to a point – but what happens if you blow to hard or too soft? Does that level of air get sustained? Does the straw perhaps vibrate under those conditions? Then imagine getting a small metal pipe of the same internal proportions – but with extra mass around that straw. What happens? – the air is consistently delivered down the pipe under both loads and remains consistent.

I tested this theory out by purchasing a Curry 1.5DE mouthpiece and a Harrelson Modified version of the same mouthpiece then played them testing out the difference in feel, blow and slotting. To me the Harrelson was far superior in all 3 areas. Such a simple concept – and it works. Not only that but the modification just looks badass. (and all us trumpet players want to look cool right?)

From my limited conversation and talking through on the phone so far with Harrelson I’d say that these guys are top notch, and I feel very safe in the idea that they will build me a horn to match the sound concept in my head.

He also specially filed the middle brace edges and offset the 1st valve ring by 20 degrees or so to match my hand placement.

It’s a surreal experience talking to someone over the phone and trying to describe really what you are after in an instrument.

The good news for me is that Jason has the experience and the answers on what I needed – and they came pretty fast. (I was surprised how few question I asked in the end – but if I have learnt anything from my time with luxury retail – sometimes it’s best to shut up and listen and just absorb, especially when you are dealing with an expert)

The deal was too good to pass up and it will be an interesting experiment having a custom trumpet made to my exact requirements.

Jason changed the leadpipe mouthpiece receiver from the original design to something that he worked on for his artist series Summit – and I love it!

I did go so far as to send them an ideal customer experience model (as this is kind of the area of expertise that I work in for my day job).

If you are not satisfied with the horn you should at least be able to get back what you paid for it straight away – how many horns can you say that about?

Design – Well I admit that the design won’t be liked by the majority as it’s a little far from the norm I think that this design just plain rocks!

Well today is a special day – I finally hit the button and forked over a substantial amount of money to a trumpet maker I have been watching for a while.

But seeing as I’d rather look at another horn that put gold plate on this one (Gold is obscenely expensive right now) raw brass finish it is.

Let me just say – I have never tried a Harrelson – like anyone I hope that the results are worth the investment. Judging on the feedback of players that own this instruments I will be in for something special.

At this stage I tried it out with my Wedge Gabriel 24 and the Wedge Gabriel FLX, an Al Cass 1-2-1 (the horn was gap adjusted for an Al Cass 1-28) and an Al Cass Cornet 1-24 with adapter. All had pretty similar results.

I recall when I first got my 6310Z it took me about 2-3 weeks to essentially get how to blow the horn correctly so will be taking it slow and steady here too.

This of course is the single most important element (short of your own physical body) as a source of input that allows the rest of the trumpet to act as a amplifier and bring forth big and bold some form of your sound. That being the case……does it make sense to ensure that the maximum level of ingredients that go into making that sound get directed down the horn – or that the quality of the input is at it’s best?

Actually…..scratch that – I’d really prefer it if there was only a few of these out there so I’m the only one who sounds like I do.

The bore of the horn is large – yet it plays and speaks quite easily – very even and clear tone with a nice core to the sound.

We talked about this during my consultation – about wanting to have a similar feel to my old Z horn. All I did was take some photos of my old horn with a measuring tape visible in the background so he could see the mm measurements.

Also I had one of my wisdom teeth out about 12 days ago – so not in a position to let rip at the moment as the mouth is still healing.

On a more positive note I did recently test out 2 of Harrelson’s creations at Dr Dave’s shop and can tell you that they are very nice horns indeed.

I was thinking of purchasing a matching Bravura for lead playing but I think I will hold on this idea and pick up a Carol instead.

(Wish I was as I’m looking for a new job next year – anyone working for a trumpet related business that requires a trumpet fanatic to represent them or help out in the shop?)

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I have to be honest with you all – the experience has certainly lost it’s buzz about it – from great upfront service to repetitive delays and mixed communication.

The plus side of this is the horn is built tough – and it really does not let much energy escape out whilst the sound wave is traveling to the bell and out.

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I try not to think too much about the physics etc of each horn – and instead try to judge by what I hear and feel as I approach a horn.

Different strokes for different folks I guess – but if you’re expecting frequent updates I think you need to lower your expectations in this regard.

I like to know when there’s a delay and what’s up with progress etc at all times. (I live in Japan and this is pretty much expected without question)

I finally have some semi decent home recording equipment for which to make some accurate recordings of horns. (More on this later as I dive further into this)