Purpose: Touch-up and Gold Plating of my custom B6

Eileen and I arrived at 7:30 AM at the factory in suburban Chicago. Pat Hund met us and spent an hour and a half showing us around and going over the B6 plating project in detail.

I played one of their B5s for about 5 minutes, and realized that without a doubt my B6 was a much better blow for me. I was prepared to buy a B5 if it would have been the better blow.

The B5 blow was still a typically great Schilke experience, but for me, the sound opened up to much in the tuning slide section (.468) and lost the good core of sound we all look for. I know what Rick Baptist is feeling, and why he and not I can sound so good on the B5.

Firstly, he uses a larger diameter mouthpiece with a smaller throat and backbore. For his set up and inner core, the balance is right. I admit that the B5 was a bit more even in timbre from low to high. The modifications I have made to my B6 (specifically the 1896 Boston made Standard valve caps) have given a darker sound, with a little growl, to the range from Low C down.

Secondly he is a much more powerful guy than me, with a wider spatial arch, a slight space between his two front teeth, and a longer “front” across his front teeth prior to the inward curve.

The modified B6 will now be touched up, with a new third valve bow replacing some nasty bubbling in the finish. The spit valve will be replaced with a nice looking brass patch of comparable weight – (I prefer no unnecessary disturbance of the vibration at that point), and the three non- Schilke valve caps plated gold with the body of the horn.

The work will take about 3 weeks, and I will report on the final play testing.

The only loose end is the fabrication of my brass sleeve that fits over the receiver. I will have Rich Ita in Atlanta to do that work for me. This piece is an essential because it allows the double A to lock in rock solid, and greatly stabilizes the pitch in the D,E,F,G range at the top of the staff. Another benefit is the ability to trill rapidly from C to D in the staff.

When I stopped at the WWBW in South Bend I played both the new Kanstul Wayne Bergeron horn, and the John Faddis Schilke. The Kanstul sounded the best with my mouthpiece, and the Faddis sound with my mouthpiece, was very projected, and unbelievably it was very resistant in the upper range. The flexibility was poor, but the core sound was pleasing, even if small.

My assumption is that Mr. Faddis must use a mouthpiece that plays well into this unusual horn.

The Bergeron had a “strange” finish: A satin-burnished brass was that very light in weight. The blow reminded me of the old Getzen Doc used to play, but with a larger bore and livelier sound. It was very well in tune except for the 2nd & 3rd combinations in the upper register. I suspect it was more a fault in the assembly of the 2nd or 3rd valve slide(s) – where soldered to the valve casing. Perhaps a little solder clean up would have helped.

The thing I really liked about the horn was that it carried the same set of overtones throughout the range. From Low F# to Double D. It had a bit of a musical rasp with my mouthpiece, and I suspect with others as well. It was a nice character for a soloist doubling as a lead player, also providing some nice thick substance to a 3rd or 4th part. It sounded to me that the horn would record well.

Unlike the Faddis horn, the Bergeron had some nice bend ability to the notes. If I were going to play 2nd trumpet on a show band, with no jazz playing, the Faddis would work for me. Other than that I suggest you check with John to see which exact mouthpiece he is using. Pat Hund at Schilke had no comment when I mentioned this about the Faddis horn, so I do not know if other players have experienced the same resistance in the flow of the horn.

The timbre of the Faddis was not the same as the original B horns from Schilke. John Faddis is a tremendous player, with a great sound. However I remember hearing him play on the Thad Jones – Mel Lewis Band, and I thought: “That guy would sound great if he had a decent horn.” The sound was not thin – but it was tinny to my ear.

Note:
Please understand that my critique is 100% subjective. I used my mouthpiece and compared the sounds to what I like. I will say that in a recent recording date I had the opportunity to listen to the sound of my modified B6 on play back. In my opinion it was the finest trumpet sound I have ever heard – not the playing necessarily – but the actual timbre of this great older Schilke B6.

The sound was of such a quality that when I receive the B6 from Schilke, I am going to press them to produce a model with my slight modifications. This is most likely not going to happen, but it might open up a side business for my retirement: MODIFYING Schilkes.  ☺☺☺

As soon as possible, I will post a sample of that session on the site for your own critique.