I’m testing out a 90’s/2000’s era PROTOTYPE Yamaha 6345 Professional Trumpet. This particular horn has a NON-PRODUCTION Rose Brass Bell and Rose Brass Leadpipe. The production models had either a Yellow Brass bell, or a Gold Brass Bell, NOT a Rose Brass Bell like this horn.
The blow is far more open than other .462 bore horns I’ve tried, and the sound is extremely full and rich, with a velvety side that tempers otherwise very bright mouthpiece setups.
Speaking of mouthpiece, this is my favorite “2nd Trumpet” Big-Band/Orchestra mouthpiece setup. It is a 2-Piece mouthpiece. The Top is a Ken Titmus “BF (Bryan Foote) T1B”- Based heavily upon the Ratzenberger-Era Jet Tone T1-B. The T1-B is a 43/64ths diameter lead mouthpiece, this is just about the widest diameter I will ever utilize up high. The Backbore is Ken Titmus’s “RT-1”.
I’m showing off the breadth of Tone on this mouthpiece setup, from a super-swagger 1930’s Swing-Solo sound and style, up to triple A, and then down to a ppp-soft low A.
