Conn Vintage One

Trumpet Dude — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:45:59 +0000

Since the Conn Vintage One (aka Wicked Connie) is the trumpet I have chosen to play, I figured it would be a good place to start my equipment writings. This horn is sweet, combining the best of classic CG Conn trumpets with a modern design. It has a 459” bore size (11.66mm), hand lapped monel pistons, a patented Modular Valve Weight (MVW) system kit, a 1-1/2 CKB mouthpiece, a deluxe double case and carries a Five year warranty.

The Vintage Ones all come with an annealed one-piece hand hammered bell and can be purchased with a variety of bell materials and horn finishes. The bells come in yellow brass, rose brass bell or sterling silver.

Vintage One Brochure (requires Adobe Reader for viewing)

A purchaser had this to say about the Vintage One, “I own several trumpets as do most pro players and I found myself gravitating to the Vintage One over all the others (which include a vintage Benge, Martin, Yamaha, and Schilke). These are all great horns but the Conn Vintage One combines the intonation and slotting of a Schilke with the rich warm sound of a Martin. It plays clear and colorful in all registers and really sings. I love the fast short throw valves.”

The Vintage One is available to you through my online Trumpet Superstore. Buy one today, you’ll be glad you did!

Wicked Connie

Trumpet Dude — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:03:07 +0000

As Doc Severinsen has correctly pointed out, practice and how we practice is essential to how well we play. However, a quality instrument can make a world of difference in the finished playing produced. Some of the earliest types of trumpets dating to around 1500 BC, although quite inventive and interesting, were likely very difficult to play well. In comparison to the historic trumpets our predecessors played, the old ad proclaiming ‘you’ve come a long way baby’, should ring out. In fact, some of the horns on the market today are downright pieces of art and beauty!

The mouthpiece selections are quite nice too. Myself, I play on a Vintage One trumpet by Selmer Conn and use a gold-plated Denis Wick 2W mouthpiece. This combination lets me have a big fat tone in the lower registers and an absolutely scintillating quality in the extreme upper register. My wife teases me that I’m having affairs with “Connie Wick,” and “Wicked Connie.” I also play on a handcrafted flugelhorn made by Tony Scodwell with a Josef Klier 2F mouthpiece.

Mouthpiece and horn selection can and should be quite personal based on the individual player’s physical makeup, playing style, type of music and the setting they play in. While I love my chosen horns and consider myself a very loyal type, there are several horns available that I would love to get my hands on!

The Trumpet Superstore carries a complete line of trumpets, flugelhorns, mouthpieces, carrying bags and accessories all at the best prices you can imagine.

You’ll find horns by Amati, Bach, Blessing, Conn, Dynasty, Getzen, Giardinelli, Jean-Baptiste, Jupiter, Kanstul, King, Schilke, Selmer, and Stomvi. The trumpet line includes a good selection of student, intermediate and professional level horns. I chose my line of student horns rather prudently and chose only the ones I considered to add value to the student’s playing endeavors. My student selection includes horns by Amati, Conn, Dynasty USA, and Jean-Baptiste.

Mouthpiece makers include Asymmetric, Bach, Blessing, Bob Reeves, Curry, Denis Wick, Giardinelli, Holton, Jet Tone, King, Laskey, Marcinkiewicz, Rudy Muck, Schilke, Stork, Warburton, and Yamaha. The selection includes mouthpieces that are silver plated, gold plated and even a few that are solid silver! You will also find mouthpiece boosters and mouthpiece pouches.

The Superstore also carries a complete selection of mutes for trumpets and flugelhorns, mute holders and mute carrying cases.

The bags and accessories section includes trumpet-carrying bags of all makes and models, mouthpiece pouches, instrument stands and more.

The valve oil and slide lube section was devised for easy access for those quick need purchases. In addition to the valve oil and slide lube, this section has cleaning equipment too.

Trumpet Dude» Conn

Conn Vintage One

Wicked Connie