MMHS

Just in case you were interested in the Getzen Genesis, I thought I would give a good review of this great horn. I picked mine up at Washington Music (Chuck Levins) in April 2004. In the past year and a half, I have played lead book for adult community theater productions of: The Wiz, Hello Dolly, Seussical, and Guys and Dolls, as well as lead horn for a big band in over two dozen gigs, and numerous other church performances. This Genesis has performed flawlessly in all of these engagements, and was extremely flexible, in adapting to the different music styles. The horn is built beautifully, and feels like a tank. I will admit, it is a rather heavy horn. Once you get adjusted to the big bore, the sound production you can get out of this horn is amazing. Evidence of this is having to supply the entire bone section right in front, with a regular ration of Rogaine and ear plugs.

What I really like about the Getzen is the even centered tone. When you play the horn soft, you can get a sweet sound. But when you push this horn, watch out.....IT WILL PEEL PAINT!!! Interchangeable lead pipes is a very neat feature, and really allows you to keep this horn clean and dry. The heavy bracings give this horn a very distinctive look and definitely gets noticed.

If you ever get a chance to play a Getzen Genesis, I think you will agree with my review. Playing this horn is certainly a experience to remember. They can be very hard to find, but I do know one dealer in Vegas who gives great customer service and is an exceptional Getzen dealer, Kessler Music. Speaking of great customer service, the folks at the Getzen factory in Wisconsin are fantastic.

Hey, haven`t we trumpeters had to suffer with the consistent complaints of: playing too loud and hogging the spotlight? So since these types of comments will always be there, why not look good with sharp dressing, and a hot horn, while we are blowing the roof off in the spotlight.

BrassmanTC

Wow sounds frickin awesome man.

Well i tried a getzen b4.My friend has a eterna ll an itz pretty ok to me.I noticed how the horn wouldn`t be extremly flat or sharp in cold weather or leak spit bak from the mouthpiece.But my belmonte,it gets hammered in extremly hot or cold weather.Like once itz flat,i`ll have to completly stop an retune it.I hate it so much.Even in concert it acts the same.

So overall my friends getzen is awesome during marching season.But when it came to concert it wasnt all that hot.Especially kuz my teacher we play ALOT of classical an contemperary music.Especially by frank tichali,copland an other great composers.Thatz when my other friends yamaha came in.But i still havnt tried a bach strat yet.

Hey do u no anything about Belmonte trumpets?Obviously mine is crappy.

MMHS

Sorry, but I don`t know anything about the Belmonte. I will tell you that I have used my Genesis in some very tight passages, such as in Hello Dolly, on the number, Before the Parade Passes By, and in a 15 page, 10 minute number from Guys and Dolls, called Havana. These as well as many melodic numbers, as they always appear in most musicals, which require you to be very conscious of your tone and dynamics, and this Genesis was amazing. You can hold a solid long tone with this horn, without wavering. I have heard some other guys talk of using the Genesis in concert and orchestral engagements, and they have been very pleased with the results. The Genesis is a very versatile horn. I rarely use the leadpipe they mark as "S" for solo work. The other lead pipe is marked "L" for lead playing, and it is wide open.

Sounds to me like you are a well developed player, who probably is a leader at your school. Of course, that is the rightful place for a trumpeter, don`t you think? I taught both my son and daughter to play trumpet, and in 1999, we three were the trumpet section for a theater production of Guys and Dolls. I will say that this was one of the true highlights of my entire life. Nothing better than sharing a love of music with your kids. They both played Bach Strads, so I do understand your love for that horn.

Something that I wanted to mention to you. I don`t know what type of mouthpiece you play, but after playing Denis Wick`s for 6 years, I switched to Curry 600 series mouthpieces. These Curry mouthpieces are unbelievable. The quality is superb and the method they have used to model their mouthpiece lines is excellent. What I mean is, if you find the right cup size for your lip structure, Curry has mouthpieces with shallow, and medium cup depths with the identical cup lip. This makes changing mouthpieces easy, with no transition. This also applies to their flugelhorn mouthpieces. So you can be playing a gig with one Curry in your trumpet, and the same cup size in your flugelhorn, switching back and forth the entire gig, with no problems. Everyone I have mentioned the Curry line to, and have tried them, are now playing them. Go to Google and type in Curry mouthpieces, and look at their company website.

I already know that you are in California. I am in Northern Virginia, outside of DC. A lot of great music in this town, with all of the main military bands around town, and they always offer free concerts in DC and in the suburbs.

Have a great evening buddy.

Well i use a Bach 1 1/2C.It works extremly well for me.Kuz my 3C dosent cut it anymore.I also have like medium size lips.Kuz im biracial with philipino an black.So small mouthpieces wont cut it for me.There goes my french horn dayz.Your rite about me bein a leader.It just feels awkward that i have a Belmonte while the other top players uses yamahas.My sections top players uses yamahas and getzens.

Yeah well about songs.Southern CA dosent have anything decent.Like we have the San Diego Youth Symphony.But lik.thatz not really awesome.And plus my teacher lets us play classic music ALOT kuz its the most challenging of all genres.

Well have a nice evening too.

MMHS

On the subject of mouthpieces, try this website:

http://www.ibowtie.com/

It has an excellent trumpet comparison chart, and is very easy to match up the mouthpieces by the critical dimensional components. Also, I have found a great online company for mouthpieces. It is out of Roanoke, VA and is called Mouthpiece Express.

What I found with Bach mouthpieces over the years is, their manufacturing is not nearly as precise as Curry, Wick, or Laskey mouthpieces. I also don`t think that the Bach rims are very comfortable, especially when you have been playing for a couple of hours. Lastly, the Bach finishes seem thin, and wear through to the bare brass pretty quickly.

I would imagine that you will be preparing for your county and district festivals, as well as all county and all district bands. Break a leg man!

Uhh thanx for the link an all.The thing is i kinda dont get it.It jus has a bunch of random numbers and names.

If you are looking for a solid flugel for doubling purposes, try a Jupiter 846RT. I have one and it is quite good, very similar to a Yamaha 631.

Dear Fred,

Thanks for your suggestion on the Jupiter flugelhorn. I will check this one out. Have you heard anything about the new Getzen 3895 flugelhorn, from the Getzen Pro Shop? This new horn has a smaller bore, .420, which is more like the better pro flugelhorns have. Also, I have been looking at a Yamaha Bobby Shew model. And then as a last resort, I might get my 30 year old Couesnon refurbished. It is a great horn, but time has taken its toll, especially on the valve response.

Best Regards,
BrassmanTC
Manassas, VA

Any advice you have would be much appreciated.

I`m not a follower of Getzen so I could not tell you what`s coming out of their pro shop. From what I have read, it seems that there are good things going on there.

A Yamaha Bobby Shew is a fine horn. I`ve also heard a lot of good things about vintage Couesnons. If your Couesnon is a good horn, check out how much it`ll cost to overhaul it. Valves will probably cost you around $250-$300 and replating it (I`m assuming its silverplate) will run $500-$600. If there is corrosion, your bill could be higher. Or, you could unload the Couesnons as is for probably 700-800 bucks, enough to buy a brand new Jupiter or second hand Yamaha. Ah the choices!