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| This trumpet belongs to a student of Amos Lee,
one of the leading players in Hong Kong. According to Amos, the student purchased the horn new in 1999, it has been a dog ever since... It was indeed a horn very difficult to play. If you didn't force, the 4th space E was 50 cents flat and staff top G was so flat that it was quite unplayable! Didn't we expect the Sterling Plus model to be of limited production and hence of higher quality? |
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| STEP 1 A preliminary check already revealed that the slides on the tuning slide crook were not perfectly parallel. It was compressing with the tuning slide receivers. In previous projects, I already found this to be an important factor determinating the response of the trumpet, however slight it might be. |
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| STEP 2 Correcting the tuning slide crook is relatively easy. However, the slides are still compressing with the tuning slide receivers since they are not perfectly parallel with each other. I decided to detach the leadpipe to mount it at the correct angle. |
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This way I could also move the braces to desirable spots and adjust them for a perfect fit too. Observations: The horn was improving after I worked on the leadpipe, but it was still not quite there yet. |
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| STEP 3 Now, we are getting to the "fun" part of this horn. First, the brace between the first valve slide and the bell. Observations: You probably could not believe that this brace was so much oversized that I could not put it back in after removing it. My wife spent nearly an hour shaving the metal before the fit was okay. Sorry for the sore hands, Sonia. |
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| STEP 4 Then, it came to the valve alignment. It happened the student had not changed the valve felts for as long as he possessed this horn! Compare the thickness of the old thinned felts with the new one on the right. This difference alone is already enough to kill a good horn. *** If you are serious with your playing, refresh the felts from time to time please. |
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| STEP 5 When working with the alignment of the valves, it was so much off that I could not believe my measurements...until I discovered that the valves were of different length! You didn't even have to measure it. The first valve was longest, the 2nd shortest and the 3rd in between, clearly discernible to the naked eyes. I ended up having to file short the the spring barrel of the first valve (after unsoldering it) and machined the 2nd valve cap to bring the alignment closer. Bingo! The horn has finally been transformed into a decent playing musical instrument. I hope Amos and his student are happy with it now. |
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| I spent more than half a year on
this horn, during the course of which I learnt a lot myself! Thank you,
Amos, for sending this horn to me and your trust. |
|
 Project #5 |
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