Adams Trumpets in the UK

April 12, 2017April 12, 2017 Leslie SaidakLeave a comment

The past few years has seen some tough times for the Musical Instruments industry in general, with many established manufacturers, distributors and retailers feeling the pinch – this has however left opportunities for a number of smaller companies to diversify and expand, and we have also seen a number of new niche companies spring up.

One of these is Fultone Brass. Set up by Neil Fulton, a well-respected UK trumpet player, Fultone Brass imports Adams trumpets to the UK as well as developing a number of new products. Earlier this year I caught up with Neil at the RNCM Festival of Brass to find out more about his new venture:

What brought you to develop a relationship with Adams?

After working for nearly 20 years in the music profession I have probably tried most of the widely recognised professional model trumpets on the market. Always striving to find the best compatible sound, highest build quality and the most efficient instruments available. That search led me in 2016 to work with the Dutch instrument maker Adams. As a result I decided to take up the opportunity of being their UK dealer and alongside my playing career I set up Fultone Brass.

How did you find the experience of trying Adams trumpets different to other instruments that you have tried or adapted?

Miel Adams is in charge of the build and development of the brass range. Every model is individually designed and built in house from start to finish. As a result the quality is outstanding. Across the range I found all the models very free blowing with great slotting and fantastic tuning. Each instrument is custom built so the choice of bell material, metal gauge and finish is up to the customer. Adams also have a Selected option in every model which is based on the most popular combinations so this helps save any confusion.

Can you give us a run-down on the range?

There really is something for everyone. The ‘commercial ‘ range is fantastic. The A1, A4, A4LT, A5, A8 and A9 would all be classed as commercial. The A4LT is proving popular for jazz and big band performers. Played in the lower dynamics it’s got great body and warmth but it lights up when you give it some for the lead stuff. Russell Bennett ( West End, John Wilson Big Band and Julian Joseph All Star Big band ) is playing on one and he loves it.

The A2, A3, A7 and A10 B-flats are more classical. The A10 with a 0.55 bell is my favourite for the orchestral repertoire, very efficient with great projection.
I’m not really a C trumpet player so the Adams C1 has been doing the rounds in the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Halle and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras and everyone seems to really like it. The piccolo is great too, sound-wise it sits in between the Scherzer and Schilke and it comes as standard with the 3rd slide trigger and both sets of cornet and trumpet shanks.

The Adams cornet has the modern main slide tuning option and traditional 1st & 3rd triggers as well. With the help of Mark Wilkinson (principal cornet of Fodens Brass Band) we tweaked the feel of it to help fit into the traditional British Brass Band sound and Paul Hughes (principal cornet at Faireys) has been testing it out as well. I think it will prove to be very popular.

There are several Flugelhorn models as well which are great plus Euphoniums and Tubas. The E3 Euph is very popular and there is a brand new Adams trombone being launched at the Frankfurt Musik Messe in April.

Please tell us a little about the other projects that you are working on.

There are some exciting projects in the pipeline for Fultone Brass. We are on twitter now and I will be working on some short video clips of the Adams range with some of the guys, so that it is easier to see and hear them all. We are currently building an A10 for Gareth Small ( Principal Trumpet with the Halle Orchestra, London Brass) and Gareth is helping with the testing of a new Adams E-flat trumpet which is being developed at the moment.

I’ve got a new range of Fultone Brass trumpet cases as well, all made in the UK. The first batch of triple cases have all sold out so far which is great. The full range of doubles, triples and quads will be available on the site soon and we are looking at developing a new Flugelhorn/Trumpet plus mutes for commercial players.
I’ve also got a new range of intermediate instruments called Manchester Brass, exclusively available to Fultone Brass in the UK. The build quality and the valve blocks are great and they will be added to the website soon.

As well as this, the first batch of prototype Ft series trumpet mouthpieces are being tested now and the second batch with a few tweaks will be ready soon all being well, again all made in the UK.

How do you combine running this alongside your career as a freelance trumpet player?

Fultone Brass has been up and running just over a year now so it’s relatively new. It’s been great so far, being a freelance musician I get to travel all over the country so that really helps and I get to meet some great people and fantastic players from all genres of music.

You can see the range of instruments at fultonebrass.co.uk

Resources for Group Trumpet Tuition

January 25, 2017 Leslie Saidak2 Comments

Music education has changed drastically over the past few years, and is a topic upon which instrumental teachers have often lamented. In the UK in particular we had a sudden shift to whole-class and group instrumental tuition 12 years ago, which has taken a long time to establish itself as anything more than a musical experience for children. Now that teachers are getting more accustomed to this setting and scenario, approaches to teaching beginner students are having to change with the focus particularly in the early weeks and months on having fun, rather than a technical grounding.

From my experience, I felt ill-equipped with suitable resources moving into group teaching (2005-2010), so found that I was primarily relying on writing and creating my own. I know that this is a similar story that I have heard from many other trumpet teachers too. In many respects this is a good thing as you do not become bound to a ‘method’ and any materials that you do use are purely as a resource rather than a learning guide. In this setting particularly, improvisation (both from students and teachers!), singing, general musicianship and listening become even more important tools.

As we have all adjusted to these changes, many of the available teaching materials and ‘tutor books’ have now changed as well. Here I have given a run-down of many of the methods and resources that can be useful for teaching beginning students in a group situation.

Trumpet Basics – John Miller (pub. Faber)

This is a great step-by-step method, with a nice mix of different styles too. The ensemble pieces included here are well-arranged and work really well. The layout is clear and is engaging for learners of all ages. The only negative aspect is that there are not many pieces that are suitable for a mixed ability group, and it does rely on everyone progressing at a pretty similar rate.

Standard of Excellence – Bruce Pearson (pub. Kjos)

The variety of exercises and tunes here is great, and the ensemble stuff, particularly mixing with the other brass instruments is well thought out and fun. The layout though could probably do with being updated as younger children particularly seem much more engaged by an open layout with pictures and diagrams as well as the notation. Some of the repertoire could also do with a facelift.

Team Brass – Richard Duckett (pub. Faber)

I really like the step-by-step nature of this method as each page introduces new elements while also consolidating the previous page. This alongside the nice ensemble arrangements makes this a good resource particularly for mixed instruments. The repertoire and the layout though are a little outdated now and perhaps is not as engaging for younger children as some of the other options available.

Essential Elements (pub. Hal Leonard)

This has good varied content and works well with combinations of all brass and woodwind. The ensembles work nicely, although involves some adaptation to work with mixed abilities. The online resources are also really well integrated, with apps available for phone and tablet.

The Boosey Brass Method (pub. Boosey & Hawkes)

This has a lovely, clear and engaging layout. It is full of great games and activities that are good for at home as well as in the lesson. A particular feature that I really like is visualising of notes as ‘building blocks’ to help encourage controlled air flow. This tutor book is however aimed more at individual or small group tuition with lots of nice mixed ability duets, but no arrangements ‘ready to go’ for larger ensembles.

ABRSM Music Medals (pub. ABRSM)

The Music Medals offer good targets and in-class assessment for children learning in a group, and there are a number of good resources too. The ensemble book has a nice selection, but it is very narrow in style. The ‘musicianship’ side of the syllabus seems a little dry and is also quite hard to teach to groups of younger children in an engaging manner.

Trinity College London – Small Group Tests, & First Access Tests for whole classes (pub. Trinity)

As with the Music Medals, this is a way of setting targets and offering individual assessment (and certificates) to children learning in groups. There is a nice variety of repertoire with many different styles represented. There is also a real emphasis on ear work and improvisation, and all of the tunes have lyrics to encourage aural development.

There are obviously a lot of other resources both in print, as audio, video and online that I have not covered here, and I am very interested to hear of teachers’ experiences with the materials above, or indeed any others that have been useful to readers.

Gear · Teaching techniques · Trumpets

Bagpipe Lung

January 3, 2017 Leslie SaidakLeave a comment

A New Year brings with it a fresh start, and a resolution to keep instruments clean and hygienic. If you need any further confirmation of the importance of keeping your instrument clean, please read on!…

Back in August 2016, the BBC and numerous other news agencies were reporting on a journal article written by doctors at Manchester’s Wythenshawe Hospital. They described a rare but fatal case of what they described as “bagpipe lung” in a 61-year-old patient. The deceased man is thought to have developed a bad reaction to mould and fungi lurking inside the moist interior of his bagpipes.

The patient had been struggling with respiratory problems over a number of years, during which time doctors had ruled out all possible environmental causes that they could think of. On a hunch, the doctors sent away the pipes for testing only to reveal that the instrument was riddled with damp-loving mould and fungi – the types that the doctors know can cause serious lung problems.

Sadly, the damage that had already occurred to the man’s lungs was irreversible. His condition deteriorated and he tragically died some weeks later.

There have also been a number of other documented cases of this in the UK with Saxophone, Trombone and Trumpet players. Fortunately in these cases, the cause was identified early enough for the patients to recover.

So what steps do we need to take to prevent the build of yeast and other harmful pathogens in our trumpets?

Fortunately the answer to this is nowhere near as complicated as the problems faced by this patient or his doctors. Regular cleaning. Whether an instrument is being used regularly or not, the damp environment is a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of nasties.

Woodwind instruments where the instrument can be easily swabbed after every playing to remove moisture are pretty straightforward to keep in a hygienic state. Brass on the other hand is not so easily attended on a daily basis, so it is important that we flush them out and clean them thoroughly when we do make the time. I generally suggest to student that this is done monthly.

Taking the instrument apart and soaking it in a hot bath with a mild detergent is generally the best starting point to help to loosen dirt and grime. I would then suggest both a brush pull-though and then a sponge pull-through to drag out the offending matter! Finally a rinse through with hot (but not boiling) water should leave your trumpet clean.

I have found some really good quality pull-throughs etc for this purpose, links to a few are listed below this article.

You may also be interested in a few of these simple products that I have found that can be useful for keeping your instrument free of grime on a daily/weekly basis, meaning that you can perhaps do the “full flush” slightly less frequently.

Spitballs from Herco have been around for years, seemed to fall out of favour, and have now made a big comeback. These are specially treated pieces of moist foam that are blown right through the instrument. On their own, they will not take the place of a thorough flush, but used regularly reduce the need for frequent full cleans. These are really popular with trumpet players, although not so popular with anyone who is on the receiving end of one exiting a trumpet bell at speed! The link to the manufacturer’s webstore is here, although it is also available from most good music stores. http://store.jimdunlop.com/p/he185si-sm-spitballs-18-jar

There has been a huge drive towards using natural and/or non-toxic ingredients in oils and cleaning materials recently. One interesting company that I have come across are B Sharp Brass. Their Virtuoso Cleaning Kit includes a really good instrument soak that you dilute to clean your instrument – the residue from this also helps to prevent build up in the instrument too. http://www.bsharpbrass.com/products

There are loads of good brush pull-throughs around, too many to list here, but I generally favour ones without too much bare wire to scratch the inside of the instrument. In addition to these, I like the following kit from Reka which has perfectly sized spheres on the end of the cleaning cord and bars, perfect for dragging out any last bits of dirt. http://www.reka-web.com/228/

Gear · Playing techniques

Practice Mutes

November 23, 2016 Leslie SaidakLeave a comment

Choosing the right practice mute can be a tricky decision. Weighing up characteristics such as volume, resistance, sound and of course price, with so many mutes currently available is a minefield. I have done some side-by-side testing on 6 different models here. Practicing or warming up with a practice mute is always going to have a large element of compromise, and is not generally recommended as part of a long-term practice plan. However, most people in the real world find that they need to use one either occasionally or regularly – it is about deciding what you are going to compromise on!

Over the years, the Denis Wick practice mutes have been the most popular, offering great value for money, decent intonation and a high level of resistance, perfect for opening out the throat especially in the low register. There is a tendency for most practice mutes to blow sharp in the low register, and this one is not too bad. Response is a bit sluggish, but this is to be expected from such a high level of resistance.

VERDICT: Good value basic practice mute *** (out of 5)

The UK best-seller over the past 10 years has been the Don Maslet mute. It is a really good all-rounder providing an even response across the range and options to change the level of resistance and volume. I found this to be comfortable for practice however it does not get quite as quiet as some of the others on the market, so not really one for an on-stage discreet warm-up! You pay more for this model, but what you lose in your pocket, you gain in all-round usability! Not reviewed here, but very similar to the Don Maslet mute in style and price is the Wallace Collection practice mute.

VERDICT: Good all-rounder ****

Relatively new to the UK market are the Bremner sshh Mutes. They are incredibly lightweight and pretty much dentproof with their moulded plastic design. They give good intonation, medium resistance and are great for a pre-gig warm up. They priced about the same as the Don Maslet.

VERDICT: Durable, responsive and good value ****

Yamaha’s Silent Brass system has been around for over 20 years and has had numerous improvements and additions over the years. The mute itself is compact and can be stored easily in the bell. The high quality pickup, amp and effects give as close to a ‘natural’ sound as is possible. They are also great for playing along with CDs, mp3 players, iPods etc. I have spoken to people who love this and use the full system a lot. I have spoken to even more people who have bought the full system and only ever use the mute! The mute itself is OK, intonation is fine and it is certainly quiet. Perhaps a bit too resistant for my taste, and definitely too pricey for my budget!

VERDICT: Packed with features and great tech, a bit expensive though ***

The Vincent Bach 1857 Practice Mute is just horrible. It is inexpensive and compact, but I am struggling to find anything else positive to say! It is extremely resistant without being quiet enough, and intonation is a huge battle. If you are looking at the lower price range, then I would recommend the Denis Wick over this in every respect.

VERDICT: Erm, possibly consider not practising rather than use this! *

The ‘Warm-Up’ from Best Brass looks great. It is really compact and quiet too. The response and intonation were not quite as good on this model as some of the others; however it is excellent value for money and will find a place in many players’ cases for a quick pre-gig warm up.
VERDICT: Very portable and convenient for gigs ****

I have come across many others over the years including mutes from Jo-Ral, Wallace Collection, Humes & Berg, Tom Crown and the eBrass (from Best Brass). I did not have these available to me for a side-by-side testing but your comments on any of these or the ones that I have reviewed above are welcomed!

Links:

Front Page

http://www.masletmutes.com/

http://sshhmute.co.nz/

http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/winds/silentbrass/

https://www.bachbrass.com/bach/

http://www.bestbrass.com/