County Instruments Supreme trumpet
Thursday, August 4, 2011
This trumpet felt good the moment I took it out of its rather snazzy, leatherette coated, “old style” rectangular box case with its brass catches and corners.
The Supreme is a hand-made to order instrument that is remarkably lightweight and beautifully balanced and comes with what can perhaps best be described as a floating bell. The bell is rimless and interchangeable and there are a number of different sizes and styles from which to choose, but the great thing about these bells is that when you tap them, they “ring” like crystal. Which immediately tells you what sort of response you are going to get from this horn.
The instrument is solidly built, with one of the best sets of pistons that we’ve had the pleasure to play through in a long time – very smooth, with a good press action and just the right amount of resistance. Abalone insets to the valve tops is also a nice touch. Sonically we were expecting a lot from the Supreme – and it didn’t disappoint. You could almost feel the bell vibrating. This instrument is so easy to play it’s untrue! Using a 7C mouthpiece the Supreme produced a very immediate, bright sound with a lovely warm tone.
Dynamics are excellent; you can get a lot of punch from this horn and really drive the sound – it’s a true soloist’s instrument. And it’s very consistent at the bottom, while you can soar up to top C with ease. We tried a 3 mouthpiece just to see what the Supreme might produce and sure enough, there was the same brightness and warmth to the sound but with a lot more body and depth. For more go to www.rawbrass.co.uk