Hey Mr. Trumpet Man!

“What can we say about this American classical music we call jazz? It was never a popular music for the masses…the greatest and most fervent followers of this genre are the musicians themselves; thus, by definition, to be involved in this music as a performer is much like being a home-brewer of fine spirits…you do it because you love it; you share it with others who love it, and you never expect to make any money from it!!!

On this CD, Claude who is most certainly a home-brewer of fine jazz, has gifted us a small collection of jazz standards and a few of his own compositions. Of particular note is Claude’s compositions Lustoleum and Samba San Juan. Though Claude is not a young lion exploring the limits of his trumpet; one can certainly feel that he brings a wealth of trumpet artistry to these tunes…we can expect no less of a fervent follower of the jazz idiom…and, who knows, someday, his tunes may be considered jazz standards! But, for now, simply enjoy some good jazz masterfully played by Claude and the band…”

Stephen Satriani, The Maryland Jazz review – March 2010

“Sketches of Haiti” was composed in honor of the victims of Haiti’s earthquake.

On this recording, Claude used a Holton “48″ and a Holton “Lewellyn” vintage bflat trumpet (both modified by him); Flugelhorn is a vintage cornet-wrapped Bach (Bundy) Flugelhorn.

Claude uses ADK and Michael Joly modified microphones. Recorded to a Tascam DA-38 DTRS, APB Dynasonics mixing desk, Alesis masterlink Master recorder, API & Meyer Sound EQs, Lexicon PCM-80 & Dynacord reverbs and Beovox monitors.

Recorded during Feb-Mar 2010, at CTS Studio, with the CTS Studio session musicians.

Michael Misianowycz

The Overstayer

You are probably wondering what the title of this album means or has to do with the music presented here. Well, I am CTS Records’ VP and executive officer, and I have the rest of the story – as you might know from previous albums, Claude is essentially a “straight-ahead jazz”trumpet artist, however, he is also an avid and accomplished recording studio owner and recording engineer ( although he prefers to be called a “recordist” since according to him, you are not a real or proper “recording engineer” until you have had one or more hit recordings on the charts).  Anyway, to continue with the story, Claude’s other passion aside from his trumpet, is his recording studio. A few months ago, he read various raving reviews in a recording forum about a newly launched recording compressor, created and built by Jeff Turzo, a well known LA musician, recording engineer, and inventor of world-class recording equipment. The compressor was dubbed by its creator, “The Overstayer.” Claude is so impressed by the amazing quality of this box which he says imparts “major magic mojo” to any recording.

Aside from this little tidbit, I must say that the music on Funkhorn is quite interesting and certainly I can hear the “mojo” of the Overstayer stamped on the recording….so, I hope you agree with us that this is one great session with some major mojo added! Enjoy!

Michael Misianowycz

Claude - Funkhorn

This is a project that I’ve been working on this summer. In several of the tracks, I play my coveted Hub Van Laar B3 trumpet that I mention in an earlier post. I’m working on the cover art and hope to have this out to CD Baby by the end of the summer. In the meantime, be one of the first to preview what I believe to be some of my best work to date, not just in the music performance, but the overall audio mastering of the tracks.

“This album is a trip back to a wonderful time in the 1970-80′s when “brassy funk” was all the rage…and with good reason as the musicians who made this music were all great artists in their own right, contributing to create a group sound which was greater than the sum of it’s parts. In this CD, I get the unique opportunity to contribute to the group sound of the fabulous band of Steve Houghton and Tom Warrington; Brass a’la Funk!!!”

What more could a baby boomer ask for? Enjoy!

Michael Misianowycz

Hub Van Laar B3 Trumpet

I recently had an opportunity to purchase a coveted Hub Van Laar B3 trumpet at a very reasonable price and if you’ve done any research, you know they are very difficult to obtain is the USA. I’ve recorded some tracks with this horn and am extremely pleased with it’s sound. This has become another personal favorite and I don’t say that about many of the trumpets I own. I hope to give a better in-depth review of this horn as well as post some tracks I’ve recorded in the near future. In the meantime, here are the spec’s on my B3 and some info about this company:

The most important thing for Hub van Laar is an individual and intensive contact with his customers. A new trumpet or flugelhorn is not an instrument you buy just like that. Musicians develop a relationship with their instrument. But before you fall in love a connection is needed.

Maybe you can call Hub van Laar Trumpets & Flugelhorns a kind of dating service: already a great choice of international artists is playing a Hub van Laar trumpet and the company is well-known inside the global world of music.

Hub van Laar founded his company in 1990 in Magraten, near Maastricht. Beginning as a workshop for brass wind instruments, the company expanded rapidly under the direction of Hub van Laar and Heidrun Jöchner to become an enterprise of world repute.

A team of experts are building in a traditionally way the brass wind instruments of Hub van Laar and adds the most modern production technologies. Bound by tradition, every instrument undergoes rigorous testing before it leaves the workshop.

As said before musicians from the most renowned orchestras, big bands and ensembles all over the world are among the customers of Hub van Laar.

Thanks to a dynamic feedback, suggestions can be taken up to influence the development of Van Laar instruments. Over the years the result is a broad collection of trumpets and flugelhorns with all technical requirements for all kinds of musicians and for every kind of music.

Hub van Laar listens to his customers and knows how to talk with them on a high musical level. He tries to harmonize sound, intonation and resonation of every trumpet or flugelhorn with his player.

The latest addition to our range of lightweight trumpets is the B3. In the centre of the instrument is a valve unit with straight air passages, which, together with the conical taper, makes it very easy to blow.

• ML bore, 11.7mm (0.461″)
• Lightweight valves
• One-piece hand-hammered bell, bell material brass / gold brass, bell diameter 122mm (4.807″)

A CTS Group RECOMMENDS!!!

The Jaeger-Diamond trumpet is the result of over 2,000 hours of dedicated research, design, and modification by Ivan Hunter and John Diamond M.D.

They began their research by thoroughly investigating a wide range of conventional trumpet designs including Bach, B & S, Kuhnl & Hoyer, Blessing, Getzen, Conn, Amati, Jupiter, King, York, Stomvi, Schilke, Buescher, Martin, Bundy, Yamaha, Kanstul, Olds, and Benge. From this extensive research, they concluded that the mouthpiece receiver, bracing, water keys, pinky hooks, adjustable slides, bell and lead-pipe detachability were particular areas of concern.

Through thorough testing and experimental modification, a new design emerged. The initial prototype was made using a Bauerfeind valve cluster, a German lead-pipe and Bell. They named it the “Hunter-Diamond.” It was trialed and then sent out for lacquering.

An early realization was that the effect of all the sprung pressure from traditional lever style water keys was detrimental to the sound, so they opted for plunger water keys.

Although pleased with the prototype, they knew there was more to be done. They found a better valve cluster, which also used stainless steel pistons but had one piece casings with no balusters. This new cluster produced a major change in the character of the instrument. When comparing the initial prototype with the new model using these one-piece valve casings, players remarked that the second instrument was so much more playful, that it wanted to dance.

They made further modifications, including testing more lead-pipes and reverse three-piece bracing, then did a production run in the workshop of Baumann Trumpets in Germany, having them lacquered in Europe before being sent to the US. This model was received very well, but they were still not 100% happy with it! They knew that they could make a better instrument!

Numerous modifications followed. They introduced a more open lead-pipe, re-tempered some conventional Z braces, decoupled the mouthpiece receiver to bell brace.

They removed the tuning slide receiver brace. A round tuning slide was tested and discarded. The Jaeger trumpet was born!

The name, Jaeger, is a German translation of Ivan’s name, Hunter. They wanted to call their range of instruments Hunter, but discovered that there was already a trumpet made in China with this label. The German name is appropriate, however, as so much of the initial research was done in Germany.

Further research has led them to introduce a C trumpet. This is based on the same design as the Bb, but with a large throat lead-pipe, and an extended throw on the 3rd slide which makes it instantly possible to play a low F.

Jaeger-Diamond Bb & Large Throat C Trumpets

Bauerfeind Valves
Plunger Water keys
Playful valves
Reverse three-piece braces
Decoupled Tempered “Z” Brace
Jaeger-Diamond Bb
Jaeger-Diamond Large Throat C

They have a vitality that is unique. Even the most jaded trumpet player will play them and after a few notes have a smile on his face.

These instruments are Built for Playing! A CTS Group RECOMMENDS!!!

TritonAudio FetHead

Here are the specifications:

The TRITONAUDIO FetHead !

High-end in-line microphone preamp:

- Low noise Class A JFet amplifier
- 20dB amplification
- Lots of headroom
- freq. response 10Hz – 100 kHz (+/- 1dB)
- Z-in 22kOhm
- 18-48 V phantom power

Very useful tool for use with ribbon (or any dynamic) microphones… and its a great looking, too)

Just attach FetHead to a balanced mic-cable and plug it into an dynamic microphone, switch on your phantom power and enjoy FetHead’s Natural open sound !

I’ve tested this little preamp and I can say…: The results are AMAZING… A CTS Group RECOMMENDS!!!

Samboleo - The Latin Beat

Manila
Las Guajiras
Come Candela
Song to My Son
I Can't Get Started
Have You Met Miss Jones
Soul Eyes
What's New
Song to a Good Wife
Samboleo
A New Dawn ]]> http://www.thectsgroup.us/blog/?feed=rss2&p=400 0 http://www.thectsgroup.us/blog/?p=385 http://www.thectsgroup.us/blog/?p=385#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:17:34 +0000 admin http://www.thectsgroup.us/blog/?p=385 Continue reading →]]>

In The Wee Small Hours

Lee Morgan - 2 Dec 1956 Photo by Francis Wolff

M-Audio Sputnik Pro Microphone

Product Information
M-Audio’s Sputnik mic signals the end of microphone envy. Based on a classic vacuum tube design and manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities to exacting standards, this multi-pattern, large diaphragm studio condenser delivers the lush, classic sound normally associated with rare and expensive vintage mics like the Neumann U47 and AKG C12. Sputnik’s combination of hand-picked military-grade vacuum tube, ultrasensitive evaporated gold Mylar diaphragm, solid brass construction, and multiple polar patterns makes it ideal for a wide variety of voices, instruments, and applications—especially putting that signature sound in the spotlight. M-Audio engineered this amazing microphone from scratch with input from top recording industry studio engineers. Finally, you can get a boutique-quality microphone at a price that’s not in the stratosphere.

Product MPN
MPN 99004175400

Key Features
Types Quantity Single Microphone Type
Type Condenser
Connectivity Cable
Usage Professional
Professional Compatibility Musical Instruments, Recording
Sound Mode Mono

Technical Features
Polarity Bidirectional, Cardioid, Omnidirectional
Frequency Response 20 – 20000 Hz
Impedance 200 ohms
Effective Output Level -30.5 dBm

Plug Plug Type XLR

Other Features
Built In On/Off Switch Without On/Off Switch

Dimensions
Weight 25.6 oz.

Miscellaneous
UPC 612391580643

A CTS Group RECOMMENDS!!!