Here is a comment by one of our customers:

I am in a similar position, thinking of buying a nat. I have played quite a few (some on gigs already) and am currently saving for a Maller - www.mallerbbi.com. I tried one at ITG 2002 and was impressed. Tried one again last year and it was significantly better than the others I have tried.

One thing you should think about when purchasing a natural trumpet is the question of holes or not. There are people making them with no holes, 3 or 4 holes. Which you go for is very much down to personal preference. The holes allegedly make the instruments easier to play in tune. The Maller I played was without holes and played very well in tune and was much easier to bend and fake notes than any I have played using holes.

The true authenticity buffs will say go for one with no holes (they were not present on the baroque trumpets) whilst many people go for the holed versions due to the alleged relative ease of playing them. I have found that the holed instruments tend to respond more like our modern trumpets, whilst I found those with no holes to be much easier to play with what I consider to be a more authentic baroque trumpet sound

David Maller of Maller Baroque Brass Instruments was kind enough recently to lend me for evaluation two of his new line of sackbuts - a tenor and alto.

I can say that they play quite nicely.  I am amazed how freely they "speak,"  how easy it is to get them to sound, compared to my usual "sackbut," - an antique, small-bore, "peashooter" silver trombone.  I am also impressed with the tenor's intonation (I haven't played the also much yet), again especially compared to my usual "sackbut" which plays several fundamental notes (F below middle C, and Bb below low C) hopelessly flat.  (I now usually resort to using alternate positions to play those notes. 

One interesting aspect of these Maller sackbuts is their appearance.  Of course, like all  "true" sackbuts, they have small, conical bells (at the end, only about 3-1/2" wide!), they have flat stays, and they lack a slide lock and spit valve.  But what is really striking is that they appear to be "genuine," almost as if they were museum pieces.  It appears that David has deliberately antiqued the instruments, tried to make them look as i made four or five hundred years ago.  The effect is akin to early musicians performing in costume. (Both have their appeal.)

This raises some interesting questions:  How prevalent is antiquing modern reproductions of early instruments? Is this done more so for brass instruments than strings and woodwinds?

One other item of interest is that the mouthpieces that David supplied with the instruments.  Like "true" sackbut mouthpieces (or true as far as we know), they have a very shallow cup.  But the rim is absolutely flat, and has a right-angle edge on both the inside and outside.  David says that others who have tried them say they are actually quite comfortable, but especially with my delicate embouchure, I am not yet so bold to play they. 

So far the experience has been educational and fun!

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Last modified: 09/19/07

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