I set my alarm for 9 but I was actually awake somewhere around 8, because I'd had a bottle of wine and gotten to bed at around 1:30, and slept right through the night.
I packed one more think and took off around 10, to the post office to drop off the things. One large thing especially, a big book, needed to go out yesterday. I returned the water valve tool to Tom also.
The ride to the post office seemed to go really quickly and I wondered if I had the bike shifted to a lower gear than the normal one. On the way back I found out why - the wind was crazy.
I got back in here and put on some safety glasses and a cloth mask because of all the shit blowing around in the air. There were actual dust clouds. The ride downtown was a real ordeal. When I got to Nirvana Soul to meet the guy with the trumpet, I was 1/2 hour early. I'd fought that wind so hard I'd gotten down there very quickly. But that's how serious I was.
Presently the guy showed up and I looked the trumpet over and played it a bit. I wasn't warmed up of course, so I played some of my usual numbers but where I had to hesitate because my mind wasn't fully engaged (the mind has to warm up also) I put little filigrees in haha, just like I'd do if I were busking.
The long and short is, I like it. I'm not crazy about silver plated horns but this appears to have lacquer over the silver and not a scratch on it. The valves are very nice, and not only does it play well but it has a real "quality" feel to it.
I had the $800 ready but the case with it was just a generic case and while I thought it's a pretty nice case, I asked if I could take $50 off the price if I got it without the case. He was fine with this and I dug around in my wallet - he got $747 and he was happy with that. We talked about trumpets and trumpet playing, and he liked my style of playing which is a good style for busking, where he's used to playing just for sheer loudness and high notes. If I played for sheer loudness and high notes while out busking, people would hate me. In busking I have to try to make people hear in their heads the same backing track or ambiance I'm hearing in my head.
So we parted ways, shook hands and wished each other well, and I bagged the trumpet up in plastic bags and then a cloth bag and rode home with it, at least going mostly downwind now, stopped off at Nijiya for a bento and a beer, and got back here.
After doing other things I took a serious look at the trumpet and there's no model number on it. There's a serial number which one of the guys on Trumpet Herald says puts it in the 90s. It looks like it's had some dents ironed out, but very little actual play time. This is ideal for a busking horn.
Now I'll have to A/B test it against the Yamaha, so I'll feel OK about selling the Yamaha. I don't regret buying the Yamaha, since it was kind of a fun experience. To, at the very start of December, up and buy a horn and a gig bag and various odds and ends, to the tune of about $600, and then go out and play Xmas carols and have it all paid for.
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