The first day I did an A-B-C comparison between my Bach Strad, the Shew 8310z and Raptor 2, I wasn't convinced that either was better than what
I was currently playing (a Bach, playing exclusively commercial, rock, lead). I was able to take the Shew out of the running early due to personal preference. That's until I took the Raptor with me on a few gigs over the weekend. Friday night's gig had me and the sax player I gig with saying &ldquo well, I don't think it's better than your Bach, but keep playing it this weekend before you make up your mind.&ldquo  It must have been those 2 days that really flipped the switch for me in how the Raptor needs to be played vs the Bach. Keywords are &ldquo free and easy.&ldquo  I took a relaxed approach, and the thing lit up for me. This contrast became more evident as I played on the Raptor more.  The Raptor allows me to play relaxed and just blow the horn, while I felt my Bach needed me to push more air and exercise my chops more  to get the same results. The Raptor can be pushed and can take air, but it doesn't need it to sound brilliant. By Sunday, after my third gig with the Raptor, and some more comparison playing at the house just to make sure, it was time to convince the wife to get on board with freeing up some funds for the last trumpet purchase I'll ever need to make.  I experimented at home with other mouthpieces, and this horn can be colored to fit any gig I need to play. I couldn't be happier with my new horn. I am going to be experimenting with the different slide and valve cap combinations just to see how versatile the horn is over the coming days.

KO and his team have done a fantastic job putting this horn together. I am not a professional by any means, but I do play a lot, and I am grateful that this horn exists and that I am proud owner.

Thanks to KO, and also to Mike Thompson and Jim Manley for answering any question I had about the horn during the decision process.

Joe Vivian
www.hillbillyhorns.com
www.theaccentsband.com
www.facebook.com/TommyVandtheWorks

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