What a great show!  You can watch the archive here.  

Jacob and I had a wide-ranging discussion, including his design philosophies, build philosophies, what features to look for when buying a horn, the advantages of a Schmidt wrap horn, the advantages of an ascending third valve horn, and much, much more.  Jacob even made me a couple pour-over coffees.  It was a terrific discussion, and quite amiable.

Among the topics we discussed: 

• The construction and advantage of Schmidt wrap horns, and whether the piston change valve is necessary to achieve the same characteristics
• 3rd valve ascending double horns, and the advantages (and slight disadvantages) thereof
• Small shop horn construction: the challenges, the advantages, and what you should get for the money you pay
• The philosophies and sensibilities that inform Jacob as a maker
• And, Jacob's background, and how one becomes a maker or repair technician

This Saturday, April 30, 9am EDT (UTC-4) is our conversation with horn maker Jacob Medlin.
Do you want to know something in particular about making horns?  Ask Jacob Medlin: send your email to youguys@thebrassbench.com. 

Wow.  That was intense.  Did I sound like a raving lunatic?  No?  I find that hard to believe.

What a great kickoff!  Thank you to all who attended and participated.  I will post the link to the archive as soon as it is processed.

Special thanks to Adam Weiner, my director, for all his hard work behind the camera.

The "set" is just about ready, the parts are prepped and ready to go, and now all we have to do is set up the tech behind the scenes.  

And, I have selected a 'theme song': Kerry Turner's amazing and thrilling brass quintet, "Ricochet".  Nothing says 'brass' to me quite like Ricochet.  Kerry was kind enough to let me use the recording, and Robert LaPorta of MSR Classics (www.msrcd.com) was kind enough to get me the audio files.  If you like it, you can even purchase the track from the Merch section of this web site.  The full CD can be purchased from MSR, catalog number MS1064.

The show will open with a 'soft opening' while I have some coffee and share any brass news I can glean from various sources.  This week I will review upcoming seminars, workshops, festivals, and retreats.  And there are TONS of them.  This will be a brass-packed summer.

Then, I will get to discussing a horn bell cut and actually do the soldering of the ring and the cutting of the bell live.  Someone said to me, "What if you slip and make a mistake live, on air?"  Well, that would certainly make for interesting television!  Brass techs are often like high-wire artists.  There comes a point where you do something that is almost irretrievable (although practically anything can be fixed when working with metal). You have to trust yourself and your skills, along with the fact that you've done it many, many times in the past.

I sure do hope the wait has been worth it!  We've been hashing out details, considering programming, contacting potential guests, and testing our technology.  ARE WE READY???????

Probably not.  But we are going forward, anyway.  Our YouTube channel is all set up, and  you can subscribe to it right now.

Go to our Show Schedule page for live stream details.
The first live stream show will be Dave cutting the bell on a Conn 8D.  It will be the actual bell cut, and not all the messy clean up or assembly of parts.  The schedule for the first show is just about to be published, and we hope to have a few programs beyond that scheduled, as well.  

IF YOU have questions, comments, requests, suggestions, fears, anxieties, or whatever else is plaguing your mind, contact us at youguys@thebrassbench.com.  Watch our Facebook page, as well.