Eclipse Equinox Early 2000s – Lacquer. This rare and beautiful trumpet not cornet! Is the Eclipse Equinox, made by Leigh McKinney in the first decade of the 2000’s. I’m told only a dozen or so were made. It is no longer in production. This is a short horn, adapted from the Eclipse designs of the time: the tuning slide is by the bell leaving the leadpipe running uninterrupted into the valve cluster. It has the lovely Eclipse Large Red (LR) bell; I read online that these were made by Andy Taylor. It also has the famous Bauerfeind valves, and they’re an absolute delight to play. The short setup of the Equinox is achieved via an extra wrap coming out of the first valve into the tuning slide and then the bell. While short, it is definitely a trumpet, not a cornet. In fact, it’s an ML bore and the LR bell has a lovely sound. For the player it offers the intimacy of a cornet, being closer to your ear, but the timbre and projection of a trumpet. This horn is in near-mint shape, no dings or dents, lacquer is nearly perfect. This is such a cool horn! Check out all the unusual bracing — on the bell, the plates supporting the tuning slide, the U shapes on the underside. Also have a look at the seams on the two-part bell. And it has the unique Eclipse pulltabs on the tuning slide and 2nd slide. I’d describe it as medium weight horn, nicely balanced in the hand. This is a pro level horn for players, in addition to being quite rare. Some detail from the web pages. Bell Construction: 2 Piece. Main Tuning Slide: Rear bell assembly. Water Keys: Amado 1st slide saddle, 3rd slide ring. LR bell : This bell has proved to be the favourite choice of jazz soloists. It has warm, velvet timbres, within a large, golden sound. The slotting is more flexible than on the medium bells which allows for expressive and personal playing. It is very free blowing, speaks very easily is and responsive over a huge dynamic range. As you put more air through the horn the sound just grows and grows, it retains the rich, dark core to the tone but will also really project and open up when you want a phrase to flare out. At home in a variety of musical settings, the large red has also found favor with European classical players.
