Alto Sackbut in Eb by Nartiss

Nartiss Alto Sackbut Eb Including Case and extra a=415 tuning slide - lacquered finish. 

The Early Music Shop is excited to introduce the first of a new range of sackbutts from brass maker Vairis Nartiss

The Maker
Vairis Nartiss is a professional trombone player from Latvia. His solo career includes playing with the Latvian National Opera Symphony Orchestra, and he also owns his own music store Nartiss LV, one of thelargest music stores in Latvia.

Over the years Vairis has become a leading authority on brass instruments. In addition to his solo career he has introduced significant new devices for the trombone such as multi effect processors, loop machines etc. and from the workshops at his music store in Latvia has developed (in addition to the new sackbut) new musical instruments and accessories for contemporary brass instruments including wooden mutes for trumpets and trombone and hand protection for brass instruments to protect them from sweat. 

The Development
The sackbut project started around 2009 – through his research Vairis soon realized that it was very hard to find relatively inexpensive, good quality instruments. Even the second hand market for early brass was poor. The only usual option for players was to buy new instruments, which were very expensive.      

In 2010 Vairis and his team of craftsmenset about slowly, step-by-step, developing a new sackbut. They tested a lot of features, their ambition always being to get the best sound possible. Finally,earlier in 2012 the instrument was finished. The NARTISS team is happy to offer this first instrument on the International market.        

The hope is to attract more and more performers – students as well as professionals. The competitive price is certainly something to attract many students, amateurs, teachers and music lovers who would like to play early brass music.

The Instrument
In the construction of the NARTISS Sackbut there are several innovations.

1. No wire in the bell. It was a big challenge to construct a professional bell with a double layer on the bell but without the inside wire. Why? Essentially the process helps the player to achieve a more colourful sound.
2. Mouthpiece. All the mouthpieces have a rounded lip and are gold plated, The balance between early design and thickness of the walls of the mouthpiece was also examined. The bore here is a little larger which helps to get a more powerful sound.

Specifications

Bell   mm      

Bore  mm      

Yellow Brass bell      

Hard chrome-plated nickel silver inner slides     

Double layer bell with no wire on inside edge of the bell          

2 tuning slides - 442 Hz (can be tuned to440 Hz) and 415 Hz       Gold plated mouthpiece with specially designed lip plate for more comfortable playing     Slide:      

7 positions on tuning 442Hz

6 positions on tuning 415Hz     

The Nartiss alto sackbut comes with mouthpiece, lubricant and 2 tuning slides for a=440 and a=415. It is supplied in a custom made hard case. There is a choice of lacquered finish or antique lacquered finish.