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Difference between Bb and G horns


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Doesn't that vary from one manufacturer to another? Or is there an industry standard?

You mean in where the bore is defined, or in what the bore is? For the first one, no, my understanding is that there's a standard used by everyone, otherwise the measurement would be pretty pointless.

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IMHO, the G bugles have/had a more of an edge to their sound. Plus you had a bit of intonation problem with the G's. With the older 2 valve (valve or piston/rotor) you couldn't get all the notes of a chromatic scale.

The newer, now more accepted Bb horns, have a little more "refined" sound. A student can come into a modern day corps, with his or her skill set intact and doesn't have to change or learn a new fingering chart.

I am an old schooler, I still prefer the sound of the older G-lines, but I am growing to accept the fact that those G horns will not last forever.

But, don't get me started on naration (not for this thread)

Edited by Old School Contra Guy
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G Trumpet

rwksb100.jpg

Bb Trumpet

king_1117.jpg

G trumpets are stockier and shorter than Bb trumpets. G trumpets also have a more conical bore, as other people have pointed out.

..... trumpet

trumpet trumpet trumpet trumpet.

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G Trumpet

rwksb100.jpg

Bb Trumpet

king_1117.jpg

As you can see from these pictures, Bb trumpets are approximately 1.5 times the size of G bugles. What many people won't tell you about the switch to Bbs is that Hoppy was really just frustrated at the "pansies that are in the Cadets nowadays" and wanted them to hold bigger horns. It had nothing to do with money or sound, just with Georgie being a crotchety old man and whining about back in his day when "we played 200 lb contras and soprano bugles made out of rusty, corrugated, unsanded steel."

So yeah, that's the main physical difference.

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Correction on the tubing length comparison of the G soprano vs. Bb trumpet:

The G soprano is longer than the Bb trumpet, as it with each of the instruments, this is how the they are keyed a minor third lower than their Bb counterparts. More tubing=lower pitch. This is also why the tuba sounds lower than a trumpet and a double horn (french) can can play in extreme ranges from mid tuba range to high trumpet range.

Ya'll can have the rest of the argument. :P

Edit to add:

Each valve also works lengthen a brass instrument when it is depressed. With 2nd valve depressed, the horn is now keyed in A; 1st depressed is Ab, 3rd is G.

Edited by ravedodger
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As you can see from these pictures, Bb trumpets are approximately 1.5 times the size of G bugles. What many people won't tell you about the switch to Bbs is that Hoppy was really just frustrated at the "pansies that are in the Cadets nowadays" and wanted them to hold bigger horns. It had nothing to do with money or sound, just with Georgie being a crotchety old man and whining about back in his day when "we played 200 lb contras and soprano bugles made out of rusty, corrugated, unsanded steel."

So yeah, that's the main physical difference.

The trumpet you show probably has a bore size of .464 while the soprano shown has a bore of .470. Again, the soprano is actually larger. It is only more compact, meaning it has a different and tighter wrap.

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...I may be completely wrong, but I think Malambo13 was being sarcastic in his post. Because, you know, the picture of the trumpet was about 1.5x larger than the picture of the G bugle. Also, the rest of his post seems slightly untrue.

IMHO IMHO IMHO

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...I may be completely wrong, but I think Malambo13 was being sarcastic in his post. Because, you know, the picture of the trumpet was about 1.5x larger than the picture of the G bugle. Also, the rest of his post seems slightly untrue.

IMHO IMHO IMHO

Ravedodger kind of knows what he's talking about...

Also, I don't know how any of that would be untrue, it's pretty simple physics.

Edited by Einstein On The Beach
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