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Last time G Bugles used


AROD24601

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Interesting conversation regarding Yamaha.

Recent ones appear to have nylon valve guides rather then the intricately machined metal ones mine are fitted with, for instance. Mine show no real signs of wear. There are concerns with the nylon wearing and snapping on the newer ones.

Yes, the nylon wears out. But it costs around 6 bucks to replace them. And takes 5 minutes once every three years. And they are very quiet. So I believe it is actually a design improvement to use them.

Some of the Baris I've seen use a Euphonium shank- which leaves me apprehensive. They seem to be a bit too spread on the lower end of the instrument and not as focused and agile as I'd personally like if I were to play one for keeps but I've heard they've worked on correcting those issues. Usually, when people complain to Yamaha, they do eventually listen and respond.

The Yamaha marching "Baritone" has a .563 bore. The british-style concert baritones are .504. I think where the confusion starts is in calling it a baritone. It is actually closer to a hybrid euphonium. So a large shank mouthpiece receiver is the correct size for this instrument.

Cadets, Vanguard, and Cavaliers only marched Yamaha baritones this season. No euphs. Not needed.

Just some thoughts.

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  • 2 months later...

If you attended finals this year, you can hear that Bb can still be LOUD.

Not arguing for or against one or another, or taking isssue with anyone's personal preference. But I think some folks, when hearkening back to the G bugle days, "confuse" (for want of a better word) tone quality - by which I mean the characteristic sound of the instrument, not in the degree of excellece sense - with volume. The G bugle sound is a throatier, "coarser" (again, for lack of a better descriptor) sonority. But I'm not convinced that they are inherently louder.

Just my $.02. Peace,

Fred O.

Edited by drumno5
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  • 3 weeks later...

G Bugles are still in use by all the corps that are members of Drum Corps Japan (only seven corps, but still). At the DCJ Championships they have a division for any key brass as well as G Bugles. There is a difference in sound that even a tone deaf drummer such as myself can hear. Volume wise the two big G corps were the loudest units, but that has more to do with the experience of the performers. A high school bands (corps) had 68-72 brass, but they did not seem to have the same punch. Whereas people can go back and forth on what is louder I think it is safe to say that nothing in the brass world "cuts" like a G Mellophone. To wit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PgGR8c-UGA

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Back in the USA, the US Naval Academy D&B Corps was using G instruments in competition with the Air Force Academy until about 3 years ago when their director, Cadets alum Jeff Weir, switched them to Bb for pratrical reasons. The Coast Guard and Air Force still have drum corps but I'm not sure about the instrumentation of those.

The Marines, of course, are still on 2-valve G's. It's specified in their charter since the Tru Crawford days, but they don't compete. If they did, they'd clean everyone's clock in brass.

The Field Bands of South Africa, which are actually drum corps, have been using G instruments since they were founded around 1994. They hold a National Championship each year in the fall.

By the way, it really is about the timbre. Volume comes from the player, and none of the competitive corps allow their performers to play as aggressively as we all did back in the day. The trade off is that they have better quality and are more easily kept in tune.

FD

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Always thought the difference from BITD and now was a combination of style of playing and horn construction (more of a 'signaling device' than a musical instrument the further back you go). IOW key doesn't enter into it but with my untrained ear (hey I'm in IT) I can' tell the difference anyway. Thinking of some 70s corps that had a different sound because of the way they played (Sky vs Sun shall we say?). Today we'd get into a G vs Bb argument if they played different keys.

Nice to have someone with knowledge back up my ... well.... unknowledge.... :wacko:

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you, Frank- The Kanstul G's have to be played more aggressively to get them to even respond, at least on the Baritone end of things. I think some folks in Alumni don't fully appreciate that issue.

Definitely a different approach than when I play my concert Euphonium which can be approached more delicately and is way more responsive and subtle.

To the point the way certain people are trying to tack the ship in Alumni, I'm going to ask if they want me to ditch the Kanstul and just bring my Euphonium to the next practice....

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