nukeme70

'86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91, '92

In my first year of drum corps, I played on whatever I had lying around - probably a 24AW. During my 2nd season, I was given a Schilke-Helleberg (the smaller version) and liked it quite a bit. I soon bought a full size Helleberg and haven't looked back. This is the only mouthpiece I've played on for the past 25 years and have never had any issues and have never thought about trying any other - except maybe the equivalent version in stainless - like one of the Loud or Kellyberg versions.

When I contacted Dynasty a year or so ago, they gave me the updated MSRP on the 4V G 5/4 Contra....$17,500! Glad I picked mine up slightly used...

Here's the broadcast video of the '88 Cotton Bowl Parade with the DCM All-Stars:

http://www.kanstul.net/detail.php?pass_search=102.0000&pass_instrument=Bugle I believe they'll even stamp your name on the side!

I knew Pepe as that guy that directed the Opening Ceremonies to the 1987 DCI Finals - all of the Class A/A-60 marching members performed Oh, Canada and Star Spangled Banner - 700+ horns. He ran the rehearsal with no megaphone from up in the stands of Camp Randall while 1500 youth milled around on the field, and we could all hear him. To this day, I can picture him yelling at the sops that took the note up (Laaaaand of the FreeEE) "WE DON'T NEED NO SUPASTAHS!"

I called Dynasty a few months ago and asked if they still sold the 4V SuperMag, as it isn't listed on their website. They'll still sell it, but you won't want to buy it new at MSRP...they told me it lists for $17,500. That's what my car costs new. I'm glad I got mine when everyone was transitioning away from G - picked up one of Madison's 4V horns for $1000. My buddy just got one a year or so ago when CorpsVets switched to Bb - turns out they got theirs from Madison at the same time, so our 2 horns are pretty well matched. BTW - I agree completely on your contra evaluations.

More on multi/polyphonics...this whole video is instructive on the topic, but the fun starts around 2:55.

How about they just run with this idea?

Gotta agree that the Olds would be a much better choice. Didn't ever have a problem with grip, except the one I played on tended to be quite sharp, so by the time I had the horn tuned (by pulling out the slide with the rotor on it), my left hand was behind my ear which made for a bit of discomfort.

I've seen a pic of this once...once. Did they ever sell any? Never have run across one in the flesh. I'd hate to march with one though - the 3V was front-heavy enough, can't imagine having a couple more pounds up there. I love my DEG 4V SuperMag - perfect balance, carrying handle, reinforced shoulder plate, and the bell is parallel to the tubing instead of a permanent horn's-up.

Just an FYI - Bluecoats were the first corps to get 3V contras. Starting in 1990, corps could add one voice on 3V each year, and contras at any time. I heard at the time that DEG worked with them to get the contras right - the first set was so front-heavy that they were impractical to march with, so that line went to Beatrix from Holland. The "legit" set they got in '90 was perfectly balanced and made to march with - we used to stand around with the horns balanced on our shoulders, no hands. As far as durability...my "parade" contra (2V DEG) was built around 1984, and my performance horn (4V SuperMag) is probably from around '94. I have had some brace work done and a bit of dent work, but they are both in great shape. My buddy owns 11 contras - everything from Smith and Whaley-Royce P/Rs to Kanstul's ConraGrande and a DEG SuperMag. Every one is playable and in great shape. If you take care of equipment, it will last. Contras are going to take the most abuse of any horn, and if these have lasted this long, I can't understand any argument that says horns get replaced because of condition. Granted, the argument can be made that modern shows put much more stress on equipment and it wears out quicker...but then the horns wouldn't be in as good shape as they are when they resell. Plus, I'd think that 40years of mild to hard usage on the aforementioned horns would probably equal or surpass the 1-2 years of intense use modern horns get. Maybe they were just made better back then... Does any/every corps that wants get an endorsement deal?

We played "Frankenstein" for 2 years...but that was DCA, and on G bugles - no electronics allowed...or needed!

In '86 our closer was Battle Hymn of the Republic - the guard had red/white striped flags for their work through most of the song, then at the big push at the end, they pulled off the flag covers to reveal American flags underneath...which would have incurred a penalty, except our flags only had 12 stripes.

Orlando Magic 90-92 '88 Marauders - all Dracula show. There was a scaffold backfield dressed up as a castle, complete with a drawbridge. The colorguard all started off behind a forest of dead trees, and the marching members were all dressed as Dracula - hair slicked back, faces powdered to look pale, cravat, capes, etc.

I never quite understood this line of reasoning...why not plan on keeping your brand new line of less expensive horns (G bugles) for the life expectancy of the horn, instead of dumping them year after year? There are still P/R horns in regular use...There may not be a huge market for the used Gs, but to say there is no resale market isn't exactly true either - any time they come up in the DCP Marketplace or on ebay, they seem to get sold pretty quick.

In 1991 Northwind, from Oshawa, ONT, performed "The Wall". I didn't get to see the show, but we housed with them for the Grand Haven, MI show. All their guard had dyed their hair jet black. It was interesting seeing them working on some of their visuals outside the stadium: "5..6..5-6-7-8 HEY! TEACHERS! LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE! ok, again... 5..6..5-6-7-8..."

I used to polish my chrome contra with Turtle Wax, then when I marched Bluecoats I had a silver-plated horn. After a thorough cleaning, I used NuFinish 2000 on it - I didn't have to polish it the rest of the summer. Just make sure not to coat any grip spots (at least on the big horns...makes for a slippery finish). If you have any worries about your wax of choice, just work some in to an inconspicuous spot and leave it for a day or so.

'93 Freelancers nailed the echo trumpet parts of Bill Chase's "Open Wide" - no electronics. SF Renegades with their midrange sticking megaphones in their bells.

As alluded to - the Texas Drum Corps Preview will be on the Capitol steps on June 18. This is a great venue (yes, standstill only, but you can get right up close!), and best of all - it's FREE! Most corps won't have a full, complete field show yet, but they've been working on music since Nov., so if you're in the area, come out and see the Texas corps premier their shows! TxDCP info

I don't have any information on the origins of the Smith horns, other than every one that I've run across has been pretty garbage-ey. There was a Smith FH that popped up on ebay a couple years ago - interesting wrap design...basically wrapped like a concert FH with the bell coming up and parallel to the ground, but the centerline of the bell was pretty much at eye level.

I've always loved the Dynasty contras...I have a 2V chrome one that is perfect for those long Mardi Gras parades, and a 4V for shows. I played on the first set of 3V contras when I was in Bluecoats - the balance of the horns was so perfect we would typically just balance them on our shoulders, no hands, when we were at brief pauses. The horn plays great, and it seems purpose built for marching: there's a substantial reinforcement plate where it sits on your shoulder, a bump-out on the tubing that doubles as a carrying handle, the bell is parallel to the tubing, vs. the Kanstul that is angled up, and of course the balance is perfect...I've actually played long stretches of certain tunes with no hands on the horn (boring parts that are all open fingerings). The K-90 is a classic, and I loved playing on it, but the weight is a bit too far forward for my tastes. Maybe it was the particular horn that I used, but I was never a big fan of the Kanstul contra...seemed a bit stuffy and the balance was off, and I didn't like how the bell made it seem like a perpetual horn-pop.

Not looking to purchase any of these, but I was very curious about the Kanstul P-R contra...I didn't know there was such a beast. My recollection is that Kanstul as an independent company came about in '90 or '91 - well beyond the era of the P-R bugle. Is this a prototype from the earlier collaborative years of VK and Ziggy? Anyone have any insight into this? Thanks!

I already posted this rant/request in the sticky thread in the service center topics, but since this area of the forums seems to be kinda out of the way, I figured I'd throw it out again since nobody answered/commented on it yet... "Here's what may be an odd request...are the colors red/green set in stone? Something like 20% of all males are red/green colorblind, including myself. I can see the difference in the +/-, as they are next to each other and a comparison can be made, but when the rating is by itself (for example, when viewing profiles), it's just a number in a circle. I'm aware that wholesale changes for an individual is exhibiting quite a bit of hubris on my part, and also that for some reason green and red have become universal for stop/go, good/bad, etc., but if it's just changing a number in a line of code, and if there's no other reason than default, maybe a change could be made to blue/red, or black/white, or some other higher contrast scheme? Or...maybe this should have been the first question...is there a high-contrast setting or skin available?"

Just want to point out a couple issues here... While DCAS is full of talent, your choices of corps to march with are seriously limited. Unless I'm mistaken, there are 6 DCAS corps that have expressed their intention to attend DCA Finals this year: Shenendoah Sound, Tampa Bay Thunder, CorpsVets, Alliance, Carolina Gold, and Gulf Coast Sound. Distances are considerable in DCAS, so there are even fewer options that are just a few hours down the road. As a reference, distances from Rochester: ShenSound - 400miles, Gold - 650miles, Alliance - 936miles, CV - 990miles, TBT - 1328miles, GCS - 1600miles. MCL is 772miles. CV and Alliance don't have too far to go to compete in a DCA sanctioned show if they are both in it, and 5 of the 6 only have 300 or so miles to meet up with another DCA-S corps. MCL is about 200miles from CV/Alliance. (Not to complain, but the nearest show GCS can hit would be about 670miles.)