SmoothOperator

Sorry about that, I am laughing at myself, because I made the mistake once, but also when I tried to correct. I guess F# just isn't my favorite key. You read my mind. I was thinking exactly of trying to do that. Play Ab tunings with Eb and Bb instruments but switch to play with G and D instruments. Was it feasible to get good intonation, adjusting the slides, or otherwise?

So an "F alto" is designed to play an octave above an F mello, like in the same range as a soprano? I think I read this somewhere, but if the naming convention is not confusing I don't know what is.

I am wondering if it is feasible to pull the slides on a 2-valve(valve + rotor) soprano and play it in Gb/A#? Edit(Gb/A#).

I am leaning towards the G-F Ultratone horns, since, I will be able to use similar fingerings from my Bb and F key repertoire. The Eb/D soprano trumpet seems like a good idea, because I could swap the slides and use it for Eb in a jazz setting, though the price range to get a decent horn is out there. Maybe only principle players use those horns?

My wife's Guzheng(harp) is in D pentatonic. I play cornet and trumpet, but I am looking for an instrument that would sound especially nice in the keys of D and G. I am thinking about picking up one of these valve+rotor bugles. Do any of the Soprano Bugles or Marching Flugelhorns sound nice inside. I imagine they would play like a cornet or flugel with lots of nuance at the low dynamics. Also is there any benefit to getting an actual G-D bugle over a G-F bugle if I want to play in D?

The American cornet might as well be a trumpet, and the European cornet isn't at all like the American cornet. European cornet's are built like miniature euphonium. As for the flugelhorn mellophone debate, isn't a flugel horn essentially the same as a soprano with a diffferent taper? Or are there some differences in the drum core flugel that make them more similar to a mellophone?