Which mellophone would you recommend?

[luvs me sum mello!]

Yamaha.

[wvu80]

I've played a King 1129 and Yamaha 204M. The King has less resistance, but slightly airy tone. The yammy has a much richer tone, but not as free-blowing in the upper register. Both horns play up to high D nicely, which is about all you need. I used a standard 3C trumpet mouthpiece, but it would be well-worth investing in a deeper cup mello piece.

You can get used Yamaha's from Scouts and Cavies:

http://www.madisongear.com/Instruments_c_30.html

http://www.cavaliers.org/cgi-bin/news.pl?c...tory&id=839

p.s. in terms of weight distribution, the King is more well-balanced, but your hands end up being farther away from your face, which is a bit tiring in the shoulders. The yammy is very bell-heavy which makes it harder to control on the march. It does not afford a good grip with the left hand, so it is hard to keep the bell from bouncing a bit.

Cadets and Bluestars are also selling off their 1 & 2 year-old Yamahas.

Trumpets:

Cadets

YTR-8345GS - Bb Xeno Trumpet $1160

YTR-8335RGS - Bb Xeno Trumpet $1160

Bluecoats

YTR8335GS Xeno (17) $1135 yamaha certified

Cavaliers

YTR8345 $1155

+++

Official Thread Drift:

The 8345 Xeno has a bore of .462, large bore

The 8335 Xeno has a bore of .459, ML bore

Would a person ever get the large bore for a typical situation, jazz band, lead jazz. orchestra? Or is that large bore more specialized towards loud playing, corps and marching band?

If I've asked the wrong question the wrong way, please feel free to enlighten me as I may be in the market.

[vferrera]

In trumpets, I'd definitely go for the larger bore. It's not that much of a difference, but the .462 is a bit more free blowing with a darker, fuller sound.

RGS is the reverse lead-pipe option, which should also be a bit more open than the regular model (GS). If you could get a 8345RGS, I'd go for it, but between the 8345GS and 8335RGS, I'd take the 8345GS.

p.s. don't be surprised if the horn needs $50-100 worth of repair work. When they say "good" condition, they mean just that. Not "very good" and definitely not "excellent."

Edited August 16, 2008 by vferrera

[JayM]

If you're going with a Yamaha, I'd look for a newer model. I played on a 202M in CAC, and it was a decent horn, but the high F was difficult to slot. That's a deal-breaker for me.

[wvu80]

In trumpets, I'd definitely go for the larger bore. It's not that much of a difference, but the .462 is a bit more free blowing with a darker, fuller sound.

RGS is the reverse lead-pipe option, which should also be a bit more open than the regular model (GS). If you could get a 8345RGS, I'd go for it, but between the 8345GS and 8335RGS, I'd take the 8345GS.

p.s. don't be surprised if the horn needs $50-100 worth of repair work. When they say "good" condition, they mean just that. Not "very good" and definitely not "excellent."

I couldn't cut and paste from the PDF file, but the 'Coats horns are 'Yamaha Certified Pre-owned," which they spell out.

Would you mind checking (link provided) what they meant by that, and see if that is "value added" over the other corps horns, or is this just hype?

http://bluecoats.com/index.asp

+++

I've heard the larger bore trumpets are harder to hit the high notes. True, false?

Edited August 16, 2008 by wvu80

[Coathope]

If you're going with a Yamaha, I'd look for a newer model. I played on a 202M in CAC, and it was a decent horn, but the high F was difficult to slot. That's a deal-breaker for me.

Only the 204M of the Yamahas has it fixed. That being said, go for King.

[vferrera]

If it's "Yamaha certified" I would assume that means "new" condition. I've purchased horns from other corps and they were def not "new." In one case, the brace from the leadpipe to the bell needed to be resoldered, and it was obvious that the horn had been dropped and the bell re-straightened in a somewhat amateurish manner. I got it fixed at the Yamaha Pro shop for $50. BAC horndoctor also does excellent work for very reasonable prices.

[vferrera]

I've heard the larger bore trumpets are harder to hit the high notes. True, false?

I find the exact opposite, though I am by no means a "lead" or "screamer." I like to play as relaxed and with as little effort as possible and when I reach a tessiture where the horn start to fight me, that's as high as I go. I have a .462 Xeno and .459 Bach Strad. I find that the strad starts fighting me about a step lower than the Xeno. And my top notes are fuller on the Xeno, more pinched on the strad.

But, really, the diff between .459 and .462 is not much. To put things in perspective, Schilke offers trumpets ranging from .450 to .468. Some people like em tight, some like em loose. For me, I'll take a looser horn any day.

Edited August 16, 2008 by vferrera

[wvu80]

(polite snip)

But, really, the diff between .459 and .462 is not much. To put things in perspective, Schilke offers trumpets ranging from .450 to .468. Some people like em tight, some like em loose. For me, I'll take a looser horn any day.

Thanks so much for the explanation. Now to test your drum corps acumen.

Cadets have 26 of the small bore, reversed lead pipe models. They have 7 of the large bore standard lead pipe models. Why? Do the leads get the special trumpets? I have no idea.

I don't normally like people guessing if they really don't know, but in your case Mr. Ferrera, I like my chances.

[G-horns]

The second one is most definitely a King. I haven't really inspect the Yamaha, but if it is an older model, I'd go with the King out of sheer quality. Keep in mind that the King is much more open than a Yamaha. The same could apply to the Jupiter since it looks like a Yamaha mellophone and I assume, works similarly to a Yamaha mellophone.

New Kings don't sell for $395. Check this out....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ME:B:EF:US:1123

The picture should look very familiar.

FWIW, I would pick the King over the Yamaha 203 or earlier. But I really doubt that second photo in the OP is a King.