Kanstul brass?

[MiniSopGuy]

The only thing I recommend about Kanstuls low brass is to stay away from the "convertible" tubas. I have 4 - 5/4 models and in marching configuration they are not set up well. The valve position puts your hand directly in front of your eyes with your thumb about 2.5" in front of your nose. Also, I do not knwo if the design has changed, but the tight bend in the leadpipe seems to create a lot of back pressure, at least that is what I think is creating the back pressure.

Great idea to save money, but not so great application of the design.

Hopefully your 202, marching only, 3/4 will be better.

Edited September 29, 2008 by MiniSopGuy

[Jyri]

The only thing I recommend about Kanstuls low brass is to stay away from the "convertible" tubas. I have 4 - 5/4 models and in marching configuration they are not set up well. The valve position puts your hand directly in front of your eyes with your thumb about 2.5" in front of your nose. Also, I do not knwo if the design has changed, but the tight bend in the leadpipe seems to create a lot of back pressure, at least that is what I think is creating the back pressure.

Great idea to save money, but not so great application of the design.

Hopefully your 202, marching only, 3/4 will be better.

Yeayeah, the Kanstul convertibles are evil, there is a different lead pipe that can fix the issue, but at an additional $120 a horn.Quality Kanstuls have an amazing sound. A great example to look/listen to is 2007 Academy, full Kanstul line. Why they went over to Jupiters[and fell out of semis] is beyond me. King and Yamaha are pretty standard issue HS/college line. I would take a King over anything any day, but thats just personal preference. Dynasties... if you have good players any horn can sound good... right?

As far as wear and tear and ability to take abuse, I'd suggest Yamaha, its my understanding they will replace any part that brakes do to normal use. For younger groups I'd also suggest Yamahas. More forgiving horns in IMO.

Another fair warning Kanstul Marching Euphonium/Baritone are HEAVY three pounds heavier than their King and Dynasty counterparts [4.6 more than the Yamaha]. Kanstuls are also mean to other horns, I mean to say if the whole line isn't Kanstuls, tuning can be a nightmare esp in changing humidity/temp situation. Again, exp. players overcome all.

But if you live in CA, and yall only ever have sunny and Fog, I wouldnt worry.

Sorry, little bitter that the rest of us have 4 seasons.

[MoonHill]

Kanstuls are also mean to other horns, I mean to say if the whole line isn't Kanstuls, tuning can be a nightmare esp in changing humidity/temp situation. Again, exp. players overcome all.

But if you live in CA, and yall only ever have sunny and Fog, I wouldnt worry.

Sorry, little bitter that the rest of us have 4 seasons.

*thinks about the difference in temperature and humidity between the rehearsal site in San Gabriel and the show site in Riverside in July*

*laughs at "wouldn't worry"*

[Jyri]

*thinks about the difference in temperature and humidity between the rehearsal site in San Gabriel and the show site in Riverside in July*

*laughs at "wouldn't worry"*

[HornsUp]

Kanstuls are also mean to other horns, I mean to say if the whole line isn't Kanstuls, tuning can be a nightmare esp in changing humidity/temp situation.

Sorry. Etching the Kanstul logo onto the bell of an instrument does not alter the laws of physics. All wind instruments will vary in pitch the same amount with a changing environment. The only exception will be very cold weather, when the players' breath will warm the smaller instruments much more than the larger ones.

[BMBob]

My experience playing a Kanstul mellophone bugle in a section with all the other players on Dynasty horns was that my horn was generally pitched a little bit lower than theirs, so I had to adjust differently than they did. This being said, once you get the horn in tune, there shouldn't be any problems. HornsUp is correct - hot, cold, wet, and dry effect all horns in the same way, especially since the composition of most brass instruments (as far as alloys go on marching horns) is nearly the same. This is evident in high school bands, where you almost never see a matched trumpet section. The difference happens when you have players who have different levels of what I call "automatic adjustment," where the player adjusts the pitch subconsciously to match without thinking about it. Some people do this and others do not. That causes the issues. Then the individual player or the tech has to identify the problems and adjust further to fix them.

[RenegadeBaritone]

Contact Charles Hargett at Kanstul ASAP. Wonderful man, and your horns will last 5x longer than any other brand. I know, as Renegades have horns 15+ seasons old (some of them anyway) and they still play beautifully. If you have quesitons, PM me.

[Martybucs]

Also because he doesn't really make money on the G stuff ... He does it for the love of the game mostly.

Why would you make less money on a G horn or so much less that it wouldn't be worth doing?

[wvu80]

Why would you make less money on a G horn or so much less that it wouldn't be worth doing?

Economy of scale. It cost money to re-tool an assembly line.

I bet there are more Bb trumpets in this country than soprano bugles in G, but that's just a guess.

[Martybucs]

Economy of scale. It cost money to re-tool an assembly line.

I bet there are more Bb trumpets in this country than soprano bugles in G, but that's just a guess.

I don't see the economy of scale as an issue here, but I guess I'm missing something. More trumpets than G bugles in the country - I think that has probably always been the case. There are probably more "standard" band brass of every instrument than drum corps brass. Not to mention, (but I will), Bb/A, G/D, Bb bass trumpets, Eb trumpets or cornets, etc.

If Kanstul made G bugles and can still make G bugles, then I think the retooling would be a minor issue, unless they're so busy it interrupts a huge order of Bbs, or whatever.

I would think that, given the skill level of the craftsmen and women at the factory and the basic similarities of manufacture, the cost would be relatively the same for any instrument they sell and the key wouldn't matter that much.

In a large factory, turning out identical products, I could see retooling for a small custom order would be a pain and you couldn't charge enough for the custom order - unless the customer had deep pockets.

In my little niche of manufacturing, we actually make more money on custom work. People expect certain economies in the price when buying standard stuff.

When we do a custom size, color, weight, etc. for a customer, sure, we have to change all our setups, but we have the equipment, plant, and time and money is money.

In other words, you charge what you have to charge, but whatever the customer wants - the customer gets, even if it means retooling. You can always go back to making the "cookie cutter stuff", when you're done the custom order.