Phantom Regiment Chooses Jupiter

[JohnDonovanDotBiz]

wow..

2,600ish impressions in less then 24 hours? amazing....:)

being a drummer, I don't know much about brass, but I'm learning a lot from reading this thread...

Edited December 16, 2008 by JohnDonovanDotBiz

[flervinuveling]

no...someone who evaluates the horns does just that. Jupiter selected these specific groups to market to BECAUSE they were going to give their feedback to Jupiter...the tweaks...the fixes...everything you read about in this and other threads.

Not many people know how this particular deal works...Jupiter gets you the horns...in some cases...they selected guys like Sheridan, Plafian, and Shaw to HELP in the design process.

What can the corps do for Jupiter...they are like test pilots...they go out and beat the instruments day in and day out much harder than most of Jupiter's customers will. It's like QA Testing (Quality Assurance) and Marketing in the same package.

It is in Surf's and Jupiter's BEST interest for an honest evaluation. I would expect nothing less from Mr. Jacobs and crew.

so he's just an evaluater-type (sp?), not someone who's already partnered with them and therefore kinda has to say nice things about them?

[jthomas666]

All I'll say is that Teal had an amazing brass sound last year. If they were marching Quantums, then I'm not worried about Regiment.

[festive]

I'm quite confident that Regiment has made the best choice for its horn students--and that they will sound every bit the Regiment hornline. I have no worries about this...JD knows his stuff. Jupiter just entered a new era in its history, that's for certain.

[chaos001]

Mellos: Again, pitch. And again, I have heard the folks at Jupiter have corrected this issue as well. The players really like these horns and in the hands of the right person can sound FANTASTIC... if the pitch thing is corrected.

>>>JD Shaw good enough?<<<

Euphs: Best in DCI. Hands down. WAY open, nice dark tone. Pitch is consistant in all registers and those things can PROJECT. Feel and sound like a good concert euph. Also, a plus for the members, VERY comfortable to hold, well balanced and easy on the hands.

>>>must have an ARMY of BUICKS this year...atleast 32 kthxbye<<<

Tubas: Again, easily the best in DCI after a few small fixes. I am the most familiar with these. As with the euphs, totally, totally open. Darn near impossible to overblow. Dark tone. Even sounds good on the "fake" Eb. As with the euphs, much like playing a good concert Bb. *Plus* You CAN dress left. Negatives: dents easily in some places, some screws on the tuning kick broke, some pitch issues were corrected by adjust the lengths of the tuning slides (cutting them off), kind of uncomfortable to hold because the leadpipe was too long. That's it. Again, as far as I know, all of these issues have been corrected. In Phantom's hands, this could be a CRAZY good tuba line.

>>>Just add Mr. Pilafian<<<

With the changes I have seen in Phantom for 2009 and based on what they did last year, I really believe they are going to put out a scary, scary, hornline this year.

>>>i think with this year's possible theme, it may drive more than a few people absolutely mad!!!<<<

Edited December 17, 2008 by chaos001

[luvs me sum mello!]

Wow...just wow.

Have you ever met Mr. Jacobs? Here's the koolaid he drinks...the same koolaid the kids drink...in the big yellow 10 gallon jugs. Sometimes its the red stuff...sometimes its the orange stuff...sometimes its the purple stuff....and sometimes its mixed together stuff.

It's not a reflection on the man's personality or integrity. It's just the reality of the situation.

Now if I had said, "Jacobs doesn't know what he's talking about cause he's a dummy and insert troll statement here..." then I might understand people getting upset. But I didn't.

Tiger woods endorses tons of stuff, Jordan endorses hanes underwear, Surf endorses Jupiter horns. All three of these endorsers do so because they are in a deal with the manufacturer. Not saying that the endorsers don't truly believe in the endorsement they're giving, but it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Outside review, when high monetary figures aren't in the equation, is usually more balanced.

[silvertrombone]

Hey, I'm just going by what I heard from a euph player in your line and two bari players... they said they didn't like playing the horns. I mean the euph player, I question his musicianship often, but i trust at least the one bari player. I'm sure they have wonderful people involved, I mean they've had a deal with JD Shaw, and now they have a deal with Phantom Regiment... so either its great business or the horn are great. I'm just going off of what I have heard from individuals playing the horns.

I guess in the long run it doesn't matter how the horn feels to the player, just how it sounds coming out the other end. I hated playing my Yamaha bari, the euph was a little better, but I still hated the cheaply made in a factory in Japan horn with crappy valve design (a little better with metal reinforced guide) and so many tuning problems you might as well learn how to play everything open. Come on playing middle C 1+3 should not sound better than C played 1.

Sorry for my rant.... kind of off topic

Once again, good luck Phantom with your new horns.

Ya know, when you listen to some kid in the line of an OC corps versus listening to the Chief Marketing Officer for DCI, that says a lot. A lot more than you needed to add in reply.

Yes, because your opinion is not at all flavored by whether surf is using the jupiter horns again this summer.

No offense, but for ANY brand of instrument, I'd trust outside review over the review of someone who already drinks the kool-aid.

Actually, I'd trust Academy, Surf and Teal on this one over Rockford. See, every now and then I have this really nasty reputation for putting down the Rockford Kool Aid and thinking for myself. And it speaks when a company: 1.) Puts in the investment that they did (see previous posts) to release a FULL line of brass and percussion; 2.) They CHOSE not to approach the top 6 in their initial release...again, strategy; 3.) If JD had believed so much in the horns from the start, something tells me PR would have been in that initial list of partner corps; 4.) You've had no fewer than THREE people give really great reviews that are pretty tight and in line with each other. (i.e. GREAT TUBAS, Good Baris/Euphs, Adequate high brass) If someone had come out and said, "Best Trumpet ever!" Or, "I'm disappointed in the lows," OK. But that hasn't happened, now has it?

THEREFORE...

When Mr. Jacobs comes out defending his association with what appears to be a company/partner with a very good product, I'm afraid I can't see your point. No bias there. Were I a corps director, I would be lucky to be one of the corps that Jupiter approached. It speaks well of Surf that they were one of the three, and it speaks well of Jupiter that someone with Surf's business side would choose to partner with them.

Again, along with Academy and Teal, a very fortuitous set of three relationships for this new line of horns!

And being a Buick alum, I have to admit that I'm REALLY looking forward to that low brass sound with 150 members!!

Come to think of it, this almost single-handedly justifies Bb's, the move to 135/150 and national touring models.

Well, two out of three at least.

I spent a good amount of time getting to know these horns. These are my impressions:

Congrats Phantom and I can't wait to see/hear what you guys will do in 2009!!

GREAT review...play or teach in one of the lines? ASU...I'm guessing associated with my newest favoritest corps out West??? Do tell, if present association allows such things. If not, good luck this season. I've really enjoyed the corps the last few years. And seconding Tom, welcome to the Planet!

[silvertrombone]

All I'll say is that Teal had an amazing brass sound last year. If they were marching Quantums, then I'm not worried about Regiment.

Agreed...on both points.

It's not a reflection on the man's personality or integrity. It's just the reality of the situation.

Now if I had said, "Jacobs doesn't know what he's talking about cause he's a dummy and insert troll statement here..." then I might understand people getting upset. But I didn't.

Tiger woods endorses tons of stuff, Jordan endorses hanes underwear, Surf endorses Jupiter horns. All three of these endorsers do so because they are in a deal with the manufacturer. Not saying that the endorsers don't truly believe in the endorsement they're giving, but it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Outside review, when high monetary figures aren't in the equation, is usually more balanced.

You know, some folks have to take whatever comes their way as far as endorsements go. Others sign up with the regulars...Nike, Reebok, etc.

Without realizing it, this was a really bad example for you to use since, IMHO, it kind of blows a hole in your argument. Here's what I mean.

When Woods came on the scene, Nike literally had no golf product other than a limited clothin line. AFTER Woods came onto the scene, Nike had a more substantial line of products with the star's name on them. THEN came the big deal...Nike literally invented an entire line of Golf products FOR Woods.

Now, if you're Justin Leonard and the Ben Hogan company comes in and says, "Justin, you're a classy guy and a fine golfer. We'd like to roll out a NEW set of irons, driver and putters with your name on it." Well, that's something. But Leonard probably won't be USING the products until they've worked out all the kinks in design, etc.

Woods launched a driver and 3-wood almost single-handedly, for two separate companies if you count the Titleist woods he used prior to Nike. Plus a full set of Nike irons...BLADES, no less! Now for you non-golfers who don't know the difference in hitting a cavity-back or a blade, I almost can't explain the difference. It's like the difference between those student trumpets that were mentioned and a really great professional horn. Just...amazing difference.

Woods STARTED using Nike's new line of blades...right out of the gate! They invested THAT much care in making sure they had it right, right off the bat.

...the #1 player in the world helped design the product...

...the #1 player in the world put his name on the line...

...the #1 player in the world commited to USING the line of BLADES...

...and the product was just as excellent as these things would portend it would have to be.

And that's my point. Jupiter, as I detailed previously, invested a HUGE amount of money in this launch. They had JD and others involved in their design. And Jupiter approached three corps in Teal, Surf and Academy who have their stuff together on business-side matters.

I guess now is the time to start getting in good with the top 6, and after that, as another poster put it, everyone else falls back in the rear view mirror...instrument brands, not corps. Jupiter invested in a line that would put them squarely in the #1 spot. OK, some issues to resolve in high brass it sounds like. Could probably firm up the Baris a little bit, but based on the reviews here, Euphs and Tubas are golden.

Tiger Woods doesn't take on an endorser who isn't gold. That's because he is a brand unto himself, and his brand thus far has been gold. Someone with that sort of reputation doesn't want ANYTHING associated with him that would drag him down. Actually, that's stating it incorrectly. Woods looks for potential partners who are at the top of their game and are recognized as tops in their business so they can both move the other ahead and make each other look better.

Take, for instance, his commercials for Gillette razors. Who are the other endorsers? Alex Rodriguez, arguably the greatest baseball player on the planet at the moment. And Roger Federer, arguably the finest tennis player in the world. Case in point.

And look for him to land with BMW or Toyota/Lexus now that he's scooting from the Buick deal with GM in sore position.

Care to try again? This deal is a good one for anyone that chooses to associate with Jupiter at this early stage. Tell your buddy on 2nd Bari he doesn't know what he's talking about. And learn that you'll always be able to find someone who will tell you that the Toyota Tundra is crap...you just have to learn when to listen to someone who test drove a 5 year old truck and a diesel mechanic who actually knows what they're talking about.

On another note, I'd almost like to hear what hrothgar15 has to say about the mellos. Didn't he say he was auditioning at Surf?

[chaos001]

When Woods came on the scene, Nike literally had no golf product other than a limited clothin line. AFTER Woods came onto the scene, Nike had a more substantial line of products with the star's name on them. THEN came the big deal...Nike literally invented an entire line of Golf products FOR Woods.

Woods launched a driver and 3-wood almost single-handedly, for two separate companies if you count the Titleist woods he used prior to Nike. Plus a full set of Nike irons...BLADES, no less! Now for you non-golfers who don't know the difference in hitting a cavity-back or a blade, I almost can't explain the difference. It's like the difference between those student trumpets that were mentioned and a really great professional horn. Just...amazing difference.

he still swears by that Titleist putter though.

[kickhaltsforlife]

I trust the kid playing the horn over someone dealing with money and marketing. After discussing this all more outside of DCP with people who have played these horns it is a mixed review. What I gather is that the horn could play a lot better but it sounds just fine. Which is all that matters in a marching horn, I guess.