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Which company makes the best horns for each section?


Stradbrother

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i'm wondering how the new SB Kings will fit into this discussion.

The new King Horns are great, but I feel that they are more for jazz (since it is the Blue Devils) The mouthpieces from what I hear, The trumpet mouthpieces give great higher range,but it takes away from your lower range. Mellophone mouthpiece is great, baritone mouthpiece(small shank) gives great higher range, Euphonium mouthpiece (Large Shank) gives a great tone, and the Tuba mouthpiece gives great low and high range.

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With all due respect, would you say that if these horns had been built in conjunction with any other corps? I don't think so. Having gotten to look at these horns up close and give them a good run, I consider them very solid all-around horns very suitable to the field. They had a very good weight and balance from the sopranos to the contras and were designed to give a great advantage to the players.

My hope is that Conn-Selmer can find a way to be competitive on the business side with these horns. They don't give horns away, and they've lost a lot of their corps market-share to Jupiter which has been doing so with their own, mediocre-to-decent offerings. I still am partial to the Kanstuls because of reasons I've listed here before, but the SBs are a great addition to the marching brass world.

As for the mouthpieces, I haven't gotten to hear them but knowing what I do about Devils' brass technique, anything that "takes away from low range" would not be on the list of design plans they brought to the table. The mouthpieces bear some physical resemblance to the GW stainless steel mouthpieces, with no definable rim cut out from the cup as is the usual style of Bach mouthpieces. It makes for an interesting marketing gimmick, though, especially in this day and age when appearance is becoming such a big deal to make you stand out. If they really want to make a big break into the high school marching world, they ought to add a four-valve sousaphone to their offering since most marching bands don't go for the contras.

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they ought to add a four-valve sousaphone to their offering since most marching bands don't go for the contras.

I have a four-valve King sousaphone, they made them for about a century.

Edited by HornsUp
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The only one one the market now that I'm aware of is the Dynasty. I've never played it, so I don't have any idea of its quality, but I know the price runs on the cheaper side for sousas, around $4000.

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  • 1 month later...

Trumpet - Yamaha

Mello- Yamaha

Baritone - Kanstul

Contra - Kanstul

Done. :P

The only reason that Kanstul horns seem more expensive is that the company does not give bulk discounts to corps. They're a smaller company compared to King/Yamaha/Jupiter, so its not smart business practice for them to offer sponsorship on the level on the level of those brands. I haven't had a chance to play their trombones yet (as I am a trombone player), but I've heard good things.

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I was never a brass player, but I've known quite a few, and Kanstul is usually regarded as the "Cadillac". Why settle for ground beef and beer when you can have prime rib flipped medium rare and washed down with a glass of the finest vintage?

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Kanstul 4 Valve GGG Contra.

SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

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.

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