W.F.L. Bugle

[Mr. Ed]

I just purchased an antique Bugle for my son. The bugle is a W.F.L. single valve, nickle plated bugle. I have a few questions for any of you who are familiar with this instrument.

1. Is is a decent bugle?

2. Where can I get a mouthpiece for it?

3. Do you know any history of this instrument?

4. What key is it in (before the valve is depressed...and after).?

Thank you for any info you can give me on this.

Mr. Ed

[HornsUp]

I just purchased an antique Bugle for my son. The bugle is a W.F.L. single valve, nickle plated bugle. I have a few questions for any of you who are familiar with this instrument.

1. Is is a decent bugle?

2. Where can I get a mouthpiece for it?

3. Do you know any history of this instrument?

4. What key is it in (before the valve is depressed...and after).?

Thank you for any info you can give me on this.

Mr. Ed

Look on the bottom of the mouthpiece receiver. MADEINITALY is probably stamped there. If so:

1. The receiver is not braced and the leadpipe is soldered directly to the bell. This was a very poor design, and almost all of these horns suffered a bent or broken leadpipe.

2. Use a trumpet mouthpiece.

3. Judging by their [relative] profusion on eBay, they were the most common model of soprano sold in the early-to-mid 50s. WFL was Bill Ludwig Sr. until 1955, when he bought his Ludwig Drum Co. back from Conn.

4. G. D. Bugle C scale = OXOXOXXO

Your horn is chrome plated.

[esch]

According to the 1964 Ludwig catalog, the horns were made by Holton.... this would indicate to me an American-made horn.

[HornsUp]

According to the 1964 Ludwig catalog, the horns were made by Holton.... this would indicate to me an American-made horn.

From 1963-1966 the Ludwig Classic bugles (Soprano, French Horn, Baritone, Bass-Baritone) were built by Holton.

Now get out your WFL catalog. Their instruments were marketed at least a decade earlier.

[esch]

From 1963-1966 the Ludwig Classic bugles (Soprano, French Horn, Baritone, Bass-Baritone) were built by Holton.

Now get out your WFL catalog. Their instruments were marketed at least a decade earlier.

Ahhh.... point taken.

[JimF-LowBari]

Will have to double check but think I have early 30s Drum Corps Manuals sold by WFL.

Have a single Tenor Bari down in the basement (no idea of the plating), now gonna have to check.

Man Jim.... catalog your crap as your memory sucks

[davidp]

I was going to say something silly, that WFL Bugles came out when Gary Davidson tried to get into drum corps after the World Football League collapsed. Oh, never mind.

[TomPeashey]

my first soprano at a ripe young age was a chrome plated WFL... circa 1954

You ask if it was a good instrument... I believe Kenny gave the indication it wasn't...

a couple years later as I got BIG they gave me a Conn French Horn...

Interestingly, my corps (Oswego VFW Post 2320 - The Pathfinders) went back to just after World War I. We had quite a collection of horn of every type... many were Italian with fancy engraving on them... All I remember almost 60 years later is that the old junk horns were very heavy compared to the WFL's and Conn's we were using... many of the antiques were also either silver or nickel finished instead of chrome.