kanstulbrass Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 I'm old school............I believe a Olds Ultratone 2 valve blows them all away.........Better sound & MUCH easier to fill & play............Brooklyn United www.BrooklynUnited.org Thank you, Brooklynunited. Have I mentioned that the Olds Ultratone 2 bugles were designed by Zig Kanstul? Regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumcorpsbrat3 Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 I have to agree that a good horn player can make a hunk of junk dented up relic play sweetly, as I have experiance only in the upper voice sop/trumpet, I gotta go with Kanstul. played the king, good tone quality own a Deg same good tone. but if you need to buy a lot of horns and you have a budget to keep to yamaha, king, deg are what you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanstulbrass Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 I have to agree that a good horn player can make a hunk of junk dented up relic play sweetly... This subject has been discussed at length in other groups (i.e., Trumpet Herald, Trumpet Master) but I'll touch on it here. I agree, a good horn player can make a hunk of junk sound good. Every year at the NAMM show, I go "downstairs" to where all the first-year exhibitors are located. The last few years have seen many new exhibitors from China. I've heard Charley Davis make a $60 (wholesale price) silver trumpet sound amazing. The same for a $40 (again, wholesale), and the same for a $26 (ditto) trumpet. All of them sound great in his hands. But as the quality of the instrument declines, more effort is required to produce a great sound. Sure, a good horn player can make it sound good, but an inferior instrument just puts obstacles in the player's way. Poor design and construction can equate to stuffiness, "bad" notes, inconsistent slotting, uneven register, bad intonation, and mechanical problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leland Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 I agree, a good horn player can make a hunk of junk sound good. That requires a good player, though. An average player may not be able to manage that hunk of junk. A little story... Back during my "sabbatical" from college, I played in a church quintet, rehearsing weekly and performing once a month at the church services. We had a couple trumpet players, one of whom was certainly quite a bit better than the other. The lesser-skilled player, though, could hold is own just fine and cover his part. One week, he came in with a brand-new trumpet. Holy cow, he sounded a lot better. You could still hear his stylistic tendencies and whatnot, but his tone and clarity were so much better. I'll say that the quality of the instrument makes more of a difference for players with so-so skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 That requires a good player, though. An average player may not be able to manage that hunk of junk.A little story... Back during my "sabbatical" from college, I played in a church quintet, rehearsing weekly and performing once a month at the church services. We had a couple trumpet players, one of whom was certainly quite a bit better than the other. The lesser-skilled player, though, could hold is own just fine and cover his part. One week, he came in with a brand-new trumpet. Holy cow, he sounded a lot better. You could still hear his stylistic tendencies and whatnot, but his tone and clarity were so much better. I'll say that the quality of the instrument makes more of a difference for players with so-so skill. Don't forget the added incentive to practice which a new instrument brings to the table! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leland Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Don't forget the added incentive to practice which a new instrument brings to the table! Sure, but that didn't apply in this case. Nobody improves that much in just one week. Besides, like I said, we could still tell what his shortcomings were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tplaya1 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 (edited) Most BD lines could win on 20 year old jupiters if they have to. I seriously doubt this statement. I played on a jupiter horn most of the summer I just marched and heard my hornline on these horns and trust me......BD could not win horns with a hornline of Jupiters against the other hornlines of the top 12. They are HORRIBLE horns and even the most advanced players have trouble getting these horns to respond. Edited December 6, 2005 by tplaya1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko the Wonder Llama Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Well what about my old Imperial P/R Euph? :P /Ducks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_7 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Well what about my old Imperial P/R Euph? :P They made a P/R Euph? Any pics? That's one I've never seen or played on. The one P/R frenchie I played on had the best sound of the frenchies I played on. Although didn't play as well as some others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 What an interesting discussion. As someone who has been playing the bugle for almost 50 years, and the trumpet for 40, I am fascinated by the degree of expertise that current high school band players seem to possess. Full disclosure: I am a clinician for Dynasty, and have been for several years. One could find a reason to recommend each of the manufacturers mentioned here, be it durability, price, ease of playing, intonation, cosmetic beauty or any number of factors. But the reality is that drum corps play on student model instruments, and on balance these are quite similar, though each makes a different series of compromises. Some horns are built to last but may not have the best overall tone quality. Others are outstanding in certain registers but inconsistent elsewhere in their compass. Repetoire and style also come into play. You won't hear PR's lead sops (tpts) entering the stratosphere very often, but the horns they play are well suited for the register which they do inhabit. Likewise, BD's equipment suits their particular approach quite well. One factor no one has mentioned is customer service. Not all these companies have sterling records here. If there's a problem, can you get a timely response on tour? Ask around. My trumpet is a 1952 Martin Committee (not the current knock-off). It plays like a dream and can blend well in legit, latin and jazz styles. It's also worth several thousand dollars, if you can find one. Twenty of them played by the Bluecoats would be heavenly, but that's not terribly realistic. So it's student model brass for our drum corps players. One company outsells all the others combined. There may be a lesson in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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