abelm98 Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 Ok Everyone. Heres your chance to speak your opinion about Mellophones. I personally think G mellos produce much more sound than your typical F mellophones. Just compare any of the mellophone lines from the Cadets prior to changing over to the F horns. After listening to them now I actually have to struggle to listen to some of the mello runs in their shows. Does anyone else agree??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPRBari Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 Ok Everyone. Heres your chance to speak your opinion about Mellophones. I personally think G mellos produce much more sound than your typical F mellophones. Just compare any of the mellophone lines from the Cadets prior to changing over to the F horns. After listening to them now I actually have to struggle to listen to some of the mello runs in their shows. Does anyone else agree??? Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 So, a few inches of tubing somehow causes a vast change in how much sound it produces? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemey Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 I was amazed what few inches of tubing does. I played an F mello when I was repairing one for a band I tech for. I did my usual, and then tried to get some noise out of it. I pull out my G mello and did the same thing, and there was more sound out of the G. I know, not scientific, but that's what I noticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 Ok Everyone. Heres your chance to speak your opinion about Mellophones. I personally think G mellos produce much more sound than your typical F mellophones. Just compare any of the mellophone lines from the Cadets prior to changing over to the F horns. After listening to them now I actually have to struggle to listen to some of the mello runs in their shows. Does anyone else agree??? About the Cadets, I thought the opposite. I thought they were a tad bit mello-heavy at times. IMO they could have used a couple of FEWER mellos and a couple of more trumpets, esp lower ones. Also IMO, the horn has almost nothing to do with the sound generated. It's due to the 1) numbers on a part, 2) skills of the players, and 3) the type of sound the staff is looking to generate. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhsalan Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 Guys, Without going into the massive technical details, (this is not the month for me to get into any major "technical discussions" online, just too busy) the difference is not between the F and G mello's, it's between the sounds of the instruments that "surround" them in the ensemble. You have only moved the key of the mellophone horn DOWN 1 step however, you have moved the key of the other horns in the line UP by a third. In the past, in a matched line of G bugles, if I wanted to hear a unison C (not talking concert pitch here folks for all you people looking to poke holes here, just written pitch) on the trebles (Mellophones and Sops) I wrote a C and then wrote a Bb for my low brass kids and we had unison octave pitches. NOW, if I want to hear a unison pitch... I have to write C for my trumpets, but then an F for my mellophones and then Bb for all my low brass kids. I've created a "gap" between the written range of the horns and that determines how well the parts "cut" when written. That causes us as arrangers to have to either "drop the lines" we wanted to write into a lower octave than we really wanted, to write them in the upper EXTREME register for the mellophones to have the same "cut" that it used to, or to change the ideas we had and write a different line for the alto voice. Now, when truly "arranging" something, "changing the alto line" is not that big of a deal. HOWEVER, if you have something like say "Elsa's" where the Alto line is the given, then it becomes an issue. I will be glad to discuss this at length at a later time, but our band has it's first BOA regional this weekend, I"m in the middle of trying to buy a house and we have a drum corps inaugural open house coming up in about three weeks. Just not the time for me to get into any long discussions about this kind of thing right now. I hope that my points made some sense and like I said, I'll be glad to discuss this in depth later this year, now is just not a good time for me. I will try to answer any simple questions, or comments as I have time in the next few days. Later, AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitn0926 Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 I wish you would've given the option "They both suck", 'cause that would have been my choice. Being a "French" horn player, I don't really care for the sound any mello line produces, but I choose the F mello over the G simply because it is a little better in tune in the upper register, in my experience (7 years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezedogg 23 Posted November 1, 2002 Share Posted November 1, 2002 I voted G. But thats just a traditional thing. I'm not a mello player by trade. But i played it in winter camps, and played our high school one in F. I found little difference, both were Kanstul. Very nice horns. The F did have alittle more resistance. But in the long run i think its the player that can make the difference if its a quality made horn to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSGreen Posted November 4, 2002 Share Posted November 4, 2002 Personally.. it's easier to play loud on G, but much more resonant on F, meaning I can play truly louder on F with less effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreakingSW Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 I will be glad to discuss this at length at a later time, but our band has it's first BOA regional this weekend, I"m in the middle of trying to buy a house and we have a drum corps inaugural open house coming up in about three weeks. Just not the time for me to get into any long discussions about this kind of thing right now. Alan, If you could find the time at some later point, I *would* be interested to hear what you have to say about it. I posted on a similar thread about the differece between G & B bugles, and all anyone could come up with were opinions on which sounded better. I am interested in what makes the difference in the quality of the sound (if there truly is any.) I'll subscibe to this thread, looking for updates. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.