Joseph Ledesma Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Marching Blue Knights, experience on our new set of horns... the Euphs play real nice, way better tuning than the last set we had, the Baris feel stuffy when you play them. The tubas sound amazing, the bell is much larger than the previous design, and less tubing... downside is no 4th valve. I hear a lot of instructors and others around me argue that King has a better line of low brass, and better ring to it, and that Yamaha has the better quality lines of high brass instruments. I have little experience with how Yamaha's play, but most people I know, choose King over Yamaha. The Euphs and Tubas are the best sounding of the low brass line though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToferVis Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 BOO on Yamaha Mellophones. Although I like sound (I guess).....I hate how they design the mellophones with the closed style. I'm not sure how to explain what i'm talking about, but it's basically how tall the horn is....they make them really short, and in my experience they're harder to play than the more open style King mellophone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penn State Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 BOO on Yamaha Mellophones. Although I like sound (I guess).....I hate how they design the mellophones with the closed style. I'm not sure how to explain what i'm talking about, but it's basically how tall the horn is....they make them really short, and in my experience they're harder to play than the more open style King mellophone. The King mellos slot more openly than the Yamahas, regardless of model, thus making them 'easier' to play. If you practice well (and from what I've heard, get a valve alignment) the Yamaha will be a very rewarding horn to play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchromik Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 The King mellos slot more openly than the Yamahas, regardless of model, thus making them 'easier' to play. If you practice well (and from what I've heard, get a valve alignment) the Yamaha will be a very rewarding horn to play! I am not sure if I would describe it as 'openly' but if you mean 'trumpet-like' or 'firmer' as opposed to 'french horn-like' or 'looser' then I would agree. The Kings, Kanstuls, and Dynasty's firmer more trumpet-like slotting is easier to play. The Yamaha's more french horn like slotting makes it a bit tougher to play, but very responsive. Despite it's tight wrap, the Yamaha feels fairly open as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMartin444 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I've played both, with the same corps. The Yamahas put out a fuller, darker sound, but are much harder to keep in tune. The Yamaha euphonium lacks the third valve slide that can be adjusted while playing. They are a little heavier than the Kings, but are much better balanced and easier to hold. The King euphonium has a very impressive wrap though. It is about 4-6" longer, and in my opinion, look absolutley great on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToferVis Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 The King euphonium has a very impressive wrap though. It is about 4-6" longer, and in my opinion, look absolutley great on the field. I completely agree, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonofjabba Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I'm still a Olds guy but If I was looking for NEW marching brass. I'd be looking to the Bringer of Jollity. JUPITER They are really making Nice Stuff Its shocking to me anyway.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's Godzilla! Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 On the trumpets I've tried, all of which came directly out of the plastic packaging from the manufacturor: Dynasty: (model circa 2004)Decent horn. Sloting and valves were noticably lacking compared to my concert horn (Bach), but do the trick just fine for outdoor playing (just not up to Carnival of Venice...) Volume is not an issue. When the horns were lined up, there were noticible differences in manufacturing, such as varing lengths of 2nd valve slides of up to a quarter inch. My last year playing on Dynasty (2007), I was given their brand new extra large bore horn (.468) and this horn played like a dream. Valves redesigned and the weight was redistributed. This horn's slotting and valves were comprable to the King trumpets. Loudest instrument I've ever played on, including Dynasty and Kanstul Sops. Another plus for the Dynastys is that these horns take a beating and keep on playing. Very inexpensive, as well. King: Weighting and balance of the horn was very nice. Contrary to the dark sound the low brass gives off, I found the Kings to be very stuffy. Slotting was very good, and valves were pretty good, but not excellent. I didn't get much of a chance to play on this horn though Yamaha Xeno: By far the best valves (metal guides) and slotting. Smallest bore of the horns I tried (.459), but very free blowing. Balance is perfect. Unlike the dynasty's, though, these guys tend to wear a lot faster. But for what it's worth, the best trumpet I ever play tested was a 20-year-old, beat-up Kanstul. If only I had the money... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontwan2know Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I've played both, with the same corps. The Yamahas put out a fuller, darker sound, but are much harder to keep in tune. The Yamaha euphonium lacks the third valve slide that can be adjusted while playing. They are a little heavier than the Kings, but are much better balanced and easier to hold. The King euphonium has a very impressive wrap though. It is about 4-6" longer, and in my opinion, look absolutley great on the field. Just noticed this post. Never held a Yamaha euph so I was really surprised to hear it doesn't have a third valve slide. Is there something about the construction of the horn that makes it impractical? That's a big flaw, in my opinion. It's got to be a bear to get those Db's and Gb's (Eb and Ab for treble readers) in tune without a slide to kick out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_7 Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 (edited) Just noticed this post. Never held a Yamaha euph so I was really surprised to hear it doesn't have a third valve slide. Is there something about the construction of the horn that makes it impractical? That's a big flaw, in my opinion. It's got to be a bear to get those Db's and Gb's (Eb and Ab for treble readers) in tune without a slide to kick out. I don't know of any marching Euphs that have a 3rd valve slide ring. I'm sure it has a tuning slide. It's just not pratical to put a ring on one. With the size of the valve casing(3 valves), you don't have much if any left over finger extension to manipulate a slide. And the weight distribution puts your fingers too far from that 3rd valve slide to use it. And you generally shift your hand position between playing and horns down. Having one would be too much like the right hand thumb ring days. Which normally broke off after the first week of use. Especially since they weren't mounted with the ergonomics in mind. Edited March 22, 2008 by Shadow_7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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