The Tiffany Johns Listening Project

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Finding new music to love is hard.

In an era where an impossible amount of music is at your fingertips via Spotify and other streaming services, it feels harder than ever to find music that you really love. The weeds you must wade through to find a gem are thick and stretch beyond the horizon. I spend quite a lot of time and energy trying to wade through these weeds, but it’s slow going. It’s very rare that I find even one song that I really like, let alone an entire artist.

In January 2023, I began using Spotify’s fleet of discovery tools every day, in a much more dedicated effort to find new music to love. Over the course of that year I did indeed find some amazing music and artists that I never would have come across otherwise, and I added a lot to my library. However, I eventually got to the point where any of the discovery tools kept showing me the same songs they had already shown me before, so I moved on.

About a year later, in early 2024, I had the idea to dive more into artists I already know in a methodical manner, rather than attempting to discover new songs and artists by chance or via an algorithm. I realized that even my favorite artists have a lot of music I’ve never listened to; in fact, I can only think of two artists whose entire library I had listened to before I started this project: Moonchild and Dirty Loops. Along with this, I have massive holes in my knowledge of more popular music (in case you weren’t already aware, I was a turbo nerd in high school) and have intended to fix that for a long time.

So, with all that in mind, I decided to start an ambitious listening project that would take years to complete. I went to Spotify and added the entire discography of every artist I like or want to discover into a few colossal listening playlists sorted by genre. Each of these playlists has thousands of songs, and a couple of them reached the Spotify playlist limit (9,999 songs) so I had to start a second playlist for that genre. These playlists include my favorite artists, artists who have a few songs I really like but I never explored further, artists that I feel like I should know based on the genres I listen to, and artists that I feel like I should know as a Millennial.

I will make a post for each artist when I finish their library, giving general thoughts and my favorite albums. I will also be buying physical copies of the albums I really love - support artists directly! I will also be doing a summary post when I finish each genre, and years in the future maybe an overall summary of the project when I finish them all. All of these will be linked at the bottom of this post.

One final note: I’m writing this after having already finished one artist and nearly finished another. I’ll detail this more in the individual artist posts, but I feel that it’s important to also state here that I have already felt incredibly enriched from this project, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone.

Here are my favorite albums from the artists I’ve discovered (*= I knew the album beforehand):

  • Casiopea - Make Up City (1980)*

  • Casiopea - Mint Jams (1982)*

  • Casiopea - The Party (1990)

  • Casiopea - Answers (1994)

  • Casiopea - 20th (2000)

  • Casiopea - Living on a Feeling ~ Casiopea Night Selection (2009)

  • Jimsaku - Dispensation (1996)

  • T-Square - 夏の惑星 (Natsu no wakusei) (1994)

  • T-Square w/Munich Symphony - 宝島 (Takarajima) (1995)

  • T-Square - Wordless Anthology II (1999)

  • T-Square - 33 (2007)

  • T-Square - Wings (2012)

  • T-Square - Crème de la Crème (2020)

Chapters:

Alto Flugelhorn

There are alto trumpets, alto cornets, alto bugles, and of course alto horns, along with many other alto-voice brass instruments that have more interesting names. But what about an alto flugelhorn? This would be an instrument a 4th or 5th below the standard flugelhorn, still with a flugelhorn bore profile. This instrument does exist, but it’s not very common. It’s even rarer than alto trumpet or alto cornet, but it seems to bring more to the table than either of those do.

Here’s my alto flugelhorn - an “Elkhart”-stenciled Couesnon alto flugelhorn in F or E-flat:

This instrument has a gorgeous low flugelhorn sound that matches my Couesnon flugelhorn very well. In my opinion the sound is so purely flugelhorn that if someone heard an audio sample without knowing what instrument was playing, I’m guessing most brass players would immediately guess a 4-valve flugelhorn or maybe some other kind of flugelhorn. It does have a subtle hint of euphonium to the sound as well.

This alto flugelhorn plays just as well as my fabulous pre-WWI Couesnon flugelhorn, and in terms of pure objective ease of play it may be the best bell-front valved brass instrument in alto F that I’ve tried yet. It’s wonderful and addicting to play, and the sound is creamy smooth.

Couesnon alto flugelhorn (left), Couesnon flugelhorn (right)

These Couesnon alto flugels used to grow on trees on eBay, but in the past decade or so they sort of disappeared. I was surprised when this one showed up recently, and this time I didn’t let it pass me by.

Sadly, I don’t still own my DEG 1220 alto cornet to directly compare the two, but this alto flugelhorn sounds VERY different than the DEG ever did. It has that velvety flugelhorn darkness that the alto cornet just didn’t have, much more like the Dynasty III alto bugle in G (which is essentially an extra-large G flugelhorn).

Here’s a quick back-to-back comparison I did of the flugel and alto flugel. Hopefully, despite the phone microphone, you can hear the subtleties in each instrument’s sound.

Lastly, here are some photos of other types of alto flugelhorn out there. Most are in E-flat, which makes sense as the even rarer soprano flugelhorn is also in E-flat.

Taylor “Phatter Boy” in E-flat, referred to by the maker as a tenor flugelhorn

1937 Selmer Paris alto flugelhorn, key unknown (probably E-flat as pictured, with an alternate F slide)

Jules de Vere & Co. alto flugelhorn in E-flat

Henry Distin rotary alto flugelhorn in F, restored and photographed by Robb Stewart

Leo Mitsching rotary alto flugelhorn in E-flat

B-flat Tenor Brass: What's the Difference?

Bass trumpets. Flugabones. Trombones in various bore sizes. Baritones in various shapes and sizes. Euphoniums. There are so many different kinds of 9-foot B-flat brass instruments that broadly function in the tenor register, so how do you justify them all?

Easy: they all sound different! Admittedly sometimes the differences are small, but the differences ARE there. Each was designed for a different purpose, but how do they compare when you put them head to head? Time to find out!

What follows is a cornucopia of audio files from various 9-foot instruments that I owned or had access to long enough to sit down and record for a while. This is by no means complete yet; I have a bunch more instruments and instrument/mouthpiece combinations to record, and I will continue adding to this as I gain access to different instruments. It is a forever work in progress, but hopefully before long it will be a comprehensive archive of most of the B-flat low brass out there. I may add C and G tenor brass as well, but I’ll have to rework the excerpts to accommodate their ranges.

For now, let’s take a brief look at the instruments I’ll be demoing.

1973 King 3B tenor trombone (.508” bore)

This is my main gigging commercial tenor trombone. It is extremely versatile, equally at home knocking down buildings on a funk or salsa gig or playing in a brass quintet. I use two mouthpieces with this instrument - a Warburton 8S/4* (very shallow lead mouthpiece) and a Hammond 11M (normal-depth V-cup general purpose mouthpiece).

1979 Conn 5H tenor trombone (.500” bore)

This is an Abilene Conn 5H, which is a lightened 6H. It tends to have a bright sound with lots of core, great for pop work. It doesn’t like my Hammond 11M, so I use it only with my shallow Warburton 8S/4* (which it likes very much).

1984 King 1130 flugabone (.500” bore)

The source of the word “flugabone”, and a very good player. I’ve gigged on this a ton and its shouty sound is a great asset to have. Gotta be careful with mouthpiece choice though!

1973 Olds O-21 flugabone (.515” bore)

Another flugabone (or “marching trombone” in Olds-speak) that feels more refined and restrained than the King 1130. The better choice for classical flugabone playing (???) and jazz combo work.

Josef Lidl rotary Bb bass trumpet (~.440” bore)

A very tiny, very old-school bass trumpet that makes up for its difficulty with its piercing trumpet sound. I have yet to find an endgame mouthpiece for this instrument, so I mostly use it with my shallow lead trombone mouthpiece (Warburton 8S/4*) for the time being.

Blessing Artist M-300 marching baritone (.562” bore)

An older model of marching baritone that plays very well with a nice, colorful sound. I used this model baritone in high school marching band! This model also has a Bauerfiend valve set for some reason???

The Excerpts

I’ve prepared five contrasting excerpts to showcase the differences in all the instruments that will be playing them. (And by “prepared”, I mean “improvised on the spot when recording the first instrument”.) They are all very short, but give some good information. All instruments were recorded close-mic’d into my Cascade Fat Head ribbon microphone. I generally left intonation foibles in rather than re-taking until it was perfect, as tricky intonation is an important part of playing each instrument.

First up is a short marcato excerpt with 3 parts. I divided up the takes into 1 part solo, 3 parts (1 on a part), and 3 parts tripled (3 on a part).

Solo first:

3 parts (1 on a part, no doublings):

3 parts tripled (3 on a part) and panned to simulate a large section:

The next excerpt is a very short, softer triadic statement that starts high and ends low. As with the last excerpt, this one has 3 parts and was recorded the same 3 ways.

Solo first:

3 parts (1 on a part, no doublings):

3 parts tripled (3 on a part) and panned to simulate a large section:

The next excerpt is quick, high, and loud. 3 parts, nothing else. Very simple.

This one is a brief jazz excerpt in a typical 4-part big band trombone section style.

The last excerpt is a short 4-part chorale on the softer side. Starting with just the 4 parts, we’ll go through some fun variations later.

4 parts, no doubling:

The same stems as above, but this time drenched in some nice reverb:

This time each of the 4 parts is doubled, making for 8 total players.

Now we take the doubled parts and bring the reverb back.

Just for fun, after I finished recording the first 6 instruments, I unmuted all tracks on the chorale and exported that result too. This makes 48 players on 4 parts - 12 on a part, 2 per instrument. Just in case you ever wanted to know what a massed choir of bass trumpets, trombones, flugabones, and marching baritones sounded like.

Finally, I thought the massed chorale sounded so good that I decided to try pitch shifting the whole thing to see how it would sound in different ranges. I started by pitching down, but I was not prepared for the heavenly trumpet sound I got when I pitched up!

That’s all for now. As mentioned at the top of the post, there are still more instruments to record. At the very least, I have 4 trombones, possibly a bass trombone or 3, British baritone horn, and euphonium to add to the pile. In time!

In the mean time, if you’re interested in more comparisons, I uploaded some quick phone mic comparisons of some of these instruments on YouTube a few days ago.

Brass Instruments That Don't Exist (But Should)

It goes without saying (especially on this particular website) that there are a lot of brass instruments out there. Some probably shouldn’t exist, and others are probably not distinct enough to really deserve their own name. But they exist nonetheless, and going down the rabbit hole to discover and make sense of all of them is an endeavor that takes years.

But even though the concept of a mouthpiece attached to a metal cone has been tried hundreds or even thousands of ways, I believe we have not explored all that is possible in the brasswind medium. More to the point, I believe there are some brass instruments that should exist…but don’t. That’s what I’m going to discuss here, and hopefully inspire intrepid makers to make them a reality. (I can dream, ok?) Naturally, these are just my personal opinions, and if you have a different idea of a non-existent brass instrument that you wish was less non-existent, I’d love to hear about it.

Alto Euphonium

This might be the instrument I wish existed the most - a true F or E-flat alto tuba in the British euphonium style, with 3+1 compensating valves, a much larger bore and bell throat than an alto horn, and a small trombone mouthpiece shank. Technically, an alto euphonium does exist: the Yamaha YEH-901ST, which was made in a very limited (14 or 15) run in 1984-85 for Yamaha artists. It only had 3 valves, none of them have ever been for sale, and Yamaha no longer has the tooling to make any more. So although it technically does exist, practically speaking it might as well not. But this is the idea.

Yamaha YEH-901ST alto euphonium in E-flat (picture from Hidekazu Okayama’s website)

I plan to get an alto euphonium custom made for me from parts, as I really believe in its potential. Hopefully that project might inspire makers to give the concept a try. If my alto euphonium project is successful, I may then think about trying a soprano euphonium as well.

(Compensating) Euphonium in C

A similar (but less radical) instrument I’d like to see more of is a professional compensating euphonium in C. This did exist as the Besson BE765C, a special order instrument available until the company moved to Germany in 2006. That tooling is also likely long gone, and the picture below is the only evidence I have ever seen of the model. I can’t imagine more than 5-10 were ever made.

Besson BE765C-2 euphonium in C (left), Besson BE765-2 euphonium in B-flat (right). Picture from Hidekazu Okayama’s website.

C euphoniums do exist in some parts of the world, but apart from the Besson above there are none that I know of that are British-style professional instruments. C tubas are a standard for orchestral tubists…I see no reason why a British-style compensating euphonium in C couldn’t also have merit, especially as a doubling instrument for tubists used to C fingerings.

6/4 American-Style Tenor Tuba

There have been some extra-large compensating euphoniums in the past, but what I’m proposing goes a step further. Massive 6/4 York-style C tubas are very much in vogue…why not try that same blueprint an octave up? Give it 4 front-action pistons with a 5th rotor and orchestral tuba players will flock to it as a doubling instrument even more than the C compensating euphonium mentioned above.

Bass Euphonium

I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t a bass euphonium just an F tuba?” And I don’t blame you for thinking that, especially when small bell British F and Eb tubas that look and sound like big euphoniums exist. But my thought for an instrument called “bass euphonium” would be to take the dimensions of a modern compensating euphonium (.590-.660” bore size) and use them to build an instrument in low G. The goal is an instrument somewhere in between a euphonium and bass tuba in sound. I will admit, this one isn’t that important to me, but I think it would be an interesting experiment. I have seen a few very small bass tubas for sale that have seemed like really good candidates to cut down into a bass euphonium. I’ve even seen a piston F tuba with a 12-inch bell!

Soprano Mellophone/Mellophonium

A custom Holton Bb soprano mellophonium, made from parts

A soprano mellophone in high B-flat is something I’ve wanted for a long time. A couple have been cobbled together from parts using trombone bells (see the above picture), but that’s not really the real deal. I’m talking new mandrels and tapers that match a modern mellophone, just a scaled down for an instrument a 4th higher. I would suggest still using a trumpet shank and the same bore size as an F mellophone, as you still want it to feel like a mellophone. Truthfully, I would love a soprano mellophonium with a .500” bore, the same as the Conn 16E mellophonium. But as no maker makes a bell-front mellophone that large anymore, you’d have to do that first and then make the high Bb version. Which…I would also welcome with open arms. I love my 16E, but I’m sure a contemporary maker could make a better one.

Lower Mellophones

The mellophone as a concept is not something that I think can only be stretched upwards. I used to own a Conn 8E ballad horn from 1930, which is essentially a tenor mellophone in C or B-flat. But (to my knowledge) a modern bell-front tenor mellophone is not something that anyone has ever attempted. I even think a bass mellophone in F (an octave below the standard mellophone) would have a lot of potential.

I have been fascinated by the idea of a complete mellophone or mellophonium family for a long time, and even drew freehand sketches of what I would imagine some of the non-existent members could look like.

An old sketch of mine for a bass mellophonium in low F. I figured for an instrument of this length, an upright design was much more practical as a normal mellophonium is already an ergonomic challenge.

An old sketch of mine for a soprano mellophonium in high Bb.

I even sketched a little sopranino!

A Real Bass Horn

I’m not talking about the “bass horns” out there that are basically just rewrapped tubas. I’m talking about a proper double horn a 4th or 5th below a normal double horn, with a small bore proportionate to that of a normal horn, playable by a horn player or trombone/euphonium player, with a dedicated mouthpiece that’s a deep horn mouthpiece scaled up to around big alto horn (~19mm) to small trombone size. Much like modern descant horns usually use the same bells as double horns, the bass horn could use standard XL-throat double horn bells, like those from a Conn 8D or King Eroica.

Endangered Instruments

This category is for instruments that do exist, and you can even order them in some cases, but they are FAR too rare - often nearly impossible to find. These are instruments that I would like to see someone step up and make more widely available. I think rare, odd instruments like these are the perfect specimens for Jinbao/Wessex/etc. to take on. They’ll be playable enough, but also affordable enough that many players can try them out, and maybe get a boutique maker to make them a better one if they like it enough. If you start with the ultra-expensive handmade custom horns, nobody will ever buy one and the market won’t materialize. But if you start cheap, it just might.

  • Soprano flugelhorn (they are always in Eb, but I would love one in F as well)

  • Flugelhorn in C (with pistons)

  • Martin-style jazz flugelhorn (the Miles Davis horn)

  • Alto flugelhorn (G, F, or Eb)

  • Alto cornet (G, F, or Eb, a la the DEG model 1220)

  • Alto trumpet (G, F, or Eb)

  • Bass cornet (C or Bb)

  • Double trumpets (Bb/low F, Bb/Eb, C/F)

  • 4-valve C and Bb trumpets

  • 3-valve Bach-style piston bass trumpet in C (with main tuning trigger)

  • Contrabass trumpet (F or Eb)

  • British-style alto horn with 4 valves (most recent example: Kanstul ZAT-1540)

  • British-style 3+1 compensating baritone horn

  • Double bell alto horns, baritone horns, and tubas

  • British-style 3+2 non-compensating euphonium

  • Large bore (.500") soprano trombone (with valve and tuning-in-slide)

  • Large bore (.547”) alto trombone (with Bb valve, possibly tuning-in-slide)

  • Alto trombone in F

  • Alto valve trombone (F or Eb)

  • Large bore, bell-up trombonium (a la Conn 90G)

  • Bass trombonium (3 valves, in low F or E-flat)

  • Sopranino trombone in Eb

  • Tenor trombone in C

  • Tenor or bass trombone in Bb/F/ascending C

  • Double valve (Bb/F/Gb) tenor trombone (in .508”, .525”, and .547”)

  • Modern bass trombones in low G or F (hey pBone, please make a straight F bass. I’d love you forever)

  • G contrabass trombone (a la Jeff Reynolds)

  • Tuba-shaped F cimbasso (a la Kalison)

  • Tubas in G and D (G = shortened small F, D = shortened 4/4 rotary C)

  • Valved ophicleide (I would LOVE to try an F bass valved ophicleide in a brass quintet)

  • French ascending piston double horn (a la Selmer Thevet Ascendant)

  • Ascending double horns in general

  • Bass Vienna horn (F/C)

Other Pie-in-the-Sky Ideas (that I’m not actively hoping for, but would be fun)

  • Alto superbone

  • A superbone with 2 valves and a 4-position handslide, requiring you to use both in tandem constantly to play chromatically

  • New sizes of corno da tirarsi (slide horn), and corni da tirarsi with a valve or two

  • New sizes of Wagner tuba (alto in Eb, contrabass in C, high double in Eb/Bb, low double in F/C)

  • French ascending piston triple horn and double descant horn

  • Soprano trombones in G and C

  • Soprano valve trombone (in a shape and taper that distinguishes it from a trumpet)

  • 3 and 4 valve trumpets (not alto trumpets, or soprano bugles) in G

  • Contrabass cornet in F or G

  • 4-valve compensating flugelhorn

  • Tubas/euphs/baritones/tenor horns/cimbassos with echo bells (like an echo cornet)

  • A Bb contrabass trombone that doesn’t suck (impossible)

G Bugles

If you’ve been wandering around my website and have noticed a fair bit of content regarding a bunch of weird bugles in G and want to know what that’s about, if you’re interested in G bugles and want to know which ones could be the most useful, or if you’re deep into the G bugle game and you just want to consume as much G bugle content as possible, this article is for you.

I’ll start with a very brief history lesson and a definition of what exactly a G “bugle” really is.

Civilian drum and bugle corps in the United States began after World War I, initially using actual valveless military bugles for the brass line. Eventually they started adding valves to the bugles, which were only allowed to be in the key of G. First came a single horizontal piston, then 1 piston and 1 rotor, 2 pistons, and finally 3 pistons. Each change came after a long and laborious process of arguing for and against The Tradition™, a drum corps pastime that continues to this day.

Along with valves, new brass voices were gradually added to the allowed instrumentation, and while many of them were not at all bugles, they were still called bugles. (For this reason I like referring to the “family” as a whole as competition bugles, rather than just bugles.) This resulted in fun names like “French horn bugle” and “trombonium bugle” that sound like they came from a Dr. Seuss book. Weird naming scheme aside, drum corps instrumentation was rife with experimentation until the year 2000, when the rules were changed to allow brass instruments in any key, instead of just G.

Drum corps is a pretty insular activity, and as a result most brass players who aren’t into drum corps don’t know much (if at all) about the G bugles. I myself never marched, and so my main interest in G bugles has always been “which of these instruments is useful outside of drum corps?”, and that’s mainly what this article is about. I have been fortunate to own a smattering of ultra-cool, ultra-rare G bugles in the past few years, and have used a few of them in very not-drum-corps environments, so I feel like I can answer that question pretty well at this point. If you are a G bugle collector, this information and advice probably does not apply to you. Let’s dive in!

Soprano Bugle

King K-20 soprano bugle

The soprano bugle was the top voice of the G hornline. These are essentially trumpets in G with an extra large bore and bell throat, and they are SCREAMERS. If that sounds appealing, you would probably enjoy a 2-valve soprano. The 2 valve horns are extremely light and extremely free-blowing, and if you’re playing screamer parts you don’t need the 3rd valve. Look for a King K-20 or Dynasty II.

However, I believe the soprano bugle’s real niche outside of drum corps is the LOW notes. Put an extra-large mouthpiece into a 3-valve soprano and you have an excellent G alto trumpet. With the huge scarcity of real alto trumpets in F or E-flat, a 3-valve G soprano bugle (which you can easily pick up online for around $200) is a legitimately useful tool for a trumpet player, or an interesting left-field choice for someone looking to add a high brass instrument to their stable.

Dynasty G350B soprano bugle

While I would definitely recommend holding out for a 3-valve for the reasons above, an ultra-cheap 2-valve soprano is not a bad pickup either. It is fully chromatic at sounding E4 and above, which can still be useful (especially if you already have a trumpet). Just don’t spend very much!

Piccolo Soprano Bugle

These are an octave above the G soprano bugle, and are very rare. Almost all of them have two valves, making them chromatic only down to sounding E5. Not worth it at all, especially as if one does show up for sale it will not be cheap.

Flugelhorn Bugle

Dynasty II flugelhorn bugle

Flugel bugles are not a common type of bugle, but they did see quite a bit of use in the 2-valve era. As the flugelhorn’s strength is the middle register and not the high register, I tend to think 2-valve flugel bugles are not very useful. That said, if you really want a flugelhorn and can’t find a cheap one in Bb, a 2-valve G flugel bugle might be your cheapest way into a playable, nice-sounding flugelhorn. Do not show up to any kind of gig with one, but for home use and multitracking it can be a great option for the right price (no more than $200). You get the same lowest note (sounding E3) as a Bb flugel and just have 4 missing notes (Ab3-Bb3, Eb4) above that, but if you have any other mellow alto instruments that’s easy to write around. For 2-valve flugel bugles, look for the King K-30 or Dynasty II.

As for 3-valve flugelhorn bugles, they barely exist. Dynasty had one model, but it’s just a Signature 2000 Bb flugel with tubing added, which is not a good recipe. Kanstul did make at least one, but it was not a standard part of their catalog. Yamaha made a full set for the Blue Devils in 1992, but they were just modified Bb flugels. If you want a 3-valve flugel-like instrument, look to the alto bugle instead.

Alto Bugle

Kanstul KAB-175 alto bugle

The alto bugle is usually a mellophone with a smaller bell, but the older ones (particularly the 2-valve Dynasty II Alto/Symphonic or the impossibly rare Dynasty III 3-valve version) are essentially big flugelhorns in G. A bit more horn-like when pushed, but otherwise all flugel. However, as the 2-valve is missing the same notes as a 2-valve flugel bugle (and is very rare), and the 3-valve I used to own is the only example I’ve seen of that model ever existing, these older (1970s) Dynasty alto bugles are not something to bet on.

The more common smaller bell mellophone type (King K-40 2-valve, Kanstul 175, later Dynasty II, later mellophone-wrap Dynasty III), is an interesting beast. With an alto horn mouthpiece, they sound like an even sweeter flugelhorn. However, they were usually designed around a marching mellophone mouthpiece, which means they can play far too flat to be usable when you use an alto horn mouthpiece. My early-pattern Kanstul KAB-175 was this way. I could only use a marching mellophone mouthpiece like it was designed for, and it played exceptionally well with that, but no longer sounded anything like a flugelhorn. Instead, the sound you get with that combination is more like a cross between mellophone and trumpet. It is certainly a unique and interesting sound, but not one that I would call useful. I’d love to hear it in a jazz combo or pop horn section, though.

Mellophone Bugle

King K-50 mellophone bugle

The G mellophone bugle was originally inspired by the Conn 16E mellophoniums used in the Stan Kenton band, and the modern F marching mellophone was developed from the G mellophone bugle. With great F mellophones like the Yamaha YMP-204M readily available, is the G mellophone useful?

In my opinion, a G is useful only if you play a lot of screamer mellophone parts. I used to own a King K-50 2-valve G mellophone, the screamiest of all mellophones, and it was great fun to play screamer parts on. It is the sports car of the mellophone world. But I sold it because it didn’t offer enough of a difference from my other mellophones. Still, if it’s a great price and you want to give it a shot, I can guarantee you’ll have fun with a K-50 or a 3-valve G mellophone (Dynasty or Kanstul) if you like playing very high on mellophone.

What I would not recommend is buying a G mellophone as your only mellophone. Get a good F marching mellophone, like a cheap King 1120 from eBay, so that you can have a workhorse that you can read existing mellophone or horn parts with. Then, if you want, pick up a G mellophone (2 or 3 valve) to add some more brightness and high note security to your mello arsenal.

Meehaphone

Kanstul MFL meehaphone

The meehaphone is the most famous of the weird and ultra-rare G bugles. Made for Kanstul for the Blue Devils in 1987, the meehaphone is essentially a bell-front descant horn in G with 2 valves. I was fortunate enough to own the only known meehaphone not in a museum for a while, and while it was very cool it was not very useful. The instrument’s forte is its middle register, with the high register being weak and unstable. But since it only has 2 valves, that middle register is only fully chromatic for less than an octave! A 3-valve meehaphone built from parts would be interesting, but if you’re doing that you’re in pretty deep.

French Horn Bugle

Dynasty II French horn bugle

The French horn bugle was one of the standards of the DCI hornline in the 2-valve era, partly because it unlocked a lot of the missing pitches the mellophones had. Because of this octave lower construction, it is the only kind of bugle that really never needed 3 valves on the field. The lowest chromatic pitch (sounding E3) on a 2-valve “Frenchie” is far below what you would see in a typical drum corps French horn book.

However, that octave lower construction meant it was nearly as long as a single F horn, which meant it was very easy to crack notes on while running across a football field. But is it useful off the field?

If you’re playing a live gig on multiple brass instruments where you are playing into a mic and need to play French horn, a marching horn is exactly what you need as the bell points the right way for the mic. But Bb marching horns exist and are plentiful, so why go for the G? Most of the time I would say you don’t need to, especially as 2-valve Gs don’t typically go for any cheaper than 3-valve King Bbs on eBay. However, the G really does sound very close to a concert horn, and the Bb is not as close. So if you want a really convincing horn sound for a mic placed in front of you, the G French horn bugle (King K-60, Dynasty II) could be your best bet.

While 2 valves is more than enough for field use, if you happen to come across one of the enormously rare 3-valve G French horn bugles (Kanstul KHB-185, Dynasty III) at a good price, that 3rd valve is very nice to have. That said, on the only gig I’ve had where I would have used my G French horn bugle if I had it at the time, I actually would have only needed 2 valves.

Low Alto Bugle

Kanstul low alto bugle

The low alto bugle is one of the oddest and rarest G bugles out there. It was made by Kanstul at the start of the short 3-valve era, and so few were made (6 total) that it didn’t even get a model number. It is essentially a Kanstul KHB-185 3-valve G French horn bugle with a trumpet shank, which sounds like it would just be a 185 but worse. However, the truth is much more interesting. Many kinds of mouthpieces will fit (trumpet, mellophone, alto horn, small trombone, French horn w/adapter), and the horn works very well with ALL of them. Each mouthpiece gives it a unique sound, like a cross between a French horn and whatever type of mouthpiece it is. Out of all the G bugles I’ve owned, the low alto might have the most potential. But since only 6 were made and at least 3 are spoken for, you’re very unlikely to come across one. If you want something like this, you might look into a Holton MH-100/101 Bb marching horn, which also has a trumpet leadpipe for some reason.

Trombonium Bugle

Dynasty II trombonium bugle

The award for the silliest name easily goes to the trombonium bugle, and it is also one of the silliest looking. It was made by Dynasty in 2 and 3 valve versions and small and large bells, and I can’t find any reason to recommend one over a normal Bb valve trombone or flugabone. They are also extremely rare, so you probably won’t have that choice to make anyway.

Cellophone

Dynasty II cellophone (catalog ad)

The cellophone is another impossibly rare G bugle. Essentially a Dynasty flugabone in G, only 4 2-valve models were made, all for the Phantom Regiment. However, 3-valve Dynasty III models were also made for the European market, but only 3 of those are known and they are all spoken for. You’d have much better luck taking a Bb flugabone from King or Dynasty and lengthening it to G, or just playing a Bb flugabone.

Baritone Bugle

Olds Ultratone II baritone bugle

This is the low brass G bugle that you want. Originally called a “bass baritone” to distinguish it from the older and smaller type of baritone bugle, this kind of baritone bugle was the standard type of low brass in DCI hornlines from its inception until the end of the G bugles (at which point it was just replaced by the same thing in Bb). Most of them have 2 valves, and in my opinion they are not worth it for someone looking to use it in non-drum corps situations. You can get used Bb marching baritones very easily, and they will be much more useful. However, if you can find one of the much less common 3-valve G baritone bugles (Kanstul KBB-190, Dynasty III, Dynasty M371) for an affordable price, it can be an interesting purchase.

BAC (Kanstul 191) baritone bugle

As your only low brass instrument for home use, the 3-valve G bari would be a nice option as it can play as high as a Bb instrument but can also play chromatically down to Db2. However, I would usually only recommend purchasing a G baritone as a second instrument to a Bb instrument (regardless of type), and it doesn’t bring THAT much new to the table. It has a nice fat sound that is different enough to a Bb marching baritone that it could be interesting to own both, but between baritone and euphonium I don’t think there’s much of a need for that G baritone sound. I think the most sensible use would be if you don’t want to put down the money for a 4-valve euphonium (and/or no $500 Yamaha YEP-321s are for sale at the time), but want something that can play lower than your 3-valve Bb instruments. But it would have to be a very good price on the G baritone - I’m talking $300 or less.

Euphonium Bugle

Dynasty M376 euphonium bugle

The G euphonium bugle is the baritone bugle’s big brother, and is one heavy beast. Pretty much everything I said about the baritone bugle above also applies to the G euph. I will say that Bb marching euphoniums are not nearly as common to find used for cheap as Bb marching baritones, so if you need a bell-front euphonium to play into a mic and happen to find a G euph bugle for cheap it could be a good solution. That said, G euphs are also not as common as G baritones (ESPECIALLY the rare 3-valve models by Kanstul or Dynasty), so it would have to be a lucky situation.

Contrabass Bugle

BAC (Kanstul 201) contrabass bugle

Generally, contrabass bugles are just Bb tubas that point forward and are crooked down to G. A 3 or 4-valve G contra is a cool beast, but not a cheap or useful one. In my opinion the only reason to buy a G contra would be if it was an older piston/rotor or 2 piston model being sold for nearly nothing, that you could get converted to a concert tuba with a front-action valve set in the same bore that you happen to have lying around. Otherwise, a normal tuba is a better purchase.

Closing Thoughts

Sadly, the door is nearly shut on the G competition bugle. G bugles were quickly phased out of DCI competition after the any-key rule change in 2000, and the list of groups that still use G bugles is not a long one. The most notable is the United States Marine Band Commandant’s Own Drum & Bugle Corps, which very recently moved from 2-valve Kanstuls to 3-valve BACs. Other than that, there are some alumni and lower-level junior corps that are still on G, as well as a handful of small G-faithful corps in Japan, such as the Yokohama Scouts.

The only place to buy a new G bugle is from BAC in Kansas City. BAC acquired the Kanstul G bugle tooling when Kanstul shut its doors in 2019, which is why they made the new bugles for the Commandant’s Own. They do advertise the G bugles on their website catalog, but they price them at nearly twice what Kanstul did, making them far out of reach for most people who might be interested in one. Additionally, they only offer 4 out of Kanstul’s 10 bugle models, so if you want anything other than a soprano, mellophone, extra-large baritone, or contra, you are probably out of luck.

Fortunately, the common types of G bugle were made in large quantities to outfit all the corps’ hornlines, so there is no shortage of used soprano, mellophone, French horn, baritone, and contrabass bugles to be found. Additionally, as they are all essentially obsolete and only desirable by DCI alumni and G bugle collectors, they usually go for very affordable prices. The 3-valve horns and less common types (alto, flugelhorn, euphonium) are harder to find, but if you are patient it is still very doable. If you are diligent, you may even come across one of the ultra-rare models for a very low price. There are still unaccounted-for examples of nearly every kind of bugle ever made out there waiting to be found.

Alto Trumpet (and other low-ish trumpets)

Without a doubt, the alto trumpet is the black sheep of the trumpet family.

Built in low F or E-flat, this instrument was allegedly invented by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov…according to himself in his treatise on orchestration. At the very least, he wrote for it a lot and many Russian composers followed suit. But what is it really, and why is it essentially extinct?

The first and most important thing to note is that the alto trumpet is NOT the same instrument as the older orchestral trumpets in low F or Eb, which are direct descendants of the long natural trumpets that came before and were written for by many popular orchestral composers (Mahler, Strauss, etc.). Those are true trumpets, rather than the mostly-cornet instruments we call “trumpets” today.

Thein low orchestral rotary trumpet in F

Although both the low orchestral trumpet and the alto trumpet are the same length and you might think the distinction is unnecessary, they are completely different instruments. I have experience with both types, and they could not be any more different in sound, feel, and function if they tried. The difference is as large as a modern tuba compared to an ophicleide.

As if two instruments in the same family that are the same length but are completely different was not confusing enough, there is actually a third instrument to throw into the mix: the F or Eb bass trumpet.

Helmut Voigt “Aline” bass trumpet in E-flat/D

These instruments have a larger bore and bell than alto trumpets and take a trombone mouthpiece, and function essentially the same as the more common C and Bb bass trumpets. Once again, these instruments are entirely removed from either the low orchestral trumpet or alto trumpet in sound, feel, and function. Eb bass trumpets are most often seen nowadays in German folk music, for example as the middle voice between a rotary flugelhorn and a large Bb bass trumpet or bass flugelhorn. Here is a great example:

These three instruments are all trumpets in low F or E-flat, but they are completely different. To summarize:

  • F/Eb low orchestral trumpet: meant to be played in the same register as a Bb or C trumpet. It’s a natural trumpet with valves, and it plays and sounds as such. Uses a small mouthpiece.

  • F/Eb alto trumpet: meant to be played a 4th or 5th below the Bb trumpet. Designed from that instrument, rather than from the natural trumpet. Does what the name implies. Uses a mouthpiece in between trumpet and trombone in size (~19mm).

  • F/Eb bass trumpet: meant to be played roughly an octave below the Bb trumpet, like a C or Bb bass trumpet. Plays and sounds like any other bass trumpet. Uses a trombone mouthpiece.

While none of these instruments are particularly common, low orchestral trumpets are still made by Kuhnl & Hoyer and a few boutique makers (Thein, Egger, Dotzauer), and F/Eb bass trumpets still have a market (Thein, Meinl Weston, Helmut Voigt, Lars Gerdt, likely many more small German and Austrian makers).

This is not the case for the alto trumpet, which is currently made (to my knowledge) by nobody. Why is that?

The easiest explanation is the repertoire.

Eb bass trumpet does have a few important parts in the orchestra such as the Rite of Spring, but the bass trumpet in C is the orchestral standard for all bass trumpet parts so you’re not likely to see an F or Eb bass trumpet in the orchestra. However, it has an established role in German folk music, and thus will always have a use and thus a market.

While the low orchestral trumpet is sadly totally extinct in the world of modern orchestral trumpeting, a massive portion of the standard orchestral canon was written for it, so there will always be a small interest in them for players that value authenticity or regularly engage in historically-informed orchestral performance.

The alto trumpet doesn’t have any existing use like that to rely on. There is some Russian repertoire for it, but all of those parts were deliberately written within the range of the Bb trumpet so that the part could still be covered if no alto trumpet was available. This is a logical move, but the unfortunate result is that there is zero incentive to get an alto trumpet for those parts. Mahler-style low orchestral trumpets suffer from the same issue; with a few notable exceptions, everything is well within the range of a Bb or C trumpet.

Scythian Suite (Prokofiev) - Movement 2, Trumpet 4 (F alto)

But suppose an intrepid player wanted to honor Rimsky-Korsakov’s intentions and get an F alto trumpet. The player might also point out that there is some research to indicate Wagner’s 3rd trumpet parts might have been intended for a similar instrument, in order to further justify their purchase. Where can they buy one?

Unfortunately, alto trumpet buying options are nearly nonexistent. As previously mentioned, nobody (to my knowledge) makes a new one. The closest thing is the Carol Brass CTR-5000L-YLT-Bb/G-L, which is just a normal Bb trumpet with alternate slides to put it in G. You’d also have to find a dealer that would be willing to get one for you, as I haven’t found any online store that stocks the model.

Carol Brass CTR-5000L-YLT-Bb/G-L trumpet in B-flat or G (G slides equipped)

You might find some luck with Italian brass makers, as Italian military and police bands are the only place I know of where the alto trumpet has seen regular use, with the 3rd trumpet part often played on F altos instead of Bbs like the higher parts. Those bands are an anomaly in other ways too, though - cimbasso, bass trumpets, and Eb soprano flugelhorns are standard features of those bands (though the Eb flugelhorn isn’t so common anymore, usually being substituted by Eb cornet).

The 3 alto trumpeters of the Banda dell’Arma dei Carabinieri, from their 2016 performance at the Kennedy Center. This ensemble also had 2 bass trumpets and a plethora of other uncommon instruments.

As an aside, alto trumpet does have some further history with concert bands. In the spectacular 1923-1924 roster for the University of Illinois Concert Band, one alto trumpet player is listed:

Okay, so what about buying an alto trumpet used? Well, here is a summary of the used alto trumpet market, from my experience:

Bach “contralto” trumpets (made in either F or Eb): enormously rare, and when they do show up for sale they have the Collectible Bach Tax™ and are very expensive. Not that they were cheap when they were new, mind you. That said, I have played one of these and it was an excellent instrument.

Bach 351 “contralto” trumpet in F

Bach “contralto” trumpet in E-flat

Holton 56 (Eb only): also enormously rare, also typically expensive.

Holton 56 alto trumpet in E-flat

Olds Custom F-10 (F only): I have only ever seen one single listing for one of these. Not expensive like the Bach, but you’re better off waiting for Half-Life 3.

Olds Custom F-10 alto trumpet in F (catalog picture)

Conn 34B, 40B, 50B (all Eb only): very rarely show up for sale. If you do manage to find one, beware: everything I have read about them says that they are very stuffy and generally bad to play.

Conn 34B alto trumpet in E-flat (picture from the Conn Loyalist)

Conn 40B alto trumpet in E-flat (picture from the Conn Loyalist)

Conn 50B alto trumpet in E-flat (picture from the Conn Loyalist)

Getzen 300 (F with Eb slide): By far the most common used alto trumpet to show up, but still not common at all. Plus, it’s a student-level instrument that by all accounts is not that great. Make sure to not mistake a Getzen frumpet for one, as they look similar.

Getzen 300 alto trumpet in F

Kuhnl & Hoyer low Ebs (model 599): I include these only to warn you that these are not actually alto trumpets. They look like they should be as they have piston valves and a very normal wrap (in either the short (599X) or long (599) variety), but they are actually low orchestral trumpets like the old rotaries in terrible condition that live on eBay. I believe the Chinese low Eb trumpets on eBay are clones of the K&H 599X, but I’m not completely sure.

Kuhnl & Hoyer 599X short model low ”fanfare” trumpet in E-flat

3-valve G soprano bugle: The old drum corps G soprano bugles were basically trumpets in low G with an extra-large bore and bell throat. This means that with a suitably large mouthpiece, they actually work very well as a G alto trumpet. I have a video on this very subject! As a bonus, the Dynasty 3-valve sopranos show up on eBay quite frequently at very affordable prices (usually $150-250). While these are not in F or Eb and you would thus have to transpose (or get slide extensions made), they can play down to concert Db3, which covers every extra low note in the repertoire except for the low C in Mozart 41 (which is pretty inconsequential anyway). Used Kanstul sopranos are less common and more expensive, but generally regarded as the better instrument. You could also buy a brand new Kanstul-pattern one from BAC if you really wanted to.

Dynasty 3-valve soprano bugle in G

My conclusion is simple: every orchestral trumpeter should own a 3-valve G soprano bugle. It costs nearly nothing, plays well, and covers all your extra-low needs. Use it on parts intended for alto trumpet (Rimsky-Korsakov 3rd trumpet parts) even if they don’t go below the range of a Bb. Use it for Carmen, use it for Heldenleben, use it for trumpets 4/5/6 in Mahler 6. Use it for all those old 2nd parts written for natural trumpet that throw in a random 2nd partial note or two (Don Giovanni and Manfred Overture for example).

Do I wish alto trumpets in F or E-flat were easier to get? Very much so. I would really love to have an F alto, and I’d also really love to be able to write for F alto. But until somebody decides to make a new one (hello, ACB? Wessex??), at least there is a readily-available alternative in the 3-valve soprano bugle.

The Lineage of the King 1120 Mellophone

The King 1120 is a marching mellophone that has been one of the most popular since its introduction. While the Yamaha YMP-204M is the current standard of the mellophone world, the 1120 still sees a lot of use in marching bands, most notably HBCUs. The current version of this model is the 1121, which has an angled leadpipe, re-wrapped 3rd valve slide, and other small changes.

But the 1120 was not designed in a vacuum. In fact, the design has direct ancestry back to the bad old days of the drum corps G bugle.

All three of these instruments have the same wrap, and all three were designed by the same person: Zig Kanstul.

The instrument on the left is the genesis of this mellophone design, the King K-50 mellophone bugle in G. This was the best of the 2-valve mellophones, and it is an absolute screamer.

When three valves were legalized in DCI in 1990, Zig Kanstul came back to the K-50’s basic design and updated it for the 3rd valve, but this time under his own brand. Pictured in the middle is an early pattern Kanstul KAB-175 alto bugle in G. Sadly I have never seen an early pattern KMB-180 mellophone bugle for sale, or else I would have used that in this photo comparison. But the KAB-175’s noticeably smaller bell diameter is the only difference between it and the KMB-180.

You’ll notice that the 175 deviated slightly from the K-50 design by having the leadpipe enter the 1st valve from the other side, rather than angling to get around the 1st valve slide and entering the valve from that side. The leadpipe is also shorter than the K-50’s, with that length moved to the taper after the valves. The two instruments do not play the same (impossible when adding a 3rd valve), but they do have a similar feel and great slotting all the way up into the highest register.

On the right in the pictures above is the King 1120. This was also designed for King by Zig Kanstul, after the Kanstul company had moved on to a different design for their mellophones and alto bugles. The older design clearly still had life left though, as Zig stuck very closely to the K-50/early Kanstul design. It is most similar to the K-50, sharing its longer leadpipe and leadpipe routing. But it also copies the 3rd valve design of the KMB-180/KAB-175, with that unmistakable 3rd valve slide wrap.

KAB-175 (top) and 1120 (bottom) 3rd valve slides

The King 1120, then, is essentially an updated version of both the K-50 and KMB-180 designs, lengthened to play in F. It plays great, as a Kanstul should.

P.S. As an interesting final note, the Yamaha line of marching mellophones was based on the preceding Olds marching mellophone wrap (which was stenciled by quite a few makers including Bach, Blessing, and Reynolds). The Olds marching mellophone was the first F marching mellophone, derived from the G mellophone bugle and designed by…you guessed it…Zig Kanstul!

So, the two mellophones that have dominated the marching arts for years are either an actual Zig design or a derivative of one. In fact, as the Jupiter mellophone is also essentially the same design as the Yamaha, the only current marching mellophone that isn’t a Kanstul derivative is the Adams MM-1, which bears a closer resemblance to the Dynasty mellophones.

Marching French Horn

The marching French horn is an enigma. Sure, it’s been used by high school marching bands and drum and bugle corps, but there are very few recordings of them on the Internet. They also carry a bad reputation with them…they’re impossible to march with, they sound worse and not as loud as a mellophone, and are generally pointless. Or so people say.

Some of these claims do have some truth to them. Picking out pitches on a Bb or low G single horn with a narrow horn rim while running around a football field is certainly not easy, and the drum corps “Frenchie” lines earned notoriety for lots of cracked notes. The marching horn (regardless of key) also does fall short of the mellophone in terms of raw decibel output. Additionally, band directors often don’t know what to do with them. Do they read Bb parts or F? (The correct answer is F. Always F.) Are they worth the additional expense over a mellophone? Why do some have bent leadpipes and some don’t?

Despite all this, I think the marching horn is unfairly maligned. A good marching horn with the right player and mouthpiece behind it really does sound pretty close to a “real” horn, and you certainly can’t get that sound with a mellophone.

It is also important to understand the marching horn’s integral role in drum corps G bugle hornlines before the legalization of 3 valves. While mid-voice instrumentation in drum corps back then was full of experimentation, French horns were a common choice. Why? Because being twice as long as the G mellophones (or flugelhorns, alto bugles, or meehaphones) meant that they could access many crucial notes in the mid-register that simply did not exist on the other 2-valve alto instruments. This was huge for the arrangers of the time, and a good French horn line added a huge amount of depth and flexibility to a hornline.

A 2-valve piston/rotor Olds Ultratone French horn bugle in G

However, the top corps had begun to streamline their mid-voice to just mellophones even before 3 valves were legalized in 1990. While the tonal colors of a varied mid-voice line were great, unifying to one type of instrument meant tuning and blend was much easier. That said, a few small French horn lines did survive briefly into the 3 valve era, most notably in the Cavaliers and Santa Clara Vanguard. Both lines used the Kanstul KHB-185 3-valve G French horn bugle, with 8 made for SCV and 6 made for the Cavaliers. It is likely that no other examples of the model were made (despite it remaining in the Kanstul catalog for most of the company’s life), which would mean there are only 14 in the world.

Here’s one!

This is my Kanstul KHB-185, which was one of the Santa Clara Vanguard horns (it is even stamped as such on the bell!). SCV used these only through the 1992 season, after which they moved to all mellophones.

This horn is a great player. It is certainly not point-and-shoot like a mellophone; you have to work for the right notes just like on a single F horn (which is only a whole step lower). But the reward for your efforts is a bell-front instrument that really does sound like a French horn.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a quick 8-part demo I recorded all on this Kanstul:

While the register of drum corps French horn parts meant that they really did not need a third valve, I certainly enjoyed getting to use the full range of the instrument in this bite-sized piece.

Being fully chromatic also means that an instrument like this could really be the solution for playing French horn into a mic that’s placed in front of you. I have played many gigs where I doubled on French horn, and the only solution with a normal horn is to physically turn 90 degrees to the left and hold the bell up the mic like you’re playing Mahler. It is awkward at best. This Kanstul (which sounds like a horn, but points forward) is the perfect solution for a gigging brass doubler. I will not be keeping this specific horn, but I plan to acquire both Bb and high F Kanstul marching horns to see how they fare in the same role. I am much more comfortable improvising in Bb and F, so if those horns sound like this one does we will have a real winner (and one that is much more readily available).

Anyway, here’s a brief trip through some other interesting types of marching French horns.

First up is the Kanstul 285 marching horn in B-flat. While you could be forgiven for thinking that the Kanstul 185 marching horn in G above was based on this, it’s actually the other way around. Zig Kanstul started his company making G bugles only, so this Bb horn is actually a derivative of the G. It has the same up-turned leadpipe to allow for a typical downstream horn embouchure while holding the horn above parallel. Other brands’ marching horns do not have this feature. The B-flat marching horn is the most common type of marching horn, and a few manufacturers (Yamaha, King, Adams) each have a model in their current lineup.

Kanstul 285 B-flat marching horn

Next up is the Kanstul 284 marching horn in high F. High F marching horns are not commonly known, but they have been produced by Kanstul, Dynasty, and Blessing. Since Kanstul closed up shop in 2019, I don’t believe there are any high F marching horns currently being produced.

Kanstul 284 high F marching horn

There have been some very odd-looking marching horns throughout history as well, such as the Holton MH-100, 101, and 102. These Dr. Seuss horns play as oddly as they look, but at the same time they play concerningly well. They have a trumpet mouthpiece shank for some reason, which allows you to put lots of different kinds of mouthpieces in it. Most inexplicably, they have been copied by Jinbao.

Holton MH-101 B-flat marching horn (MH-100 = screw bell, MH-101 = fixed bell, MH-102 = fixed bell, slide kickers)

The Low Alto Bugle

Speaking of marching horns with trumpet shanks, Kanstul also made a very odd variant of the KHB-185 3-valve G French horn bugle presented at the beginning of the article. They called it a “Low Alto”, and it is the same as the KHB-185 except for a different leadpipe (trumpet shank) and main tuning slide arrangement. As weird as it is, 6 were built and it did see some drum corps use with the Marauders and later the Kingsmen Alumni.

Top: Kanstul KHB-185 French horn bugle in G
Bottom: Kanstul low alto bugle in G (no model number)

Because it has a trumpet shank, the low alto bugle can accept many different mouthpiece types. As I have adapters for both trumpet to horn and trumpet to cornet, I was able to see how it sounds with mouthpieces that use all 3 shanks. As it is a Kanstul G marching horn at heart, if you use a horn mouthpiece with an adapter it plays and sounds pretty much like the KHB-185 French horn bugle. It’s a little harder to play accurately and a little more work to get a centered horn sound (I suspect mostly due to the adapter), but it’s there if you work for it. And unlike the 185, the low alto has a whole toy chest of other sounds to explore by using different mouthpieces.

From my time with the low alto, I found that horn, tenor horn, alto trumpet, and very small trombone mouthpieces worked the best. I do think that a mouthpiece that truly matched the instrument well would have to be custom made. But rather than talking about it any longer, I’ll just let you listen. I recorded a small collection of short, improvised excerpts on 11 different mouthpieces (and adapters when required), each meant for a different instrument.

Lastly, here’s a back-to-back comparison of the 2 marching horns with trumpet shanks: the G low alto bugle with horn mouthpiece (via adapter) and the Holton MH-101 with horn mouthpiece (via adapter).

Brass Tier Lists

Since I started buying brass instruments in 2010, I’ve had the pleasure of owning a plethora of weird and wonderful horns. What better way to collect my thoughts on all of them than with the modern Internet’s bastion of discernment, the tier list?

Alto Brass Tier List

S-Tier

  1. Early 1990s Kanstul KAB-175 alto bugle - This G alto bugle was a phenomenal player. Great intonation, amazing valves, a slide kicker, great ergonomics, cool sound, easy response, great high register…there was nothing this instrument was wanting for. It was addicting to play and I absolutely loved it. Definitely the best-playing alto brass instrument I’ve owned. Sadly, there is no real use for a mellophone-style alto bugle, so I sold it when cash was tight. I would own one again in a heartbeat!

  2. King K-50 mellophone bugle - The sports car of mellophones. The K-50’s reputation as an amazing player and screamer is absolutely warranted…for unreasonably high mellophone parts, there is nothing better.

  3. Early 1990s Kanstul low alto bugle - One of the weirdest instruments I’ve owned, but also one of the best. The low alto is essentially Kanstul’s KHB-185 French horn bugle but with a trumpet shank/leadpipe, and the result is very unique. You can use a horn mouthpiece with an adapter and it plays almost the same as the KHB-185, but you can also use any other mouthpiece that fits in the shank…trumpet, alto horn, alto trumpet, small trombone, etc. And thanks to some Kanstul black magic, they ALL play well and they all sound cool.

  4. Early 1990s Kanstul KHB-185 French horn bugle - A very high quality marching horn in G that plays wonderfully. The sound is rich and full, and so close to the sound of a concert horn that it’s negligible unless you’re comparing them back to back. It really is the perfect bell-front French horn, though it is in G so no fingerings transfer. I sold mine when I got the low alto bugle, but if I hadn’t found that I would have gladly kept it.

A-Tier

  1. King 1120 marching mellophone - Just a total workhorse of a mellophone. I’ve used it on plenty of gigs and recording sessions and it makes every job easy. Great sound, great high range, great projection, nice valves, good ergonomics. Though it isn’t as refined as the Yamaha 204, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and its K-50 genes are clear.

  2. Holton M602 mellophonium - This rare Holton model is a hidden gem. It has the bore size and ergonomics of a modern marching mellophone, but everything else is all classic mellophonium. Kind of a hybrid in that way, but the result is a horn that actually sounds even darker than the Conn 16E. It’s picky with mouthpieces, but once you find a match it rewards you with the sweetest velvet sound. Good valves, good intonation, and good ergonomics are all things that the M602 has that other mellophoniums do not. Now, it does not like to be pushed - definitely a smoky jazz horn rather than a screamer. But it knows its lane and it does it superbly.

  3. Yamaha YMP-201 circular mellophone - The best-playing circular mellophone of all time, plain and simple. Feels and plays like a modern instrument, and it should considering it IS one. The only disadvantage is one shared by all circular mellophones: the horrible ergonomics due to the entirely useless direction the bell points. A YMP-201 with the bell straightened out would be a sweet thing indeed. In fact, the person I sold my 201 to did exactly that.

  4. Elkhart/Couesnon alto flugelhorn - It plays and sounds just like my wonderful Couesnon flugelhorn, but a 4th lower. It has a 3rd slide kicker and good intonation. Playing this alto flugelhorn (in F or E-flat) is a lovely experience.

  5. DEG/Willson 1220 alto cornet - In many ways, the 1220 is the Swiss army knife of alto brass instruments. It blends with everything, it’s easy to play and hold, and it only takes up a little more space than a Bb cornet. While it doesn’t have a cool, unique sound on its own (but DOES sound like a low cornet), its versatility and practicality make it an instrument any brass player could find a use for. I sold mine, but I would gladly own one again.

  6. Hampson Horns/Jackalope Brassworks corno da tirarsi - A beautiful handmade instrument, this corno da tirarsi (slide horn) is pretty different to anything else here. It has a unique sound, somewhere in between horn, flugelhorn, and cornet.

B-Tier

  1. Yamaha YMP-201M marching mellophone - The 201M is the first in a line of marching mellophones that culminated in the current YMP-204M. While it is not as refined as the 204 and plays fairly tight, it is still a nice player and a good workhorse mellophone for anyone needing one on the cheap. I replaced mine with my King 1120, but it served me well.

  2. 1925 Buescher True-Tone 25 circular mellophone - A cool multi-key (F/Eb/D/C via the 2 rotors) old-school mellophone that has a sound so dark it has shades of euphonium. Ergonomics, intonation, and valve quality typical of a nearly century-old instrument drag it down, but it is still a beautiful instrument.

  3. Holton MH-101 marching horn - One of the weirdest mass-produced brass instruments of all time, this Bb marching horn has playing characteristics to match its Seussian appearance. Despite being the same length as a trombone, it has a scream register that shames most mellophones. It just keeps going, no matter how high you play. It is hilarious to play, and also has a ton of different mouthpiece options thanks to its trumpet shank (just like the Kanstul low alto bugle).

  4. Dynasty III alto bugle - This is likely the rarest brass instrument I’ve ever owned, or will own. Before the one I bought showed up on Canadian eBay, there was no evidence of its existence on the Internet. It played and sounded like a big flugelhorn, which it essentially was. Intonation was tricky especially with no slide kickers, but it was manageable enough and that gorgeous sound was worth the effort.

  5. King Eroica double horn - Possibly the most open-blowing double horn of all time, which my bass trombonist self gets along very well with. The Eroica is a very underrated professional double horn, though it has a very wide left hand grip and is certainly not the easiest instrument to play (like most vintage double horns). But it makes an enormous sound and is good to me.

  6. 1971 Holton H178 double horn - The horn I replaced with the Eroica. I rescued this horn from Craigslist and used it as my main horn for quite a few years. It was an exceptional example of the model and played predictably and competently. However, the larger-throat H179 is the sound I had in my head (as that’s the horn I learned on) so the H178’s medium-throat sound never really satisfied me.

C-Tier

  1. 1969 Conn 16E mellophonium - What can I say about the 16E that I haven’t already said? It’s one of my favorite and most-used instruments, but it is also very flawed. Terrible intonation, terrible valves, terrible ergonomics, terrible high register…there’s not a lot the 16E does well. But that iconic sound makes up for it entirely in my mind.

  2. 1930 Conn 8E ballad horn - I always wanted to own a ballad horn, and I’m so glad I got the chance to. As friends who I’ve shown it to can tell you, the 8E made me beam with joy every time I took it out of the case. In some ways it was the crown jewel of my collection…but it also didn’t really play that well and the sound was forgettable. Even so, it took me a long time to be willing to sell it. If I had unlimited money, I would have kept it forever.

  3. Selman 11303N alto trombone - The basic Chinese Slokar alto clone that every trombone player knows. Mine played well enough to learn alto on and even play on a few gigs. Certainly not a high-quality instrument, but I had no complaints (especially for the price).

D-Tier

  1. 1987 Kanstul MFL meehaphone - Possibly the most legendary G bugle of all time. Essentially a field descant horn in G, with a 2-valve flugelhorn valve block. Only 14 were likely made, and 10 of those were lost in a shipment and still haven’t been found. Out of the 4 extant, 3 are in drum corps museums and there is only one in private hands. That one is the one I owned! Yet, for all the hype, the meehaphone really was not a very good player. It had a very weak high range, but with only two valves it didn’t have a low range either. So the usable range was very small, and the sound it made there was forgettable. Nonetheless, I loved being able to own the legend and make a bunch of recordings to preserve it.

  2. Schiller Field Series Elite marching horn - A decent Chinese clone of the Yamaha Bb marching horn. It was adequate, but not easy to play especially up high.

  3. 1938 Conn 6D double horn - This horn is a tragic story. From the golden era of 6D production, this 6D was still an ok player with a lovely sound even though its valves were completely shot…no compression whatsoever. I kept it for years waiting to be able to afford to get it restored, but I had a string of hard financial years and had to sell it to make ends meet. I bet it would have been a spectacular instrument.

E-Tier

  1. 1918 Conn 6E circular mellophone - Another old instrument with shot valves that limit its use. This one has a sweet, colorful sound and I’m sure it would be great with fresh valves. I’ve had it for sale for a while, but eventually I might just take the guts and turn them into a bell-front instrument with a new valve section.

F-Tier

  1. Late 1970s Getzen 383 frumpet - All of the bad things ever said about the frumpet are true.

  2. Nirschl E102SP marching mellophone - The Nirschl might actually be worse than the frumpet. It is truly shocking.

Low Brass Tier List

S-Tier

  1. 1963 Conn 72H bass trombone (Yamaha rotors) -

  2. 1973 King 3B tenor trombone -

  3. 1972 King 3BF tenor trombone -

  4. 1990s King 607 tenor trombone -

  5. 2023 Y-Fort YSL-763L tenor trombone -

A-Tier

  1. 196x Conn 72H bass trombone (stock single) -

  2. Jinbao JBBR-1240 British baritone horn -

  3. 1984 King 1130 flugabone -

  4. Blessing M-300 Artist marching baritone -

  5. Kanstul KBB-190 baritone bugle -

B-Tier

  1. 2006 Getzen Eterna 1052FD bass trombone -

  2. Schiller compensating euphonium -

  3. 2007 Sterling Virtuoso compensating euphonium -

  4. 2008 Kanstul 975 compensating euphonium -

  5. 1962 Conn 88H tenor trombone -

  6. Unmarked German tenor trombone -

C-Tier

  1. 1972 Olds S24G bass trombone (modified) -

  2. Selmer Largo tenor trombone (F attachment, 9” bell) -

  3. 1966 Holton 66 Galaxy tenor trombone -

  4. 1940 Holton 63 tenor trombone -

  5. 1960 King 1480 Symphony bass trombone -

  6. 1961 King 1480 Symphony bass trombone -

  7. Josef Lidl rotary Bb bass trumpet -

D-Tier

  1. Selmer Largo tenor trombone (straight, 8.5” bell) -

  2. 1939 Boosey & Hawkes Artist’s Perfected G bass trombone -

E-Tier

  1. Boosey & Hawkes Imperial compensating Eb tuba -

  2. Pelisson bass saxhorn in C -

F-Tier

  1. None (yet!)

Still to Try

  • Any circular alto horn (rotary valves)

  • Adams MM1 marching mellophone

  • Bach F or Eb alto trumpet

  • Buescher Eb solo alto

  • Chinese piston Eb alto trumpet (K&H or Bach copy??)

  • Conn 2C/3C Eb alto horn

  • Conn 10C New Wonder Eb solo alto

  • Conn 34B, 40B, or 50B Eb alto trumpet

  • DEG 1220 with larger bell

  • DEG/Dynasty III/Getzen marching French horn in F (or similar Blessing M-400/Accord)

  • Getzen 300 F/Eb alto trumpet

  • Holton 56 alto trumpet

  • Holton MH-100/101 circular marching French horn in Bb

  • Kanstul 175 (late pattern) alto bugle in G

  • Kanstul 180 (late pattern) mellophone bugle in G

  • Kanstul 275 (late pattern) marching alto in F

  • Kanstul 281 (late pattern) marching mellophone

  • Kanstul 284 marching French horn in F

  • Kanstul 285 marching French horn in Bb

  • Kanstul KMB-180 (early pattern) mellophone bugle in G

  • King 1122/Conn 134E marching French horn in Bb

  • King 1147/1148 altonium

  • King K-60 or Dynasty II 2-valve French horn bugle in G

  • King 5-valve circular mellophone

  • Kuhnl & Hoyer 599/599X low Eb orchestral trumpet

  • Mario Corso 1042 F/Eb alto/bass trumpet

  • Mario Corso 5040 marching mellophone

  • Miraphone 4-valve rotary oval alto horn

  • Olds Custom F-10 alto trumpet

  • Schenkelaars alto flugelhorn

  • Soviet oval alto horn

  • Yamaha YHR-302M marching French horn in Bb

The One Ring of Trombones

In many ways, most common brass instruments could be pared down to one model of instrument and no harm would be done. For example, if the only kind of trumpet in the world was a Bach 37, very little would change. Orchestral players would have to get used to not using C trumpets and/or rotaries, and high baroque and solo repertoire would be more difficult. But overall, business would pretty much continue as usual. The Bach 37 is played by many players in every style where a trumpet exists, and it works perfectly well in all of them. I personally have never played a Bach 37 I’ve liked, but it would still be my immediate suggestion for the only model of trumpet in the world.

Horns are even more flexible; you could pick an Alexander 103 or a Yamaha YHR-671D or any number of other popular double horns as the world’s only kind of horn and no harm would be done (apart from in historically-informed performance, but that’s a casualty in any of these “one instrument” scenarios).

A Besson Sovereign would be my pick for the only euphonium, but it could just as easily be a Yamaha YEP-642. Tuba is a little more difficult, but you can just pick one that’s pretty good at everything. For my money that would be a British compensating E-flat, such as a 19” bell Besson.

Trombones seem to be the most difficult; you need to find a trombone that can do everything, from alto to contrabass. That means screaming 4-hour salsa gigs, stratospheric Bill Watrous or Dave Steinmeyer jazz ballads, delicate Mozart alto trombone parts, heavy Mahler or Wagner orchestral parts from 1st to 4th, wild Broadway pit books, earth-shaking low blasts in modern film scores, and more. You don’t get to have one alto trombone, one small tenor trombone, one bass trombone, and so on. You can only have one kind of trombone, total.

Of course, there is no answer to this question that doesn’t compromise in some way. No single trombone can play alto and contrabass parts equally well. We need to find a trombone that can do everything decently enough that trombone players would be able to make it work. To me, that means it needs to be a medium-sized tenor trombone with F attachment that isn’t picky about what mouthpieces work in it, has an unusually beefy low register, an easy high register, the volume to project over a salsa or rock band, and a very “vanilla” trombone sound that is easily colored.

What trombone does all of that? Easy: the King 3BF.

For my money, the 3BF (along with its slightly larger cousin, the King 607) is the most versatile trombone of all time. I have used mine to play every tenor chair in a big band, lots of salsa gigs, New Orleans jazz, bebop combo work, principal trombone in an orchestra, brass quintet, Broadway books that go well into the bass trombone register, entire classical trombone sections top to bottom in recording sessions, and more. No, it doesn’t have as beefy of a low register as a bass trombone, but you’d be surprised at how much sound you can put through those low notes on the 3BF. The F valve has an E pull as well, so even if we don’t get to have 2-valve 3BFs in this hypothetical one-trombone world, we’d still do just fine on the low stuff.

Now the 3BF is certainly a bit biased towards the brighter, higher commercial side of the trombone’s oeuvre. The 607, being just a bit larger but otherwise the same, sits more right down the middle between the orchestral and commercial sides of the spectrum. The very high register (D5 and above) is just a bit more work than the 3BF, but in exchange you get an absurdly beefy low register (better than most large bore tenors in my opinion!), and a sound that more easily fits into the darker classical mold while still easily being able to play as bright and punchy as you need for any other genre you might find yourself playing in. But the 3BF and 607 play very similarly, with only a small difference that is mostly noticed when playing them back to back. On their own, you pick either up and it just works immediately, in any style. As an additional plus, these trombones are very easy to play and can handle abuse, so it wouldn’t be a bad situation for beginners either.

It’s an easy conclusion for me. If the only kind of trombone in the world was the King 3BF (or 607), we would be just fine. What do you think?

Ascending Valves

If you are curious about brass instruments, you may have come across something called an ascending valve in your Internet travels. If you’re not sure what that is, or you do but would like to read about all the different kinds of ascending valves out there, this article is for you.

The concept of an ascending valve is pretty simple. A normal valve is inactive when it is not pressed down (via piston finger button, rotor paddle, etc.), so the air goes straight through and doesn’t detour through the additional valve tubing. When you press down the valve mechanism, the valve activates, redirecting the air through the valve tubing and lowering the instrument’s pitch. An ascending valve is set up the opposite way - the valve is active when it is not pressed, so its default state is using the additional valve tubing. Then when you press down the valve, it becomes inactive, raising the pitch.

In fact, there is an ascending valve that is completely standard in the modern brass world: the change valve on a double horn. The instrument stands in F, and then when you depress the change valve with your thumb it shortens to B-flat. (That said, some players will modify the change valve to stand in B-flat, especially in Europe.)

The most complicated part of an ascending valve is really from a tuning perspective. Let’s say you have a tenor trombone with a normal descending F attachment. The trombone is in B-flat, and then the valve lowers it to F. Easy enough; you tune the whole horn with the main tuning slide (logical) and then tune the valve with the valve tuning slide. Now let’s say you that trombone has an ascending C valve rather than a descending F valve. The trombone’s open length (no active valves) is now C, but it still stands in B-flat. So to properly tune it you need to depress the valve and tune the open C horn via the main tuning slide first, and then lift off the valve so you can tune in B-flat via the valve’s tuning slide.

You may have noticed that even though this hypothetical trombone with an ascending valve is technically pitched in C, we still think of it in B-flat as that’s where it stands without depressing the valve, and how it is meant to be played. Thus we refer to it as a B-flat tenor trombone with an ascending C valve.

Ascending valves have a long history and have been used on various brass instruments in many different ways. They had the most widespread use in French piston-valve horns (that can properly be called French horns!) from the late 19th century until the middle of the 20th. Probably the most interesting type is the Chaussier horn, an instrument developed in the 1880s. The valved horn was still unpopular in France at the time, and the Chaussier horn was intended to be played essentially as a natural horn with built-in crook changes. The Chaussier horn had a valve system completely alien to modern brass players:

  • Stands in F

  • 1st valve is a normal 1st valve (descending whole step, resulting in Eb)

  • 2nd valve is an ascending half step (resulting in F#)

  • 3rd valve is an ascending major 3rd (resulting in A)

  • Thumb (4th) valve is a normal 4th valve (descending perfect 4th, resulting in C basso)

The use of all these valves allows you to set the horn in any key from B basso to B-flat alto. As the highest possible standing pitch is achieved with both ascending valves (2 and 3) deactivated, B-flat alto is the true length of the open horn. But as it stands in F, it is thought of as an F horn with 2 ascending valves.

When the French fully adopted valve horns, they continued with the ascending valve idea, but in a more conventional way. On many French single and double horns, the 3rd valve is an ascending whole step, while all the other valves are in the typical configuration we are used to today. The result is an instrument that actually retains almost all standard fingerings, but with the added bonus of easier high notes using the (ascending) 3rd valve. It is still a compromise though; because you lose the descending minor 3rd of a typical 3rd valve, you lose a few notes in the low register.

A normal single F horn with descending 3rd valve can play chromatically down to sounding B1, while a single F horn with ascending 3rd valve cannot play lower than D2 (excluding pedal notes) and also can’t play Ab2. Because of these compromises (easier high notes in exchange for worse low notes in the ascending horn, and vice versa for the descending horn), it was common in France for high horn players (1st and 3rd) to play horns with ascending 3rd valves, while low horn players (2nd and 4th) to play horns with descending 3rd valves.

A standard F/Bb double horn with descending 3rd valve is entirely chromatic all the way down. If you exclude the F-side pedals (which most horn players can’t reach), it can play chromatically down to E1. If you do include the F-side pedals, the lowest real note is B0. (With false tones you could play even lower, into the double pedals.) Meanwhile, an F/Bb double horn with ascending 3rd valve cannot play Db2 (or Db1, a pedal), and without F-side pedals bottoms out at G1. Thus, French horn makers continued to make both ascending and descending models when double horns became standard.

Speaking of French ascending double horns, they are some of the most aesthetically beautiful instruments ever designed. Feast your eyes upon this Selmer Thevet Ascendant:

image from horn-u-copia.net

They sound beautiful, too. Much like Vienna horns, true French horns are much closer to natural horns in construction than the rotary valved German-style horns we are used to (including in France now, sadly).

Ascending 3rd valves didn’t catch on outside of France, but there are a few horns with ascending valves that you can buy today. The only double I know of is the Alexander 203ST, which also has a half step/stop valve (meaning you can play that missing Db2!). It is a full double as well, unlike the French piston horns which were all compensating doubles. Otherwise, there are a few Bb single horns with an ascending C 5th valve in addition to the standard 3 descending valves and a stop valve, such as the Ricco Kühn W125/C.

Personally, I think there is untapped potential with combining the ascending and descending 3rd valves into one instrument. If you can make a double horn where the 3rd valve is ascending on the Bb side but descending on the F side, you would get the best of both worlds. The only disadvantage would be that the only possible fingering for sounding Gb2 would be 123 (not ideal), and Gb1 (a note which is not present in any standard repertoire) would not be possible.

Outside of horns, the primary place for ascending valve use and experimentation has been in trombones. Today, one of Yamaha’s more unique products is the Yamaha YSL-350C, a student-level tenor trombone with a dual bore slide with 6 positions and an ascending C valve. It was originally meant for young players whose arms can’t reach 7th position and can’t hold up a heavy F-attachment trombone, but a few advanced players (Doug Yeo for instance) have bought one and used it as a travel instrument as it is significantly smaller than a normal tenor trombone. Interestingly, this instrument has also been cloned by Jin Bao and is sold by John Packer, Schiller, Thomann, and others for a much cheaper price than the Yamaha.

But while the YSL-350C (and clones) is the only mass-produced ascending valve trombone in history (I think), it is not the only ascending valve trombone. Jürgen Voigt made an extremely cool tenor trombone for Günter Frost with dependent F and ascending C valves:

The F valve is inset in the ascending C valve’s tubing, which interestingly means that you can use either valve on their own, but not both together (as when you press down the C valve, it closes, leaving the F valve unconnected to the airflow). Personally, I think this is an absolutely genius configuration for a large tenor trombone. You get a standard trombone with F-attachment, plus low C and B as pedal notes and easier high notes. Imagine the 1st trombone excerpt from Symphonie Fantastique with the fortissimo high Eb, or the one from Also Sprach Zarathustra with the octave jump to fortissimo high D - much more secure on the C valve! But when playing solo rep, pit work, or contemporary classical music that is much more liberal with the tenor trombone’s low register, you also have easy access to low C and B.

Günter Frost experimented with this idea a lot more than just this one Voigt trombone - he had a website (still accessible via the Wayback Machine) that detailed six different trombone models, all with ascending C valves. Thein also used to offer a tenor trombone with ascending C valve and optional F valve on their website. Pete Edwards took the concept a step further and built a bass trombone with independent F and ascending C valves:

It was also given a screw bell, making it incredibly convenient for travel. With the two valves independent, you also have access to flat G positions with both valves pressed, so it has a ton of slide position choices. (Thread with more information and pictures here.) As if that wasn’t enough, Andrew Elms has built a trombone in Bb/G/ascending Eb!

Finally, there are a few trumpets and cornets with ascending valves, including the Blackburn Hickman 5-valve C trumpet (with ascending D valve), Jaeger Brass Bb/C and C/D trumpets, and this Richardson circular cornet from 1855.

I think there is more to be done with ascending valves. It would certainly benefit the Conn 16E mellophonium, whose main tuning slide has room to be cut to G to then have an ascending whole step valve added.

NAMM Show Report 2023

The NAMM Show is an annual music industry trade show that brings together hundreds of manufacturers of musical instruments, equipment, and other gear under one massive roof. Its real purpose is for industry people, but lots of musicians come from around the country every year to spend a day (or 3) trying all the instruments and making connections, as well as seeing one of the many live bands performing throughout the event (or performing in one themselves).

For a musician, especially a gearhead multi-instrumentalist like me, walking into the NAMM Show is pretty much the ultimate weapons-grade “kid in a candy store” feeling. I try to go every year, and I usually always collect some thoughts in a write-up of sorts. Here’s my 2023 NAMM brass instrument report!

WARNING: This is full of ultra brass nerd nonsense, but if you’re on this website you were probably expecting that.

Buffet Crampon

This was where I started after walking in the second the show floor opened, and would come back to a couple more times later in the day. Buffet Crampon owns an umbrella of instrument manufacturers, including brass makers Courtois, B&S, and Besson.

Besson Sovereign BE967-2 euphonium: The best euphonium at NAMM this year in my opinion. An excellent instrument that was very responsive and fun to play.

Besson Prestige BE2052 euphonium (gold plated, Steven Mead spec): In the past the Prestige at NAMM has been so spectacular that it felt like magic - definitely a star of the show. This year though, the Prestige didn’t do it for me. Still a very high quality instrument of course, but that colorful Besson magic was missing.

Besson Prestige BE2028-2G-0 British cornet: Playing this lovely cornet opened my eyes to just how amazing a real top of the line brass band-spec cornet can be…and just how NOT amazing the two cornets I have are! The only negative was that the 2 tuning triggers were not very comfortable to use for my hands.

B&S: The trumpets (a few Bbs, one C, all Bach-like) were alright - solid high-quality instruments that played well but didn’t leave a lasting impression. I didn’t play the 2 CC tubas there, as contrabass tubas are not my forte or interest.

Courtois Creation AC421-BHRA-1-0 New York .547” tenor trombone: This trombone was the star of the show for me. I have a strained relationship with large bore tenors, as they feel like the hardest size of trombone to really feel great to play. I’ve tried very few large tenors in my life that I really loved, but this 421 was one of them. It was absolutely effortless to play in all registers and dynamics, had a gorgeous sound, and was very forgiving. In my experience most large tenors have only one of these qualities at a time, and they don’t feel like a complete instrument you can love and rely on. This had everything and it was hard to put down…but with a retail price of $6k I’ll only own one in my dreams!

Other Courtois trombones: There was a Creation AC551BHA-1-0 New York bass trombone and some basic Bach 42BO-style trombone. They played very well, but nothing special or anything I would want to live with (let alone drop serious cash on), which is more in line with my normal Courtois experience (402 Xtreme excluded, which sadly was not at NAMM this time).

Hans Hoyer 8D-style nickel Kruspe double horn: I didn’t check what model this was (and Hoyer makes two different Kruspe models with a ton of different options), but it was a lovely horn with a lovely sound. I would absolutely play one of these as my main horn!

Eastman Shires

Shires TBDR David Rejano Artist Model .547” tenor trombone: This was my favorite Shires tenor, and my second favorite large tenor after the Courtois AC421. It played extremely well and was very easy with a nice sound, but the Courtois did everything it did better. It also had extremely tight slots like all the Shires tenors, meaning you had to play every note EXACTLY right or it wouldn’t work. The Courtois was very forgiving…this, not so much. Very nice horn overall though.

Other Shires large tenor trombones: For me, they were all different flavors of “fine”. Easy to play (besides the tight slots), but with a boring sound. Not lifeless…just not super interesting. And an uninteresting large tenor sound makes me walk away REAL quick. Out of these though, the dual bore Ralph Sauer model was my favorite. But the Rejano did everything it did a lot better! An interesting sidenote is that I liked the Q-series tenors at least as much as the custom ones.

Shires bass trombones: There were two Q36 basses (one with rotors, one with axials) that played very nicely. I generally like Shires basses, and these were no exception. I didn’t LOVE them, but for a solid, reliable bass trombone they’re a great option. There was also a TBGC George Curran Artist Model bass, which I didn’t like at all.

Shires TBQ35 alto trombone: This was probably my favorite Shires instrument there alongside the Rejano. It had a nice vibrant sound and was very easy to play. I’m currently borrowing a custom Shires tuning-in-slide alto with a rose brass bell for a gig, and the Q35 here played and sounded MUCH better in my opinion. The custom TIS alto feels like it has exactly one sound that it likes to play and you can’t get it away from that…and that sound isn’t very colorful. Plus it’s way more expensive than a Q35, which retails for about $2,200. Save money AND sound better! What’s not to love? There was also a TBQAlessi alto, which felt…pretty much exactly the same. I slightly preferred the standard Q35 though.

Shires TBMG Marshall Gilkes Artist Model .500” trombone: I expected to like this model, and I was right. It played very well, the way you would expect an expensive custom small bore (retail is about $3,700) to. But…it didn’t play better than my old 3B, nor did any small bore trombone at the show.

Shires TBQ33 .508” trombone: Also a very good, competent small bore in all ways. Fun to play and very nearly as good as the Marshall Gilkes model for $1,300 less, but again…not as good as my 3B!

Shires EUQ41S euphonium: This Q-series euphonium was one of the best in the show in my opinion. It was extremely easy to play all over the range and sounded excellent. It also had the best left hand ergonomics. Definitely a solid euphonium for any player…it just works.

Willson euphoniums: I really like Willson euphoniums and the dark Willson sound. In the past I’ve always preferred the larger 2950/2960 over the 2900, but this time the 2900TA was my preference over the 2950TA. But the Shires Q41 euph was right in between them and played better than either.

Willson 3400S FA-5 Eb tuba: There were two of these, both labelled with very slightly different model designations (I believe one was a 3400 FA-5S and the other was a 3400S FA-5). And they were very different! The second one I tried was smaller in bore and size than the other, and was not as good. The bigger one (3400S FA-5 I believe) was a fabulous tuba. Big sound, good intonation, easy to play. Most tubas I’ve tried feel like you get a very underwhelming return for your efforts, but this one felt as easy and natural to play as anything smaller. Loved it!

Marching mellophones: There were quite a few Yamaha 204 clones at NAMM. Eastman (EMP304S) and BAC both had one, as did a few of the Chinese manufacturer booths. The BAC even had “Made by Jin Bao” stamped in big block lettering on the valve block…I got a good chuckle out of that. I tried a few of these clones and they all played about the same. Pretty good, but not as easy to play as the real deal. There was also one King 1120 clone at one of the Chinese booths, which was decent. Sadly there were no original mellophones, only the clones.

Marching baritones: Only Yamaha clones. Again Eastman (EMB411S) and BAC both had one, as did a few of the Chinese manufacturer booths. The Eastman was the best I tried, and was lots of fun to play. Reportedly it plays pretty much the same as the real thing.

Eastman EME421S marching euphonium: This is apparently an original design, and not totally thought out as the 2nd valve slide was too long, making it still noticeably flat when pushed all the way in. Additionally, the mouthpiece receiver was forward enough that the bottom bow pushed against my body when I was in playing position. But it sounded nice!

Eastman Geyer double horn (model unknown): Meh.

Conn-Selmer

Conn 88HNV: I was very excited to try this as I play an Elkhart 88H myself. It was…fine. Adequate. Acceptable. Is trombone.

Bach A47BO: Pretty good player but not really my style of trombone, so I didn’t gel with it.

Bach A47XPS: This was nice to play, but the Rejano, Courtois, and Y-Fort trombones did everything it did better.

Bach Bb trumpets: There were around 10 of them, all various flavors of Bach commonly seen, plus a couple of new ones. My favorite was the 190S37X (I think), which played very nicely. The brand new Apollo was good as well, and was probably my 2nd favorite of the bunch. The rest of the Bachs didn’t really work well for me, and they never do!

Conn 8D double horn: I’ve played plenty of 8Ds from all eras. This one was not a great example of the model.

Conn 6D double horn: This is the brand new 6D, which now has a Kruspe wrap like the 8D, but with the small throat and leadpipe of the classic 6D. I liked it!

Conn 10DY double horn: Noooooooooo thanks.

BAC (Best American Craftsmen)

BAC small tenor trombones: Played pretty well overall. A couple were very good (my favorite was one in .508” bore with a nickel bell stem but screw bell copper bell flare, and a carbon fiber slide).

BAC large tenor trombone with F attachment: Pretty alright!

BAC 2-valve bass trombone: Trash!

BAC Apprentice student trombone: Difficult high register, but otherwise a decent little horn.

Yamaha

YBL-835 bass trombone: A brand new Yamaha bass! …Except it looks exactly the same as the outgoing 830. It’s a very noticeable improvement, but is still not an instrument I would ever willingly play or buy. I liked pretty much every other bass there (BAC being the exception) more.

YSL-882OD .547” tenor trombone: Has screw bell. Is otherwise just an 882O. The 882O is fine. Nothing more, nothing less.

YSL-691Z small bore tenor trombone: Hated it immediately lol.

YHR-871D double horn: Sadly Yamaha only brought Geyer horns this time (the 668 Kruspe horn was my favorite horn last time!), but the 871 was still a fabulous instrument. So easy in all registers, especially slurring. Would happily play this as my main horn, even though Geyers aren’t usually my thing.

Yamaha euphoniums: Both the YEP-642SII and YEP-842TS were there, and both were wonderful. My favorite euphs in the show just after the Besson Sovereign.

Yamaha trumpets: They’re all awesome. I particularly loved the YTR-8310Z, but it’s also the one most similar to the older Yamaha trumpet I play on (YTR-737) so it’s not surprising. There were only a few Bbs and one C this year.

V.F. Cerveny

Cerveny VFC-CR 801CQBNPL British-style cornet: I didn’t know what to expect with a Cerveny piston-valved instrument, but this cornet was very good! Not quite as good as the Besson Prestige cornet, but pretty close and for half the price (about $2k vs. $4k). Additionally, the two tuning triggers were much more comfortable for my hands than the Besson’s. They had a red brass model and a nickel-plated yellow brass model, and the red brass was the clear winner (but both were good).

Cerveny VFC-EP7566 II Emperor euphonium: Actually one of the better euphoniums at the show, probably the coolest looking, and the best value for money (less than $5k, vs. $6.3k for the Shires Q41 and much more for a Besson, Willson, or Yamaha). Huge sound, easy to play, good intonation. All good!

Cerveny CCB 603-4R rotary C tuba: I guess this is the famous “Piggy” model of small 4/4 contrabass tuba. It was very easy to and hold play, with a high register easier than the Willson Ebs! Would be a great pit tuba for musicals like Lion King, though I was wishing for a 5th valve.

Cannonball

Cannonball TB16 bass trombone: Looked very Jin Bao, but was a perfectly decent instrument. Not something I would ever choose to play, but I’d definitely take it over the BAC bass or Yamaha 835 (which played a little better to me, but is way more expensive).

Cannonball TB18 small bore tenor trombone: Meh.

ZO

ZO was the second most interesting Chinese maker there. They had a ton of interesting instruments, and most were great players. If I could pick a Chinese company to be an artist for, ZO would 100% be it. While many of their standard models are available elsewhere under different brand names (most commonly Thomann’s house brand), ZO also has unique models such as the Little Dragon travel tubas.

ZO plastic trombone (small bore, King style): This was a new model of plastic trombone to me, and even had the King curved bell brace. It also played circles around every other plastic trombone I’ve played…it really played well! I’ve played pBones and Trombas and they were awful compared to this. I would gladly use one of these on a street gig or something, and definitely for practice and travel. While this model is not on the ZO website, it is available at Thomann as the Startone PTB-10.

ZO plastic trombone (large bore, F attachment): This design has been around for a while, and has never been good. It still isn’t…sounds and feels like you’re playing with a sock in the bell.

ZO plastic British-style cornet: Not bad! I probably wouldn’t play a gig on one, but it would be a great car horn, desk horn, travel horn, etc.

ZO plastic trumpet: Played ok, but intonation was all over the place. Can’t recommend…get the cornet instead.

ZO plastic flugelhorn: I used the plastic flugelhorn mouthpiece they had there as I forgot to bring my own flugel piece (which is why I didn’t try all the flugels at NAMM), and it played ok but didn’t sound like a flugel at all. Pretty much sounded the same as the cornet!

ZO plastic double horn (Kruspe wrap): It played and sounded…like a brass horn? Apart from sluggish valves it was honestly a solid horn. I can definitely recommend it for horn players wanting a travel/practice instrument. This is another instrument missing from the ZO website, but the same model is available in a few different colors at Thomann.

ZO plastic euphonium: I was not a fan. It was hard to play, and intonation was not good…and in the opposite way from how it is on normal euphs!

ZO plastic 3/4 piston Bb tuba (brass valves): Pretty solid player, but the sound was nothing I could think of a use for.

ZO plastic 4/4 rotary Bb tuba (all plastic): Meh.

ZO 4-valve British baritone (ZBH-5000): I guess this is the Jin Bao copy of the Yamaha YBH-621 that’s been around for a long time. I own the Jin Bao 3-valve compensating Besson clone which is a fabulous instrument (I’d honestly take one over the Bessons and Yamaha Neos I’ve tried, especially when price is considered), but always assumed the other non-compensating models wouldn’t be as good. I was wrong! This 4-valve model was awesome. Really fun to play, nice colorful sound, and no issues I could find. It was hard to put down! Thomann currently sells this model as the BR 604.

ZO 3-valve British baritone (ZBH-3000): I played this one briefly. I guess it’s a copy of the student model Yamaha YBH-301, and it was alright but definitely a step below the 4-valve model. Still, if you REALLY need a dirt cheap British-style baritone, it wouldn’t be a bad choice.

ZO Kruspe double horn: I wasn’t a huge fan of this one, it felt very covered to play. Definitely one of the worst Kruspe clones at the show.

ZO Alexander 103 clone double horn (ZFH-BF6500): This one was a surprise. I’ve never played a real Alexander 103 or any clones before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I absolutely LOVED it. It was one of my favorite horns at the show and I played it for a long time. Beautiful bright sound that seemed to do exactly what I wanted to. And it was easy to play too! Knowing that I like the 103 style is dangerous for my wallet…

ZO Bb kinderhorn (ZFH-CB3000): This was a small 3-valve single Bb horn meant for children. The reps there asked me to try it and tell them if I noticed any intonation problems. I did not! It actually played and sounded very nice in all registers, and was very comfortable to hold. I’d happily own one of these too, though I don’t know what I would use it for.

ZO Little Dragon travel tubas: I was really excited that these were here, as I really loved them the last time I tried them. They are very compact rotary travel tubas (about the size of a euphonium) with 4 or 5 valves that look like radiators, but have bore and taper dimensions like a full-size tuba (just ending in a very small diameter flare). Well, I loved them just as much as I did last time. Really easy to play in all registers, with a beefy tuba sound that really doesn’t sound any smaller than a 4/4 tuba to my ears. I would absolutely love to own one of these for recording and pit work. They are so much fun, sound awesome, and are so much more convenient size-wise than a normal tuba.

The four ZO Little Dragon travel tubas at NAMM 2023 (this is the only picture I took at the whole event!)

ZO had 4 examples of the travel tuba there. An F, 2 Cs, and one even smaller F. The tiny F was about half the size of the already-tiny normal models! Alas, this one did not play nearly as well because they had to make lots of compromises with the bore and taper (the bell flare in particular looked really odd) to make it that small. There was also no way to hold it even slightly comfortably, and it was hilariously heavy for its size. But I’m glad it it exists, because a 5-valve F tuba that is the size of a flugelhorn (and still sounds more tuba-like than other brands of F travel tuba) is hilarious. Meanwhile, the “normal” models seem to have no compromises at all. They come in F, Eb, C, and Bb with 4 or 5 valves, and the different keys are just different tubing lengths on top of the same bell and chassis. The F is the clear winner to me, not just because I like F the most but because it is the lightest. I tried holding up one of the C models in playing position to try and I physically couldn’t more than a few seconds, while the F was totally manageable.

I’d really love to own one of these travel tubas, but at at least $2,500 retail they still aren’t cheap, especially for a Chinese instrument. Maybe one day!

ZO piston F tuba: After playing on the travel tubas for a while, I thought it would be interesting to try one of ZO’s full-size tubas to compare the feel and sound. I picked the large front-action 5-valve piston F, which seems like a copy of a real model (Miraphone? Meinl Weston? I don’t know tuba models too well). To my tuba doubler ears, it played pretty much just as well as the Willson Eb. It had amazing valves, was comfortable to hold, and sounded very nice. A broader sound than the travel tubas of course, but honestly not by that much. It had me fantasizing about owning a ZO travel F for recording and pit work, and this ZO piston F for ensemble work. There were several other ZO tubas there as well (including the massive ZO Thunderbird 6/4 C Yorkaphone), but I only tried the piston F. Sadly, this model is missing from the ZO website, so I don’t know the model number.

ZO trumpet mutes: They had a red-tipped practice mute and blue-tipped straight mute, both of which I tried with the plastic cornet. The practice mute was VERY soft! Straight mute was fine.

Y-Fort

For all the love I just showed ZO, it seems odd that I listed it as the second most interesting Chinese brand at the show. That’s because right next to the ZO booth was a tiny space for a company I’ve never heard of with a weird name, Y-Fort. Most of their booth was a row of 7 or 8 large bore F-attachment trombones. It was obviously a Chinese company, but at first glance the trombones looked very high quality, with a unique rotor valve, nice bell engravings, and a couple of screw bells and removable leadpipes. I ended up spending a very long time at this tiny booth, because ALL of their trombones were some of the best large bore tenor trombones I’ve ever played from any brand. They were amazing! Really easy to play in all registers with none of the work I normally associate with .547” trombones, beautiful orchestral sound, and quality craftsmanship. I was stunned, and then even more stunned to learn the prices. The top of the range model with the screw bell and removable pipes (YSL-763) is $1,900, while the basic model with fixed bell and pipe (YSL-563) is $1,200.

The most amazing thing is that all of the models played pretty much exactly the same, with very small differences in feel in sound depending on the bell (yellow or gold brass) and whether or not it was screw bell. Even the cheapest 563 model played just as well as the fanciest 763. They were SO consistent and every one was a winner, which means one being really good wasn’t a fluke - they all play like that. Even the student model YSL-260GL student model with a closed wrap and .525” bore on the end was excellent. While I did go back and play the fabulous Courtois 421 tenor again to confirm that the $6,000 trombone does indeed play better than the $1,200 trombone, it really wasn’t by a huge margin. They are so good, in fact, that I put down a deposit for one at the end of the show!

Y-Fort also had a range of trumpets to try, and I tried them all with one of their 3C trumpet mouthpieces. They (both the trumpets and the mouthpiece, actually) were all very good as well, especially the top of the line YTR-740 (Bb) and YTR-741 (C). I honestly thought they were some of the best trumpets at the show.

Victory Musical Instruments

This was a company I had only recently discovered, and they had a very large booth with a ton of different trumpets and trombones to try. I was pleasantly surprised!

Victory Crown .508” trombone: They had a few of these, with one in a striking orange and black lacquer. They played very well! I would take one over many of the other small bores at the show, especially when price is considered. With a retail price at under $1,500, I would 100% buy one over a Shires or BAC small bore. They also had one in yellow brass with a Yamaha-style F-attachment and screw bell, which felt much worse in every way. Not sure why, but it just felt dead. The straight horns were great though.

Victory Crown bass trombone: I don’t remember much other than thinking it was pretty good. Would definitely take over the Yamaha 835, BAC, or Cannonball, but not over a Shires Q36 (which is also actually slightly cheaper).

Victory Trumpet of Jesus: Yes, that is it’s real name. It’s hilarious. But, it didn’t play that well to me. :(

Victory Apex Bb trumpet: This was one of the most striking trumpets at the show, with double Shepherd’s crooks and a black and gold finish. It also might have been my favorite-playing trumpet at the show, with the possible exception of the Bach 190S37X. It was excellent, and I really enjoyed playing it. I also have no idea what bore it actually is, because both the label at the show and the website (linked above) say it has a .539” bore, which would be absurdly massive. It certainly didn’t look anywhere near that big, but it did play very open…

Paxman

I didn’t spend a ton of time here, just made sure to give most of the horns a decent shakedown. They all played great, of course. Out of the four double horns I played, I would rank them as follows: 20 > 27 > 23 > Academy. The 20 was an absolute joy to play, though still not my favorite horn at the show.

Other Chinese Brands

There were a ton of Chinese booths, most with Chinese factory names. There are a couple whose names I remember, such as Hunter (decent King 1120 mellophone clone, ok nickel Kruspe double horn), but many names didn’t stick into my brain.

The Tianjin Master Import & Export Co., Ltd. booth had a double bell trumpet, which was very fun to try (but would have been much more fun if I had had a mute to put in one of the bells) and played well. Most of the rest of the instruments there were not great, but weirdly they had a compensating euphonium which was excellent, up there with the Cerveny. It didn’t seem like a clone either.

The Opus Musical Instruments (also labelled Valkyrie Band Instruments sometimes?) booth had a couple of British-style Eb tenor horns which played nicely, as well as a valve trombone in C (like those used in Mexican banda) which was honestly fantastic. It had a very nice bright sound that almost sounded closer to an alto valve trombone, and was very fun to play. I definitely need to get one of those at some point! (Later I tried another C valve trombone by a banda-oriented brand called Garibaldi, which wasn’t as good.)

Things I Didn’t Try

Because they weren’t there (but were at previous NAMM Shows): Courtois 402 Xtreme, Getzen/Edwards, Adams, Schilke, Stomvi, Schagerl, Briz, any Conn-Selmer bass trombone, any King trombones

Because they weren’t there (and I wish they had been): Conn-Selmer/Patterson Hornette, Wessex, King marching brass, BAC G bugles, any descant horn

Because they were there but I didn’t get to them: John Packer, Garibaldi tenor horns

Closing Thoughts

Overall I had a good time and learned a lot, so it was a successful NAMM for brass. This whole NAMM was noticeably smaller than the ones pre-COVID, but still had plenty to sink your teeth into. Can’t wait for January 2024!

Soprano Trombone

Do you want to buy a soprano trombone? Do you want to know why the soprano trombone exists? Do you want to explore the weird world of comically small trombones? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, this article is for you.

The soprano trombone isn’t as endangered as most of the other instruments I write about on this site, and there is a good amount of information about it online. But I’ll start with a brief summary of what it is in case you’ve discovered it first through this article.

The soprano trombone is a trombone pitched one octave above the standard tenor trombone; in other words, it is pitched the same as a standard B-flat trumpet. It usually has a trumpet shank and can be played with a variety of mouthpieces. Nowadays you can buy extremely affordable Chinese soprano trombones from quite a few vendors, but almost nothing has ever been written for the instrument and professional-quality soprano trombones are very rare. Soprano trombones are sometimes referred to and marketed as slide trumpets; it’s easy to understand why, as the cheap ones are usually made with trumpet parts and they sound like trumpets when played with a trumpet mouthpiece. But the name “slide trumpet” was already taken by an interesting Renaissance trumpet variant centuries before anybody ever applied it to the soprano trombone, so it is better to avoid. Interestingly, in the early 20th century manufacturers sold both “slide trumpets” and “slide cornets”, the only difference being the mouthpiece shank.

Despite being a logical member of a very well-established instrument family, the soprano trombone has almost never been explicitly written for. There are good reasons for this, and good articles and academic publications have written at length about the subject (especially regarding early music). The only place where the soprano trombone gained a permanent foothold was in Moravian trombone choirs, whose core instrumentation was a large mass of trombones from soprano to B-flat contrabass. Even the German Posaunenchor ditches the soprano trombones for Kühlohorns (a variety of rotary flugelhorn) on the top parts, and most trombone choirs do not use anything above alto trombone at all. More recently, the soprano trombone has garnered some attention from its use in jazz by Wycliffe Gordon, but apart from this and the efforts of contemporary classical soloist Torbjörn Hultmark and avant-garde jazz soloist Steven Bernstein, the instrument remains essentially unused in any notable capacity.

In my opinion, there is a simple reason for this: nobody knows what mouthpiece to use for it.

Cheap Chinese soprano trombones always come with a generic 7C trumpet mouthpiece. This makes it sound like an out of tune trumpet and is not desirable. Wycliffe Gordon uses his own custom hybrid mouthpiece with a trombone rim and cup on a trumpet shank, but while you can order these from Chasons, they are very expensive. Someone interested in dipping their toes in the soprano trombone is not likely to want to spend $300 on a mouthpiece for it, especially if its only documented use is by Wycliffe Gordon, who is hardly a normal player like us mere mortals! As a result, the few who do buy soprano trombones typically don’t venture very far off the trumpet mouthpiece path.

I have long held my own theories about what the ideal soprano trombone mouthpiece would be, and I have been able to test some of these theories to favorable results. I used to own an extremely cool soprano trombone, which I have to share here:

This is a handmade German soprano trombone, with a rotor that has slides to put it in A, Ab, G, or F. The rotor is activated by an old-school leather strap rather than a modern paddle, and the bell has a kranz. There is no maker’s mark to be found, and from what I was told indirectly by Max Thein, it is likely an exam instrument made by a journeyman apprentice. It is impossibly cool, and I am so thrilled to have owned and played it. It’s gone now, in the hands of someone who will use it more than I did.

Now, on to the mouthpieces. I tried a fleet of mouthpieces on that soprano, to varying degrees of success. These are my findings:

  • Trumpet mouthpieces: it sounds like a trumpet. Very fun to play this way, and there are certainly musical uses for a trumpet that can do true glissandos and other slidey things, but the goal here is to get a proper trombone sound that fits perfectly on top of alto and tenor trombones. For that, trumpet mouthpieces are not the way.

  • Bach 9AT alto trumpet mouthpiece: I always thought this would be the solution, but thanks to its oversized shank (it is not just a normal trumpet shank!), it does not work very well in the soprano. It does get an amazing beefy trombone sound, but it is very difficult to play high on, so much so that it offers no real improvement in range over an alto trombone.

  • Schilke 24 trumpet mouthpiece: This is a massive trumpet mouthpiece, somewhere in between any normal-sized trumpet mouthpiece and the Bach 9AT above (inner diameter 18.29mm). I thought it might do well, but it ended up being nearly as hard to play as the 9AT but with a thinner sound. Not the move.

  • Denis Wick 2 alto horn mouthpiece: even harder to play on than the 9AT, which is not surprising as the DW 2 is the biggest alto horn mouthpiece Denis Wick makes. It is BEEFY.

  • Kelly 3W alto horn mouthpiece: the Kelly is a deeper British-style alto horn mouthpiece like the Wick 2, but it is significantly lighter (being plastic) and is not as large or deep. The result works well in the soprano. The tone is nice and dark, with a trombone-like broadness. Range is good too, with a comfortable range up to Bb5. It still feels too deep both from a sound and effort perspective, but it doesn’t feel too far off the mark for a broad classical soprano trombone sound. The alto horn-sized rim also feels right for instrument, and my bass trombonist face certainly appreciates the additional room.

  • Marching mellophone mouthpieces: I tried 3 of my marching mellophone mouthpieces (Hammond 5MP, Benge Mello 6V, CKB Mello 6) and they all worked about as well. These get a bright sound that is definitely not the right move for classical playing, but for playing jazz on top of small tenor trombones the sound feels just about perfect. There is lots of snap and sizzle to the sound, but it is still much fatter and noticeably more trombone-like than with a trumpet mouthpiece. Articulations also sound like a trombone rather than a trumpet, and the range is unaffected with an easy C6.

  • Holton 55 alto horn mouthpiece: after my experiences with all of the above, I had postulated that an American alto horn mouthpiece with a shallower bowl cup might be the perfect solution. So far, I think my hypothesis was on the money. It has a nice fat tromboney sound like the bigger options above, but I can still play comfortably up to around high Bb and it works nicely all over the horn without too much effort (unlike any of those others).

Although I still have not tried every possible kind of mouthpiece yet, I feel that I’ve found a solid formula for both sound and playability that gives the instrument a unique trombone voice: American alto horn mouthpiece for classical, marching mellophone mouthpiece for jazz. That said, there are a few more options I still have to explore the next time I own a soprano:

  • German flugelhorn mouthpiece - German flugelhorns use a shank essentially identical to a trumpet shank, so you can use them on anything with a trumpet shank (like soprano trombone). German flugelhorn mouthpieces are also generally not quite as deep as the dark, rich Denis Wick-style flugelhorn mouthpieces, nor are they as shallow and thin as Bach-style bowl cup flugelhorn mouthpieces. It could be a really nice middle ground that would mesh well with the soprano trombone, and given the history of rotary flugelhorns being used in their place, it seems like it would be a good fit.

  • Curry TF/ACB FX - these hybrid trumpet mouthpieces with deep flugel-like cups are an interesting option. I’m not very confident that they would be the right move, but considering how well the marching mellophone mouthpieces work I could be wrong.

  • Chasons hybrid trombone/trumpet mouthpiece - this is the kind of mouthpiece Wycliffe uses on soprano trombone. While I would love to try one of these, they are very expensive and I’m not motivated to spend that kind of money on a possible soprano trombone mouthpiece!

As you can see, I didn’t quite complete my soprano trombone mouthpiece safari. But I did get some excellent results that gave the instrument a proper soprano trombone voice, and I would encourage other soprano trombone owners to expand your horizons beyond trumpet mouthpieces to get the most out of your instrument.

Of course, there is also the question of what soprano trombone to buy if you don’t already have one. Fortunately, there are not too many choices to be confused by and I’ll give you a quick summary of each.

  • Cheap Chinese sopranos - if you just want a soprano to mess around with for fun or to see if you have any interest in pursuing the instrument further, this is the tier you should be looking at. There are a million different brands, but you should ignore them all and buy the Thomann SL-5. Why? Because they are all the exact same instrument, and the Thomann is the cheapest by a significant margin. It’s VERY cheap, so if you really want a soprano and don’t want to budget very much for it your search ends here. Even used Chinese sopranos cost more than this.

  • Jupiter 314 - this was the most popular entry-level soprano when it was in production, as it came before all the cheap Chinese ones. They are no longer made, but you can find them used occasionally for around the same price as most new Chinese sopranos ($200-300). The Thomann is still much cheaper, but you probably won’t get a bad example with a Jupiter and it will hold its value better.

  • Carol Brass CTB-2005 - The “2” is important here. Carol Brass also makes a CTB-1005 which is the same basic instrument as the Chinese sopranos, but likely a better instrument as Carol Brass is a company with actual quality control like Jupiter. However, the CTB-2005 is truly a cut above. All the Chinese sopranos, the CTB-1005, and the Jupiter 314 are tuned via the tenon attaching the bell to the slide, which is the cheapest and worst method. The CTB-2005, on the other hand, has proper leadpipe tuning like a flugelhorn. As far as affordable sopranos go, it is far and away the best option. However, while Thomann used to sell the CTB-2005 for just over $200, they no longer do. The only place I can find that still apparently sells it is this Russian website, which says the CTB-2005 is available “on request”. So unfortunately, there is no easy way to buy one now (if at all). I’ve never seen one used, and it can’t have sold very well if Thomann dropped it. But if one does show up, grab it!

  • Miraphone 63 - this is the only factory professional-level soprano trombone on sale today. I haven’t played one so I don’t know how well it plays, but at $2300 this is really only an option to the most dedicated players.

  • Thein - this is probably a soprano that is really worth the money, but it is a LOT of money. If you absolutely must have the very best soprano money can buy, this is your ticket.

  • Custom - honestly, if you have a tech you trust and access to a cornet bell and a small bore trombone slide, I would rather get one custom made than buy a cheap factory instrument. You can make it whatever bore you want, whatever mouthpiece shank you want, add a valve if you want, and so on. It will probably play at least as well as a new Chinese instrument and be infinitely cooler.

  • Vintage Used - Occasionally, used sopranos from the early 20th century will turn up for sale online, often for prices in the new Chinese range. If they are in decent shape and going for the right price, they could be a good option. The one model I would avoid is the DEG/Getzen with the ultra-narrow handslide.

  • Minick - I have never seen one for sale, but the famed brass maker Larry Minick did make a few sopranos with valves for studio players once upon a time, like this one:

Wessex Tubas also once briefly offered a large bore (.500”) soprano with F attachment on their website. However, it was removed almost immediately due to quality issues. They sadly never fixed the issues and relaunched the product, though the owner of Wessex did tell me a few years ago that you could still custom order one if you wanted.

That is pretty much everything I know about the soprano trombone. Eventually I would love to get large bore sopranos in Bb and G made with at least one valve each, but that’s not for a while yet.

Brazilian Slide Bugles

In low brass circles, the topic of “slide euphonium” is occasionally brought up. Do they exist? Is it even physically possible?

The answer is usually “no” to both counts, and to be fair that’s technically correct if you’re trying to preserve the euphonium’s conical bore throughout. You could try a variation of E.A. Couturier’s conical trombone slides I suppose, but that would be unlikely to even be functional on a wide-bore cone like a euphonium.

The real, better answer is “kind of.”

A euphonium with a full-length 7-position slide is impossible. However, you could easily make a “slide euphonium” by putting an appropriately-sized cylindrical handslide with 1-3 positions early in the tubing. It would physically work, but the euphonium would be drastically less conical than a valved one. This would likely result in an intonation nightmare and a sound noticeably different from a normal euphonium, not to mention understandable debates on whether it still qualifies as a euphonium at all.

What’s more interesting than all that is that the instrument just described not only exists but is performed with regularly. Welcome to the wacky world of the Brazilian cornetão gatilho, or slide bugle.

These instruments are used in Brazilian carnival music in sizes from soprano to bass. The two largest members of the family are slide euphoniums!

There is almost nothing about these instruments on the English-speaking Internet, which is the main reason I wrote this article. What I have been able to find from Brazilian websites are the following instruments:

Corneta Gatilho Soprano (B-flat)

Corneta Gatilho Soprano

Pictured is a Weril B-flat model, but these come in B-flat, F, and E-flat. Whole step handslides seem to be universal.

Corneta Afinação Soprano

These instruments have both a short handslide and a whole-step piston valve. Unlike the slide-only sopranos, these seem to only be in B-flat.

Cornetão Gatilho Contralto

The least common ones out of those I could find online. This one (by Weril) is in E-flat.

Cornetão Gatilho Tenor

These are mostly in B-flat, but I have seen them in alto F as well, still taking a trombone mouthpiece. They are often furnished with only half-step slides, though this Weril model seems to have a whole-step slide.

Cornetão Gatilho Eufônico

Slide euphonium!

Bombardino De Marcha Sem Pistos

Literally “marching euphonium without pistons”, this is the bass of the slide bugle family. Although it sounds like a euphonium and plays in the same range, it is pitched in bass F or E-flat.

There are also cornetão with just one whole-step piston valve and no handslide (including in odd keys like G), and others with no handslide OR piston. However, it seems that the cornetão gatilho with just the slide is the standard.

Far be it from me to just talk about these instruments. Here is a Facebook video of them in action. This band looks like it includes sopranos, tenors, and the bass euphoniums (which seem to be in E-flat based on the slide positions). Although it presents more intonation challenges, I think the short handslide is an intriguing solution to the “make bugles be able to play more notes” problem that North American drum and bugle corps tackled in a different way.

This is the extent of what I’ve been able to find online (as a non-Portuguese speaker) about this family of instruments. If you are Brazilian and know more about them or have experience playing them yourself, please feel free to reach out to me! I would love to learn more about the history and common practice of these instruments.

Mutes

Brass instrument mutes are amazing tools and are lots of fun, but can be daunting for a new player or a composer to dive into. There are so many different kinds out there. If you’ve ever asked yourself “what mutes do I need?” or “what mutes can I write for?”, or if you’re just curious about mutes in general, you’re in the right place.

MUTE TYPES

Straight

The straight mute is by far the most commonly used mute in band and orchestra music, and is what you use when the part simply says “mute” or “con sord.” without any further description. In jazz it is less common than cup, Harmon, or plunger, but still good to have around for the Swing Era or David Baker charts that call for it. The modern default is a metal (usually aluminum) straight mute, but fiber and wooden straight mutes are also used in certain circumstances. In general, metal mutes sound the brightest, wooden mutes the darkest, and fiber somewhere in the middle. They are all noticeably different sounds, and occasionally a composer will specify the material of straight mute desired. Most of the time however, brass players will choose what straight mute to use on their own. It is common for trumpet players especially to own a few different straight mutes for different purposes.

The three most popular brands of metal straight mute for trumpets and trombones are Jo-Ral, Denis Wick, and Tom Crown. Any are good choices, but I tend to favor the Jo-Ral. Tom Crowns sound great but do not have a felt ring on the small end, making it much easier to put dents in your bell, and make a racket while doing so. Of course, those three brands are far from the only metal straight mutes out there. I have a Humes & Berg aluminum trombone straight mute that is wonderful, especially considering H&B is not really known for its metal mutes!

If you are a freelance trumpet or trombone player, it is a good idea to eventually pick up a Humes & Berg Stonelined fiber straight mute. Like its cup mute sibling, the H&B has a unique sound that is sometimes desirable in jazz. Nowadays it’s not nearly as common to need one as it once was, as metal straight mutes have become the accepted default even in jazz. That said, I have needed my H&B on few gigs, including one where the bandleader explicitly called for “Stonelined straight mute” in the part. Plus, they are very inexpensive so it won’t set you back that much to get one.

In the French horn world, the straight mute is the only mute ever called for. Unlike with trumpets or trombones, horn players typically always use wooden mutes as they match the instrument far better than the other types (though fiber and metal horn mutes do exist). Ion Balu makes a fabulous horn mute, but there are a few others (Marcus Bonna for example).

Cup

Cup mutes are the most common mute in big band jazz, and are the second most common (but a distant second) elsewhere. In jazz, the classic red and white Humes & Berg Stonelined fiber cup mute is the default, and nearly always the desired sound. Any jazz brass player absolutely must own a Stonelined cup mute.

While still ubiquitous in jazz for its unique sound, the H&B Stonelined is outdated (and can even be seen as amateurish) in the classical realm. In orchestra and band, the standard is the Denis Wick adjustable cup mute. This mute is a mixture of metal and fiber, and the cup can be removed to give a passable fiber straight mute. As any working classical trumpet or trombone player will have a Denis Wick cup mute on hand, writing for and specifying fiber straight mute is a safe bet. Additionally, as the Wick is an adjustable cup, writing for “tight cup” and other specific settings is also safe. Markings for “tight cup” do appear from time to time in jazz and Broadway shows, so jazz and commercial players will often carry a Wick adjustable cup in addition to their Stonelined. The Wick cup is not the only adjustable cup out there, and a player may prefer a different brand. But even if you use a different adjustable cup when you are the only player on your instrument, you should also have a Wick to match with a section. Matching mutes is advisable whenever possible.

There are cup mutes (as well as bucket mutes) for French horn, euphonium, tuba, and even British tenor horn and baritone horn. However, these are very rare and almost never called for, so it is best to avoid writing for them unless you are writing for a specific player or ensemble that has them. Similarly, as a player you will never show up to a gig with “cup mute” written on your euphonium part unless you play in a high-level British brass band that probably owns their own set, so you don’t need to buy one unless you want to. (And I don’t blame you for that…they sound extremely cool!)

Plunger

The humblest of mutes. There are plenty of specialty “plunger mutes” out there made of metal, fiber, or rubber, but the best plungers are still the bendy red ones from a hardware store. This also means they cost literally a dollar or two, so no player of a bell-front brass instrument should ever be without one. If you are playing Ellington and similar older big band music, you may need a pixie mute (typically an H&B Stonelined) to compliment your plunger.

Harmon

The Harmon mute is so named (with a capital “H”) because the original comes from the Harmon brand. Also called a “wah-wah” mute, the Harmon has a very unique sound with or without the stem. (As a composer, when writing for Harmon you should always specify “Harmon mute - stem in” or “Harmon mute - stem out” in the part. Or even “stem extended” if you’re really daring!) Although there are Harmon mutes for trombone and bass trombone, they are used very rarely. They sound very different from the trumpet Harmon, which is extremely common in jazz.

In jazz, the Harmon is almost never used with the stem, so much so that big band charts often don’t specify stem in or out - it is always assumed the stem is out. You can find stem in or out in Broadway shows, and in the rare occasions when Harmon is called for in classical music, it is usually with the stem in. There are quite a few trumpet Harmon mutes out there, including the original Harmon B Model. The Jo-Ral “bubble mute” Harmon is likely the most popular, and plays easier than the original Harmon. Jo-Ral also makes a bubble mute for flugelhorn! Needless to say, it is very unnecessary like all flugelhorn mutes…but it is very cool regardless.

For composers, writing for trumpet Harmon is normal in jazz, and fairly safe in band or orchestra. It is a standard mute in the trumpeter’s quiver, and only trumpet players who ONLY play classical might not own one. Writing for trombone Harmon is more risky, as many trombone players don’t have one. But plenty of contemporary orchestral and trombone choir music has made extensive use of trombone Harmons, so there is certainly precedent for it.

Bucket

The bucket mute is an interesting beast. Much like the cup mute, the Humes & Berg Stonelined bucket (called the Velvet-Tone) is still desirable in jazz for the sound. However, the Velvet-Tone is by far the most cumbersome and time-consuming bucket mute to attach and remove. This is not good for things like Broadway parts which are littered with notoriously quick mute changes, so trumpeters and trombonists usually start with a quicker bucket mute like the Jo-Ral and pick up an H&B later. The reason for having both is that the Jo-Ral bucket especially sounds VERY different from the H&B. This effect is most pronounced on trumpet, but present on trombone as well. The Jo-Ral bucket sound can be desirable (Wynton Marsalis often uses one when soloing), but it is generally not the desired sound for jazz section work.

Solo-Tone

In my opinion one of the coolest mutes out there, the solo-tone makes you sound like you’re playing through an old Gramophone. It is an acoustic “lo-fi” mute! However, it is also mostly absent from a trumpet or trombone player’s needs; the one place where Solo-Tone is frequently called for is Broadway, so if you play a lot of musical pit gigs, you’ll need to pick one up. It is generally a mute that brass players will not own otherwise, but I think more people should as it’s a lovely sound. The original Solo-Tone mute was made by Shastock and original ones are rare and fetch high prices, so most players use a new production mute made by one of a few brands such as Humes & Berg, Emo, TrumCor, Walt Johnson, and Warburton. If you don’t have a Solo-Tone mute and a part that calls for one lands on your stand (which can be marked “Solo-Tone” or “wood mute” in shows), use a Harmon mute with the stem in as a substitute.

Practice

Practice mutes are designed to make your sound as quiet as possible, so you can practice in places you otherwise would be too loud to play in (hotels, apartments, warming up backstage, etc.). There are a ton of practice mutes out there, and which one is best comes down to personal preference. They are not intended to be performance mutes, and don’t give a pleasing tone quality to be used as one in my opinion. Still, that hasn’t stopped some contemporary composers from writing for practice mutes in their brass parts. Practice mutes range from expensive and clever mutes like the Yamaha Silent Brass series, to DIY practice mutes made from a $2 Renuzit air freshener. I have both and several in between, and they all have their place. If you’re looking for a cheap practice mute (that isn’t made from an air freshener), I use and heartily recommend the Pampet practice mutes from Amazon. They are very affordable at $19 (trumpet) and $20 (trombone), and I prefer them over many much more expensive practice mutes.

Whisper

Whisper mutes are rare. Few manufacturers make them (Bremner and Emo are the two I know of) and not much is written about them. They are essentially practice mutes adjusted to be legitimate performance mutes that are louder and have better tone quality than a real practice mute, but can also be used as a practice mute in a pinch. I have never seen a whisper mute explicitly specified in a part, but it’s probably out there.

Buzz

Originally a model from Humes & Berg called the “Buzz-Wow” that is now very rare, the buzz mute essentially makes your instrument sound like a kazoo. Hirschman currently makes a buzz mute for trumpet and trombone called the Chicago Stinger, and you can get buzzers on Huber’s straight and pixie trumpet mutes. Daniel Schnyder’s subZERO bass trombone concerto calls for one, and performers of the piece have made their own using an old cone-shaped mute and a few kazoos. The legendary vintage trombone guru DJ Kennedy also made a few in a similar way.

Derby

Also called a “hat mute”, this kind of mute was originally an actual derby hat hung from the music stand or manually operated like a plunger. Nowadays players usually use actual derby mutes designed for the purpose, but apart from period jazz ensembles it is rare today for hat mutes to be used. Typically “in hat” instructions are ignored or faked by simply pointing the bell into the music stand. Although hats show up quite often in Swing Era big band charts, owning your own derby mute is not very common.

Others

While the above mutes cover anything you could possibly be asked to play, there are a few other types of mutes out there. These include the Emo megaphone mute, the Humes & Berg Stonelined 127 satellite mute, and a few custom homemade mutes. The aforementioned DJ Kennedy had a few trombone mutes made out of trumpet bells (“Trump-O-Tone”) and clarinet bells (“Clari-Tone”) that offer a unique sound. I own a Clari-Tone that I bought from DJ, and it sounds like a cross between a straight mute and bucket mute.

FIRST MUTES

If you are just starting your mute collection, these are the types of mutes I’d recommend.

  • Trumpet (band/orchestra): Jo-Ral aluminum straight mute, Denis Wick adjustable cup mute

  • Trumpet (jazz): Humes & Berg Stonelined cup mute, Jo-Ral bubble mute, hardware store 4” sink plunger

  • French Horn: Ion Balu or Marcus Bonna wooden straight mute

  • Trombone (band/orchestra): Jo-Ral aluminum straight mute, Denis Wick adjustable cup mute

  • Trombone (jazz): Humes & Berg Stonelined cup mute, hardware store toilet plunger

  • Bass Trombone (band/orchestra): Jo-Ral aluminum straight mute, Denis Wick adjustable cup mute

  • Bass Trombone (jazz): Humes & Berg Stonelined 199 Mic-A-Mute, hardware store toilet plunger

  • Euphonium: Denis Wick aluminum straight mute

  • Tuba: Denis Wick aluminum straight mute

ESSENTIAL CAREER MUTES

These are the mutes essential for any gigging freelance brass player. My brand recommendations are in parentheses.

  • Trumpet: metal straight (Jo-Ral), fiber straight (TrumCor), fiber cup (Humes & Berg Stonelined), adjustable cup (Denis Wick), Harmon (Jo-Ral), plunger (4” hardware store), bucket (Humes & Berg Stonelined Velvet-Tone), solo-tone (Shastock or Humes & Berg Stonelined Clear-Tone)

  • French Horn: wooden straight mute (Ion Balu or Marcus Bonna), stop mute (Tom Crown)

  • Trombone/Bass Trombone: metal straight (Jo-Ral), fiber cup (Humes & Berg Stonelined), adjustable cup (Denis Wick), plunger (hardware store), bucket (Humes & Berg Stonelined Velvet-Tone AND a quicker one, such as Jo-Ral)

  • Euphonium: straight (Ion Balu)

  • Tuba: straight (Schlipf)

MUTE COMPATIBILITY

If you’re into weird brass instruments as much as I am, you’ve probably thought about using them with mutes. Here are all the compatibilities I’ve found.

  • Bass Trumpet: small trombone or flugelhorn mutes (which one works better depends on the model)

  • DEG Alto Cornet: flugelhorn mutes

  • Dynasty G Soprano Bugle: NOT most trumpet mutes (throat is too large!)

  • Getzen Frumpet: bass trombone mutes

  • Flugabone: small trombone mutes

  • Kanstul G Alto Bugle: large trombone mutes

  • Marching Mellophone: small trombone mutes

  • Mellophonium: small trombone mutes (except plunger and wa-wa effects on a Harmon, because the reach is too far)

  • Soprano Trombone: some trumpet mutes

MUTE RECIPES

  • Oboe substitute: trumpet (C or E-flat) with wood or fiber straight mute

  • English horn substitute: flugelhorn with cup mute or trumpet (B-flat) with dark-sounding cup mute

  • Bassoon substitute: trombone, bass trombone, or flugabone/valve trombone (depending on passage) with cup mute

  • Clarinet substitute: trumpet with bucket mute (ideally wood)

MUTE MANUFACTURERS

  • aS

  • Bach

  • Best Brass

  • Beversdorf (rare vintage metal straight mutes for tenor and bass trombone, with the darkest sound of any metal straight mute I’ve heard)

  • Brass Spa

  • Bremner/sshhmute (practice mutes and a whisper mute)

  • Care for Winds

  • Charles Davis

  • Clary Woodmutes (wooden trumpet mutes)

  • DEM-BRO

  • Denis Wick

  • Eazy Bucket (H&B-style bucket mutes that are easier to attach/remove)

  • Emo (a wide range of affordable plastic mutes)

  • Engemann (traditional wooden mutes)

  • Facet (unique wooden mutes)

  • Faxx

  • Harmon

  • Hawkins

  • Hickman

  • Hirschman (buzz mutes and plunger mutes)

  • Horn-Crafts Mutes

  • Huber Mutes

  • Humes & Berg (creators of both the iconic Stonelined red-and-white fiber mutes and a line of “Symphonic” aluminum mutes)

  • Ion Balu (wooden mutes)

  • Ira Nepus (innovative Softone rubber mute that can be a bucket or practice mute)

  • Jo-Ral (originally Alessi-Vacchiano)

  • Marcus Bonna

  • MG Leather Work

  • Michael Rath (metal trombone and bass trombone mutes)

  • Mike McLean (a full range of fiberglass mutes for all British brass band instruments)

  • Mutec

  • Okura+mute

  • On-Stage

  • Pampet (affordable practice mutes)

  • Peter Gane

  • P&H

  • Pöltl (Esser Dämpferbau)

  • Powerstopf (French horn stop mute)

  • Pro Line (light fiber mutes)

  • ProTec

  • Ray Robinson (a vintage mute maker with highly desirable fiber jazz mutes)

  • Rejano (trombone practice mutes)

  • RGC Mutes

  • Schlipf (tuba mutes)

  • Shastock (makers of the original Solo-Tone)

  • Soulo

  • Thomann

  • Tools 4 Winds

  • Tom Crown

  • Trapani (a new high-quality 3D-printed mute company)

  • TrumCor (high-quality black fiber mutes used frequently by orchestral trumpeters)

  • Ullvén

  • Upmute

  • Vhizzper (practice mutes)

  • Voigt Brass

  • Wallace (a full range of metal mutes)

  • Walt Johnson

  • Warburton

  • Windy City

  • Yamaha (mostly known for the Silent Brass practice mutes, though they do make other kinds of mutes as well)

Valve Tuning Theory

There is a small tuba-oriented website that offers a fascinating valve tuning/fingering calculator for download. It will take the valve tubing lengths (as proportional to the overall length of the instrument) you input and spit out every possible fingering, what pitch would result, and how close to in tune that pitch would be. As someone who enjoys brass instruments, numbers, and spreadsheets, I had to download it right away. Since then, I’ve spent many hours trying countless theoretical valve combinations and recording the results. I would hate for my findings to only exist in my downloaded copy of an Excel spreadsheet, so here we are.

It is important to clarify that the calculator only models the 2nd partial, as it was designed originally to figure out what valve lengths work best for low register intonation on tuba. On a real instrument, if the tubing is cut to the correct length the modeled tuning tendencies will also be correct. However, this accounts only for that 2nd partial, and all brass instruments have partials less in tune than others. So things like the viability of alternate fingerings in the upper register can’t be predicted. Additionally, all brass instruments have a zone in which the note you’re aiming for locks in, called a “slot”, rather than fixed points at which each note sits. It is still up to the player to tune the instrument and individual valves properly, and then hit the center of the slots to play in tune.

That said, a theoretically-perfect valve configuration will make the player’s job much easier, and eliminate the need to manipulate valve slides while playing or lip out-of-tune valve combinations into tune. Thus the goal for fully-chromatic instrument is to find a configuration where every note in the 2nd partial all the way down to (at least) the note a half-step above the 1st partial fundamental is as close to perfectly in tune as possible. On a 9’ tenor B-flat instrument such as euphonium, this means Bb2 down to B1 (with Bb1 being the fundamental). Of course, fingerings will also work the same in higher partials, with the player only having to compensate for the individual instrument’s partial quirks. (Typically: 3rd partial slightly sharp, 6th partial very sharp, 7th partial unusably flat. The other partials vary more between individual instrument models, such as the 5th partial being flat on some trombones and sharp on others.)

It is also important to clarify that on some instruments, especially smaller ones like trumpets, it is often much more practical to have a slide kicker or two than have a totally different valve system. This is why the standard 3 valves are so ideal on trumpet and flugelhorn, despite being a very imperfect configuration in the absence of slide kickers/triggers. But for large instruments like tubas, getting the valve configuration as close to as perfect without manipulation is more valuable.

Let’s start with six valves. The obvious disadvantage to six valves is that you have a lot of valves to work with. Not every instrument will have room for them, and of course more valves = more cost. However, six valves provide multiple near-perfect configurations that any fewer valves cannot match.

The first and most logical system is the standard 6-valve setup. This is the setup seen on all modern 6-valve F tubas, and consists of 3 normal valves (whole step, half step, 1.5 steps), normal 4th valve (perfect 4th), a long whole step 5th valve, and a long half step 6th valve. (A "long step” is one that is in tune with the 4th valve down. So on a B-flat instrument, a long whole step would be a whole step in F.) When plugged into the calculator, the most optimal fingerings end up as follows:

For everything in this calculator, I set it to a 9’ B-flat instrument such as euphonium, as that is what I am the most familiar with. Additionally, the 3rd valve is always tuned for 2-3 to be in tune (slightly lower than tuning to just 3) except where noted.

I was most concerned about the 4th valve register, as the first 3 valves are a known entity and work well enough. They aren’t perfectly in tune, but brass players are used to compensating for that. So, although the calculator spits out every possible fingering starting at the first note below the open 2nd partial (in this case A2) and goes down as far as the valves will take it, I only input the optimal 4th valve register results for the sake of clarity. These are not the ONLY possible fingerings, but the most in-tune. The left column shows the note, the right column shows the fingering, and the middle column shows how close to in tune that fingering is. “9-” means the note is 9 cents flat, while “1+” means it’s 1 cent sharp. For reference, the standard 1-2 fingering is 10 cents sharp, so these are all well within acceptable deviation. Not perfect, but close enough. Adding up all of the middle column (in tune = 0) gives a deviation score of 19.

As if it wasn’t already not good enough, you can further optimize this configuration. By shortening the long half step 6th valve by about 1.39”/35.39mm so that 13456 is in tune, you get the following beautiful result:

This has a deviation score of just 7 and is the closest to perfection that I have found. It requires no new fingerings and is so close that it might as well be perfect. You could even make the 6th valve dependent on the 4th or the 1st if you wanted.

To be frank, you could stop reading here if you just wanted to grab the best solution and run. It’s already standard, it’s near-perfect, it just works. But we’re just getting started!

The next 6-valve configuration we’ll look at is one of my favorites.

This configuration uses the same first 5 valves as the standard 6-valve arrangement, but the 6th valve is an ascending whole step. Ascending valves are relatively rare, but can be very useful. Although less familiar than the unoptimized standard 6-valve setup, this setup scores a slightly better deviation score of 17.

Now, if you have an instrument that you want to punch well above its weight (or more accurately length) in terms of low-end prowess, it turns out the old French tuba in C (as written for in Ravel’s famous orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition) had a very competent valve system for doing just that. Taking that template and updating it to use a modern 3rd valve (1.5-step instead of the old 2-step), and you get the following:

To clarify, this configuration includes 4 normal valves, a long half step 5th valve, and a perfect-5th 6th valve. Apart from the 1.5-step 3rd valve, it is the same as the original French instruments. As you can see, it takes you far lower than a modern 6 valve setup could, thanks to the quint valve. It’s not the most in tune in that pedal-replacement register, but we can improve that by making the 5th valve a long whole step instead of a long half step, thereby resulting in a standard 5-valve configuration plus the P5 6th valve:

While neither of these setups are as ideal as the standard 6-valve setup, higher-pitched instruments intended to still be able to play commandingly down to the pedal register and below could benefit from such a setup. The Half-Modern setup (long half step 5th) works better above the bonus pedal-replacement register, with a deviation score of 16 above Bb1, while the Modern setup (long whole step 5th) works better in the bonus pedal-replacement register but significantly worse above it (scoring a deviation score of 26). Still, even 26 is very usable in the real world.

These four configurations are the only ones that I classified as optimal, denoted by the green background underneath the configuration name. Any of them would be an excellent choice. There were unsurprisingly some excellent 7-valve configurations, but they didn’t provide any real advantage over the best 6-valve setups so I didn’t consider them optimal. Here are most of the other 4, 5, 6, and 7 valve configurations I tested and their derivation scores (all ignoring any bonus pedal-replacement notes):

  • Modern French Tuba 6 with ascending whole step 3rd valve (a la true French double horns): 26 (great except for D2, at 17 cents sharp)

  • Standard 6+Long 1.5-step 7th (aka 3 normal valves, normal 4th, and 3 long valves in tune at the length of the 4th valve; functions the same as a full double instrument but with more fingering possibilities): 9 (almost perfect, but…the optimized standard 6 is even better with one fewer valve. Still, if you have 7 valves lying around…)

  • 3+3 (3 normal valves, 3 long valves; aka the setup above but without the 4th valve): 45

  • Modern French Tuba 6+ascending whole step 7th: 13 (SO not worth the trouble)

  • Modern French Tuba 6 with ascending whole step 5th: 15

  • Modern French Tuba 6+long half step 7th, tritone 7th, or Major 3rd 7th: they became clear it was so not worth it I didn’t even progress far enough to get a derivation score

  • Standard 5 valves (long whole step 5th): 48

  • Standard 5 with ascending whole step 3rd: 38

  • Standard 4 valves: 77 (and that’s not including the non-existent low B and so-bad-it-might-as-well-be-non-existent low C!)

  • Standard 4 with ascending whole step 3rd: 41 (no low D or Db)

  • Standard 4+perfect-5th 5th valve: 59

  • Standard 4+ascending whole step 5th: 66

  • Standard 4+tritone 5th: 65

  • Standard 4+Major 3rd 5th (2 whole steps): 96

  • Standard 3+P5 4th+ascending 5th: 54

  • Standard 3+tritone 4th+ascending 5th: 50

  • Standard 3+Major 3rd 4th+ascending 5th: 87

  • Standard 3+tritone 4th: 88 (…and still no low B)

The moral of the story is that I couldn’t find a single configuration with less than 6 valves that was any good. The standard 5-valve setup with the long whole step 5th was the best of the lot, but still several dimensions behind any of the good 6-valve setups. The situation with only 4 valves was even more dire. Regarding possible 4 to 7 valve configurations starting with the normal first 3 valves, I think we can pretty safely close the book with our knowledge of the Four Good Tunings™.

…however…

…what if you DON’T start with the normal first 3 valves?

While pondering what one could do with a 2-valve G bugle to make it fully chromatic in a way that’s not annoying, I had an idea and spontaneously invented a beautiful 2+2 valve system that has the same range as a normal 3 valves and eliminates the need for any slide kickers or adjustment.

First, let’s take a look at the standard 3 valves for comparison. When the 3rd valve is tuned to 2-3, you have 0, 2, and 1 in tune, 12 at 10 cents sharp, 3 at 16 cents flat, 4 in tune, 13 at 15 cents sharp, and 123 at 38 cents sharp. It is hardly a good system on paper, with a derivation score within that partial of 79. Of course, kickers solve all of this…but not every instrument has room (physically or ergonomically) for even one kicker.

My 2+2 system works as follows. The first two valves are your standard 2 valves (whole step and half step), as found on any 3 valve set with the 3rd valve ignored, or any 2-piston G bugle. The next two valves are also a whole and half step to start, but tuned very specifically. The third valve is tuned so that 123 = an in-tune 1+3 fingering on a normal valve set. This means lengthening the slide from its standard whole step position by about 3.22”/81.75mm on a 9’ B-flat instrument. The fourth valve is tuned so that 124 = an in-tune 2+3 fingering on a normal valve set. This means lengthening the slide from its standard whole step position by about 1.93”/49.10mm on a 9’ B-flat instrument.

The result?

A derivation score of 12.

Additionally, 2-valve G bugles have a kicker on the 1st valve slide that kicks inward, in order to bring the 7th partial 1st-valve note (which is extremely flat, and able to be completely avoided on 3-valve instruments) up to pitch. Given as the 2+2 configuration was designed specifically for 2-valve G bugle valve sets that would otherwise be useless, it is likely then that a 2+2 instrument would have at least one inward kicker on the 1st valve. On the data above, 1+2 is listed as the fingering for G2 because it is the closest to being in tune. As it is sharp and not flat, an inward kicker wouldn’t help. However, 1+4 is another available fingering, which is 16 cents flat. The inward kicker, long enough to bring a note a full quarter step flat into tune, would undoubtedly be able to bring that 1+4 fingering up to pitch.

Having this 2+2 valve block as a base opens up another world of possibilities with additional valves. So far I have run through 15 configurations with 6 valves (2+2+2?), and while none are perfect, nearly all of them are very good and several are among the closest to perfection of any configuration I’ve found thus far.

Of course, none of those configurations is that practical. Even just the 2+2 system requires learning a new fingering pattern, even though it is arguably more logical than the usual 3 valve pattern. The basic pattern of the left hand 3rd and 4th valve is identical to the right hand 1st and 2nd. But the 2+2 system is only worth doing over a standard valve set in a very specific circumstance involving 2-piston G bugles.

What makes it even more viable for that context is that the 3rd and 4th valves can be made dependent of the 1st and 2nd. Since every standard fingering involving 3 or 4 has both 1 and 2 down, 3 and 4 can be inset in those valves’ tubing. What this means is that you could set both valves in alternate slides that plug in to the existing valves’ valve slides, without modifying the original bugle in any way. And because the valves are dependent, the bugle would feel exactly the same to play until you used one of the additional valves.

Eventually, I would love to be able to 3D-print 2-valve sets for G bugles and sell them so that players could slot them into their 2-valve bugles whenever they needed the missing pitches. A +2 valve set would drastically expand the musical possibilities of a 2-valve bugle, and would do so without altering the original instrument in any way. What’s not to like?

Cellophone

The cellophone is one of the rarest and least-known competition bugles in G, made by DEG Dynasty in 1984. It is really just a flugabone in G, and was based on Dynasty’s B-flat flugabone (which they called a “Marching Trombone”), itself a derivation of the original King 1130 flugabone.

The principal production run of the cellophone was a single group of four 2-valve instruments, built for and used briefly by the Phantom Regiment drum and bugle corps. No further 2-valve cellophones were built.

A catalog spread showing off the 2-valve cellophone.

However, there are currently also three known 3-valve cellophones, which were presumably made for the European market. It is likely that the known three are the only ones that were made, but that is not certain.

Currently, two 2-valves and two 3-valves are in the hands of G bugle collectors and probably will not change hands anytime soon (if ever). The third known 3-valve cellophone is played by its owner in the Florida Brass. This leaves two known 2-valve models unaccounted for.

If you really want a cellophone, the easy way would be to get a normal B-flat flugabone and add tubing to get it down to G (as this is what Dynasty did). For the 2-valve cellophone experience, you could even just clamp down the 3rd valve and tune the first two valves appropriately. Dynasty flugabones rarely show up for sale (and the King flugabone pattern is not the only model of Dynasty marching trombone out there!), but fortunately there are quite a few King 1130s floating around. The King is likely the better instrument, but a less authentic base for a cellophone.

I have not played or heard a cellophone myself, so I can’t comment on the sound or how it compares to my King flugabone. But based on how B-flat marching baritones compare to the ones in G, I can’t imagine it’s a huge difference.