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

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!
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.
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.
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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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

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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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

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.
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.
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

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.
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.
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

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

Late 1970s Getzen 383 frumpet - All of the bad things ever said about the frumpet are true.
Nirschl E102SP marching mellophone - The Nirschl might actually be worse than the frumpet. It is truly shocking.

Low Brass Tier List