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 horn in Bb or low G 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.
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 the Kanstul KHB-185 I used to own, 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 do feel that more typical a Kanstul 285 Bb marching horn is a better compromise just for the fingerings; I (along with most brass improvisers) am much more comfortable improvising in Bb than G, and this is the reason why I ended up selling the the KHB-185. I have also played a recording session here in Los Angeles where everyone was on marching instruments and one of the mellophone players also played a Kanstul 285 on some cues, presumably to fatten up the section sound.
The only other non-marching band use of a marching horn I’ve seen is by the fabulous Solo Hornist of the Munich Philharmonic, Matias Piñeira. He has a custom small bell Bb marching horn, which appears to be an Otto 207 “La Revolución”, that he uses for salsa playing in addition to his normal Alexander 103. He uses both instruments in this video:
Here’s a brief trip through some other interesting types of marching French horns.
First up is the previously-mentioned 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 the 285, it’s actually the other way around. Zig Kanstul started his company making G bugles only, so the Bb 285 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 also sold a high F marching horn, model 284. High F marching horns are not common, 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. The closest thing I know of is the King KMH611, which is basically just a mellophone with a horn receiver and thus not really a marching horn.
Before the Dynasty B-flat marching horn became the more modern M551, the early models used the same basic wrap as the Dynasty III G French horn bugle. The Adams MF1 has a similar wrap to the Dynasty M551, but the older DEG/Dynasty design doesn’t have any imitators that I’m aware of.
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. Every aspect of this instrument’s existence seems like it came out of a fever dream! Unbeknownst to most, Yamaha also made a circular marching horn in the Holton style: the ultra-rare YHR-301M.
Feast your eyes on this glorious Hans Hoyer 4-valve Bb marching horn, which is possibly the only 4-valve marching horn ever made, and certainly one of the only professional-quality bell-front horns in existence. My desire for one of these knows no bounds.
Finally, a discussion about marching horns cannot ever be truly complete without discussing the Patterson Hornette project. This was an attempt to create a new kind of bell-front French horn for use by horn players in jazz and popular music, in a similar vein to the Otto 207 referenced above. Unfortunately, despite Conn-Selmer being linked to the hornette project, it has been radio silence since the 2022 IHS Symposium. Hopefully we will get updates soon!
The Patterson hornette
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.
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).
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 stablemates, the King 3B+F and 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 lots of 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, we would be just fine.
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.)
Eduard Kruspe double horn, an example of a typical double horn in F and B-flat.
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 piston-valved 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 most 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.
Couesnon Monopole natural horn with ascending 3rd valve section installed
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) would 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.
Ascending 3rd valves didn’t catch on outside of France, but there are a few single B-flat horns with ascending valves that you can buy today, such as the 5-valve Ricco Kühn W125/C. There have also been a handful of modern ascending double and double descant models, though I don’t know of any currently offered.
Outside of horns, ascending valves have had some notable trumpeter proponents. Robb Stewart has an excellent article on his website about the history of trumpets with ascending valves by Schilke and Thibouville-Lamy, and the players who used them. There are a couple of manufacturers that offer ascending valve trumpets today - Jaeger Brass offers ascending valve trumpets in C/D or Bb/C based on the Thibouville-Lamy designs, and Blackburn offers a 5-valve C trumpet with an ascending D valve designed by David Hickman.
Finally, a similar number of ascending valve proponents exists in the trombone world as well.
Günter Frost was a bass trombonist for the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and pioneered the ascending C valve on trombones. In 1981, he patented the idea of a trombone for young beginners with an ascending C valve. Starting in 2001, he worked with a few master German makers (M&H Thein, Joachim Pfretzschner, Helmut Voigt, Jürgen Voigt) to make six models of professional trombone in various sizes, all with ascending C valves. (Herr Frost’s website is long defunct, but is still accessible via the Wayback Machine.)
Jürgen Voigt orchestral tenor trombone with dependent F and ascending C valves
In Günter Frost’s dependent designs, 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 a genius configuration for a large tenor trombone. You get a standard trombone with F-attachment, plus low C and B as pedal notes and a turbo button for 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.
The manufacturer Thein used to offer a tenor trombone with an ascending C valve and full-length slide, allowing for 8 positions with the C valve engaged. The webpage for this instrument had no photographs, but it had a diagram showing the positions on the slide in B-flat and C. Additionally, adding a second, independent F valve was listed as an option. Years later, Pete Edwards took the independent-valved version of the ascending concept to its logical conclusion and built a bass trombone with independent F and ascending C valves:
Pete Edward’s ascending C bass trombone, with a Bach 36 tenor trombone for comparison.
This instrument 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.)
There is also a currently one mass-produced ascending valve instrument, Yamaha’s YSL-350C. This instrument is a student-level tenor trombone with a .500-.525” dual bore slide with 6 positions and an ascending C valve, and is intended for young players whose arms can’t reach 7th position but also can’t hold up a heavy F-attachment trombone. However, a few advanced players (e.g. Doug Yeo) use it as a travel instrument as it is significantly smaller than a normal tenor trombone. For whatever reason, this instrument has also been cloned by Jinbao and is sold by John Packer, Schiller, Thomann, and others for a much cheaper price than the Yamaha.
Yamaha YSL-350C Bb/C trombone
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. It could also be useful for tuba doublers (typically trombonists) who are used to Bb fingerings but need a real pedal C for the Lion King musical.
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.
B.A.C. (Best American Craftsman)
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. If you read this and find that soprano trombone still isn’t small enough for you, I have another article on even higher trombones.
Thein soprano trombone
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 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-1005-YSS-Bb-L - In addition to being made by the good maker that is Carol Brass, the CTB-1005 is superior to any cheaper soprano for one big reason. All the Chinese sopranos and the Jupiter 314 are tuned via the tenon attaching the bell to the slide, which is the cheapest and worst method. The CTB-1005, 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. Its price varies depending on the retailer; it lists at $479 at Carol Brass of the Rockies, but $900 at Austin Custom Brass.
Carol Brass CTB-2005-GLS-GL - Carol’s mind-numbing alphanumeric naming scheme makes it seem like this should be a simple variation of the above soprano trombone, but this is actually a completely new model, recently introduced. Notably, it is pitched in G rather than B-flat! It uses the bell (including that big shepherd’s crook) from the maker’s Phat Puppy flugelhorn, and does sound much more flugel-like than most soprano trombones. A very interesting new development for the soprano!
Carol Brass CTB-2005-GLS-GL soprano trombone in G - see the full product page here
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 - The famed brass maker Larry Minick made a few sopranos, including a few with valves for studio players. They are extremely rare today.
Wessex PB455 - The PB455 was a large bore (.500”) soprano with F attachment that Wessex only very briefly offered on their website. 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.
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
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 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.
Ode to a Blue House
On September 1st, 2018, I and my overloaded Subaru completed an arduous 3-day drive across the country as we crested a hill and came to a stop in front of this blue house. Moments after getting out of my car and taking in the fact that I was now officially a resident of Los Angeles, I was standing in a small empty bedroom on the second floor of this house, which ended up being my home for the next four and a half years.
Yesterday, on January 1st, 2023, it finally hit me that I was really leaving when I took my last possession out of that room and was left with that same empty room from 4.5 years prior staring back at me.
I had expected to feel a lot of things when it hit me: excitement for my new place and the journey ahead, relief that I was finally done moving things out of there, and maybe a bit of nostalgia for the time I spent in that room. Instead, I was greeted with a sharp pang of sadness.
I grew up in a military family, so we moved around. When we finally settled in the DC area, it was the first place I grew to know as “home”. But we also moved houses within the area years after we initially got there, so the longest I ever spent in one house before going off to college was about 3 years. In college I bounced around dorm rooms and off-campus apartments every year, and left for the West Coast having lived in 7 different spots in 7 years. What this means is that the 4.5 years I spent living in the Blue House on the Hill is by far the longest I have ever lived in one residence. This turned out to not be as easy to say goodbye to as I originally thought.
There are many practical reasons why I moved and why I’d been looking for a new place for a long time. But in the moment I saw the empty room, I forgot all of them and had to fight back tears as all of the memories came flooding back. How I started my Los Angeles journey in that room, calling my parents to tell them I made it safely and then walking to Guisados to get my first LA meal. All the nights in the house laughing or crying the night away with friends and housemates. Playing happy birthday on the roof as the party looked on from below:
…and many more, lots of which were preserved in the Polaroids we took in the moment.
In many ways, living in the house felt like living with a family - a family that at one time would go exploring on Bird scooters every Monday and cook a feast together every Wednesday. And though I am beyond excited for my new place and what lies ahead, I will always cherish the good times at the blue house and recognize its significance in the history of my life. After all, I started my LA career there, lived through a global pandemic there, and started living as my true self there. It’s impossible to overstate how important the Blue House chapter of my life was.
It’s going to be really hard not answering “Echo Park!” when somebody asks where I live. Because I lived there for so long compared to everywhere else in my life, it almost feels like I just left home for the first time. It’s going to take time to fully process and get used to, and I think a part of me will always feel like I belong there until I live somewhere else even longer. Echo Park almost feels like part of who I am. My time there was far from perfect and in truth I am glad to be out, but it was hugely important all the same.
So long, Echo Park. Thanks for everything.
…except the Dodger traffic. 🙄
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.
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. In certain areas (including here in Los Angeles), the Denis Wick DW5504 metal straight mute is the industry standard for classical trumpeters, and is essentially required. It’s a great mute and affordable. 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. That said, in some areas a more modern cup has replaced it in big band use. Here in Los Angeles, every jazz trumpeter uses a Soulo cup mute for big band work.
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 an adjustable cup in addition to their Stonelined. The Wick cup is not the only adjustable cup out there, and some players may prefer a different brand (Jo-Ral, Soulo, etc.). 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 for French horn, flugelhorn, euphonium, tuba, and even alto 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. As a player, you will never show up to a gig with “cup mute” written on your flugelhorn or 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!) If you do want to buy one, here are some current options:
French horn - Marcus Bonna, H&B Stonelined 123
Flugelhorn - Wallace TWC-461, Peter Gane, Mike McLean, Mike McLean Pianissimo, Tech Tone, H&B Stonelined 131, H&B Stonelined 186
Alto horn - Wallace TWC-471, Mike McLean
Baritone horn - Wallace TWC-481, Mike McLean
Euphonium - Wallace TWC-491, Schlipf Combi, Mike McLean
Tuba - Mike McLean
Plunger
The humblest of mutes. There are plenty of specialty “plunger mutes” out there made of metal, fiber, or rubber, but the bendy red ones from a hardware store are still the standard. They cost literally a dollar or two, so no player of a bell-front brass instrument should ever be without one. The Hirschman KR Indigo plungers are excellent, but they don’t do anything a hardware store plunger doesn’t. 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 overall, and plays easier than the original Harmon. In recent years, the Soulo copper bottom Harmon mute for trumpet has become very popular with big band players, so much that in Los Angeles it’s basically a requirement alongside the Soulo cup mute.
While Harmon mutes are generally limited to trumpets and trombones, there have been a few Harmon mutes for flugelhorn as well. Jo-Ral and Tech Tone currently offer them, and some bubble-style trombone Harmon mutes also fit flugelhorn. Even for a mute connoisseur, I think flugel Harmons are mostly unnecessary, as the resulting sound is only fractionally different to a trumpet with Harmon. But of course, as flugelhorns play very differently from trumpets, a player who prefers the flugelhorn may prefer to play solo Harmon lines on flugelhorn if they have the option.
Trombone Harmon mute (bubble-style) in a flugelhorn
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 rarely use the H&B today. In recent years the Soulo bucket, Jo-Ral Bucket, Eazy Bucket, S-Mute Salt Shaker, and Softone (mainly with trombonists) mutes are popular with big band players.
Bucket mutes can be divided into two main types: clip-on and bell insert. Clip-on bucket mutes include the original H&B Velvet-Tone, the Eazy Bucket, and the Soulo. Bell insert bucket mutes are much easier to use, as you just put them into the bell like any other mute. However, they sound quite different from the H&B style, so players sometimes have one of each type. The Jo-Ral bucket mute is by far the most popular bell insert bucket mute, but there are others including Peter Gane and Mike McLean. The bell insert style is more popular with classical players, but also sometimes used by jazz and commercial players. 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.
Thanks to the demands of modern British brass band writing, there are also bucket mutes for flugelhorn, alto horn, baritone horn, French horn, euphonium, and tuba. This means you will mostly find these buckets from British brands like Wallace, Mike McLean, and Peter Gane. The exceptions are the H&B Stonelined 187 Velvet-Tone flugelhorn mute and Eazy Bucket flugelhorn mute.
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. In some areas (including Los Angeles), using a practice mute to warm up at a rehearsal or gig is expected.
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 Mel-O-Wah (vintage H&B, Tech Tone, Emo megaphone), Altatone (vintage L.D. Streamline, Tech Tone reproduction), TrumCor Sonic Vortex, Tech Tone Rotor Tone, Emo Megaphone mute, Humes & Berg Stonelined 127 satellite mute, S-Mute pixie cup mute (no longer in production), and a few custom homemade mutes. 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): Denis Wick DW5504 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 (Denis Wick), fiber straight (TrumCor Lyric), fiber cup (Soulo or H&B Stonelined), adjustable cup (Soulo or Denis Wick), Harmon (Soulo copper bottom), plunger (4” hardware store or Hirschman KR Indigo), bucket (Humes & Berg Stonelined Velvet-Tone or Soulo), solo-tone (vintage Shastock or TrumCor Vintage Tone/other modern solotone), practice (Cookie)
French Horn: wooden straight mute (Ion Balu or Marcus Bonna), stop mute (Tom Crown or Trapani)
Trombone/Bass Trombone: metal straight (Jo-Ral), fiber cup (Humes & Berg Stonelined), adjustable cup (Denis Wick), plunger (hardware store or Hirschman KR Indigo), clip-on bucket (Humes & Berg Stonelined Velvet-Tone or Eazy Bucket), bell insert bucket (Peter Gane or Jo-Ral), practice (Pampet for tenor, any in-bell option for bass)
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: tenor or bass trombone mutes, depending on the specific mute and mellophone model
Mellophonium: tenor or bass trombone mutes, depending on the specific mute (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
merf. (unique, squishy 3D-printed trumpet and trombone mutes)
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)
Morningstar (3D-printed trombone mutes)
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)
S-Mute (3D-printed mutes with variable corks and parts)
Soulo
Tech Tone
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 a handful of known 3-valve cellophones, which were presumably made for the European market.
One of the ultra-rare 3-valve Dynasty cellophones.
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.
Nirschl Mellophone
You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that Nirschl, the esteemed German brass instrument manufacturer responsible for lots of enormous 6/4 CC tubas, once sold a marching mellophone. There is very little record of the instrument on the Internet; its entire presence consists of a Middle Horn Leader review, a discussion in episode 73 of the MelloCast podcast, an old Reverb listing, and a couple of derelict shells of online store pages for the instrument from over a decade ago (listed price was $899!).
The instrument is called the E-102 (E-102SP in silver plate), and while it was not actually built by Walter Nirschl, it is still an intriguing instrument. Even among mellophone enthusiasts this instrument is usually forgotten, if it was ever known about to begin with. It might as well not exist…right?
Nirschl E-102SP
Well, I suspect the primary reason it gets forgotten as a mellophone is because it’s not very good at being one. In fact, it’s so bad at being a mellophone that I think it being marketed as one was a mistake. The reason for this deficiency is the bell; one of the mellophone’s defining features both visually and sonically is the extra-wide 10” or larger bell flare. Nirschl decided to skip this feature entirely, instead giving it a relatively small 8” bell. In a way, this makes it somewhat of a poor man’s alto flugelhorn or marching alto.
So, how does it work as an alto flugelhorn? The answer is, unfortunately, not very well. Using the mouthpiece from an alto horn or alto trumpet results in a woefully flat instrument - with a Denis Wick, the instrument is so flat it’s almost down a whole step to E-natural (but not quite low enough that you can actually use it that way). This is a problem shared with the Kanstul KAH-175 alto bugle in G, though that instrument is of infinitely better quality. The Kanstul is at least in tune when you use a marching mellophone mouthpiece like a Benge Mello 6, which is what it was designed for. The same cannot be said of the Nirschl E-102, as even with the shallowest marching mellophone mouthpiece it still plays flat with the main tuning slide all the way in!
Weirdly, the mouthpieces I found to work best with the Nirschl don’t even have the right shank: a French horn mouthpiece and an antique Conn circular mellophone mouthpiece. Despite not seating in the Nirschl’s mouthpiece receiver at all, they gave the best sound and intonation out of all the mouthpieces I had, and I gave its new owner the old Conn mouthpiece when I sold it. That mouthpiece never worked well in any of my circular mellophones!
I can see now why the Nirschl E-102 never took off. In its factory state, it is thruthfully as useless as the Getzen frumpet, and bears the odd distinction of being the only marching mellophone (or mellophone-adjacent object) I know of that actually works better with a horn mouthpiece. With marching mellophone or alto horn mouthpieces, your only real option is to get the horn lengthened to E-flat, as the main tuning slide has no room to shorten up to pitch with those mouthpieces.
If you really want a small-bell mellophone in F, I’d recommend waiting to get lucky and find a Kanstul KMA-275 marching alto. It’s everything the Nirschl wishes it was and more.
Kanstul KMA 275 marching alto in F
Yamaha Mellophone Sisters
The Yamaha YMP-200 series of marching mellophones is the standard by which all other marching mellophones are measured. It is well-known to be arguably the best marching mellophone there is, so it often commands significantly higher prices on the used market than any other brand. The current model, the YMP-204M, is the pinnacle of mellophone design; however, even the first YMP-201M is an excellent instrument leaps and bounds ahead of most other marching brass.
However, the YMP-201M was not the first Yamaha mellophone. That honor goes to the rare and mostly unknown (at least in the West) YMP-201 (no M) circular mellophone.
On the left is my YMP-201; on the right is my YMP-201M. They’re sisters!
However, the 201M is not just a 201 re-wrapped to point the bell forwards; there are some significant differences. The 201 has a huge 12” bell and a small .449” bore, while the 201M has a more standard 10” bell and .462” bore. The 201 can play in F or E-flat just by rerouting the two tuning slides built into the instrument - no extra slides needed! (This was also a feature on certain York mellophones.) Meanwhile, the 201M only plays in F. The 201 also has the traditional cornet shank, while the 201M uses a trumpet shank like other marching mellophones. Despite the only difference in designation being a single “M”, the two instruments are completely separate designs.
They play and sound different, too. The 201M sounds like a marching mellophone should, has a fabulous upper register, and can sound like an alto flugelhorn with an alto horn mouthpiece. It is light, balanced, and easy to play. The 201 meanwhile has a smaller yet darker sound that blends with anything. While other circular mellophones have more colorful, interesting sounds (my 1925 Buescher 25 and 1918 Conn 6E come immediately to mind), the 201M could be the ultimate gigging circular mellophone. It plays in tune, it has fast modern valves, it has a transparent, chameleon sound, but it can still light up and is easy to play in all registers. It is not the most glamorous circular mellophone, but it just works.
It is also how modern it feels in comparison to all other circular mellophones that makes it as interesting as it is. It feels modern because it IS modern; it started production in the 1980s! From what I have been told by a Japanese source, French horns were too expensive for many school bands in Japan, so they used the traditional mellophone into the 1990s as a French horn substitute. Yamaha thus made the relatively affordable YMP-201 exclusively for the Japanese domestic market, hence why it is so rare in the West.
If you can find either a YMP-201 or any YMP-20xM for a good price, I would highly recommend it. Both are the most competent instruments of their type and can be played to any standard. I never thought my Conn 16E would step down as my primary gigging bell-front alto brass instrument, but once my 201M arrived I knew it had been dethroned. With a Hammond 5MP marching mellophone mouthpiece, the 201M is unbeatable.
Alto Cornet
The alto cornet in F or E-flat is a very rare bird. It seems that most true alto cornets are rotary instruments in E-flat, with piston instruments being the rarer type. However, there is a fairly easy and affordable way to get your hands on an alto cornet, at least in North America: the DEG model 1220.
Like much of DEG/Dynasty’s product line in the 1970s, the 1220 was made for DEG by Willson. Willson also sold an E-flat version of the instrument in their home market of Switzerland; I would love to know if it was marketed there as an alto cornet, and which model came first. Meanwhile, DEG marketed the 1220 in the States as a “marching alto/French horn”, presumably in an attempt to cash in on the still-volatile marching alto brass instrument space. In accordance with the marketing, DEG supplied the 1220 with both an alto horn mouthpiece and a French horn mouthpiece with adapter. Despite the marketing though, the 1220 is a true alto cornet in F (or E-flat, using the factory E-flat slide), and not a solo alto or any sort of mellophone.
Over the years I have seen quite a few come and go on eBay, and it seems that they were made with at least three different bell sizes. The one I owned had the smallest and most common size that I have seen, at about 6.1”. Most I’ve seen have been branded DEG, but I have also seen larger-belled models branded Dynasty. The 1220 evidently stuck around long enough to go through some changes, though how long exactly I don’t know. I also don’t know if the Dynasty-branded versions were given a different model number.
The four pictures below are the bell stamps on four different 1220s; the one on the far left is mine, while the other three are from online listings.
The 1220 has a trumpet shank, accepts flugelhorn mutes, and is not much larger than a standard B-flat cornet. I found that alto horn mouthpieces worked the best for me, and out of my alto pieces I felt the Kelly 3W was the best fit. I’ve also had good results with an extremely small trombone mouthpiece.
DEG 1220 alto cornet (bottom) next to Bach CR-310 B-flat cornet (top)
The 1220 plays very well, and despite overwhelming external similarities to the 1970s Dynasty III alto bugle (also made by Willson), it sounds noticeably different even when both are played with the same mouthpiece. The Dynasty III sounds like a big flugelhorn (which is essentially what it is) with a horn-like edge when pushed, while the DEG 1220 is all cornet. It is noticeably brighter and easily colored, with a rocking low register and a secure high register that requires a good deal of effort above written high C (sounding F5). Unlike many uncommon alto brass instruments, the 1220 has lock-tight slots. Intonation is not perfect but easily manageable.
While I don’t believe the 1220 is much of a soloist’s instrument, it is a champion at playing in a brass section. It can blend seamlessly with trombones or flugelhorns, and I have used it very successfully in recording sessions to do just that. In a 6-part horn section consisting of 2 trumpets, flugelhorn, alto cornet, and 2 trombones, the alto cornet is the perfect middle voice. The Yamaha YMP-201 (non-M) circular mellophone has similar qualities, but the DEG 1220 is more convenient to bring to a session due to its very compact size and forward-facing bell. This also makes it an excellent desk instrument for the alto brass player, or even the low brass player.
In short, the DEG 1220 is an excellent instrument that any multi-brass player could find good uses for, especially in the studio. They don’t show up for sale very often, but they usually go for a few hundred dollars. They are usually listed as a mellophone, so you’ll have the most luck finding one with a search for mellophones.
Meehaphone
The Meehaphone is an enormously rare breed of 2-valve competition bugle in G, built and used from 1987 to 1991. It was designed by Jack Meehan and Zig Kanstul for the Concord Blue Devils drum and bugle corps, in an effort to streamline their middle voice section from three types of G bugle (mellophone, flugelhorn, and French horn) to one.
The exact number built is not certain, but as the meehaphones were built by Kanstul specifically for the Blue Devils, it is likely that there were only enough made to fill out the corps’ mid-voice section. It seems that at the time the Blue Devils’ mid-voice was consistently 14 players, based on instrumentations noted in this Middle Horn Leader interview with Wayne Downey and my own studying of the relevant footage online. It is thus reasonable to conclude that there were most likely 14 production meehaphones built. There was also at least one prototype built in F with 3 valves, which is now owned by Bobby Pirtle and resembles a giant flugelhorn.
According to the late Ken Norman, the meehaphone has a bell flare identical to the Olds BU-10 and Conn 92L French horn bugles, mated to a 2-valve .415” bore flugelhorn body. It is essentially a bell-front field descant horn in G. At the time, Terry Warburton made custom mouthpieces for the meehaphones, labelled “Downey BD”. The Blue Devils used an all-meehaphone alto section for the 1987-1990 DCI seasons, and in 1991 they used 4 mellophones and 10 meehaphones. The meehaphones were shelved shortly thereafter when new 3-valve G flugelhorns from Yamaha arrived.
According to all accounts, they were the loudest alto bugle ever created. In fact, on the bell is stamped “MFL”, which does not stand for “Marching Flugelhorn” but “Mother F***ing Loud”! They had a darker sound than mellophones and projected very well, but notes above written G at the top of the staff (sounding D5) were very hard to center. Here’s the Blue Devils’ 1988 show on YouTube, with plenty of meehaphone action to go around. After 1991, the meehaphones fell off the map. Most of them were lost in a single shipment, which has never been found. There are only a handful whose whereabouts are known, and all but one are on display in various states of functionality in drum corps-related museums.
So, that’s the lore…now, here’s my practical experience.
Here is an original Kanstul meehaphone, serial #1028, that I had the privilege of owning for a while. It was previously owned by Ken Norman, and is the single known example not in a museum.
When played softly, it has a French flugelhorn-like quality to the sound, which makes sense considering the .415” flugel leadpipe and valve block. When pushed, it gets bright with a trumpet-like edge, but without what I would describe as the mellophone’s tearing metal zing. It’s a very interesting sound that’s clearly related to my other alto bugles, but at the same time standing apart from them.
But don’t let me just talk about how it sounds. Have a listen for yourself!
These clips were all recorded close-miced into a Cascade Fat Head ribbon microphone and SSL2 audio interface. The ensemble excerpt in particular provides a good summary of the meehaphone’s qualities…both good and bad. The notes above the staff live up to their squirrelly reputation; while I could play them effectively (I suspect thanks to my Conn 16E experience), it is certainly a treacherous register. In general the intonation isn’t the best, but it’s nowhere near the worst I’ve played either.
It’s important to note that I did not have an original Downey BD mouthpiece made by Terry Warburton for the meehaphones. Mine came with a Burbank F mouthpiece with a cylindrical shank, and while it worked I didn’t feel that it was an ideal mouthpiece for the instrument.
For more playing and practical information about the meehaphone, check out this video:
Meehaphone (left) next to Couesnon flugelhorn (right)
Frumpet
The Getzen model 383 Frumpet, or “French Horn Trumpet” as it was also marketed, is a unique alto brass instrument that can play extremely loud. It also accepts bass trombone mutes, and has decent valves and ergonomics.
That is everything good that can be said about it.
It was made from 1964 to 1985 and was another attempt at a marching instrument for French horn players. It has a .464” bore and plays in alto F or Eb, with the Eb slide playing a little better. It takes French horn mouthpieces, but the length and taper of the instrument are not an acoustic match for that and the result truly horrendous. It has shockingly bad intonation that makes the Conn 16E mellophonium seem amazing by comparison, and its anemic sound doesn’t make up for it. You can find them cheap on eBay, but they are painfully useless except to use as a base for a mildly interesting lamp.
UNLESS…
…you get it modified.
All that’s needed to turn the frumpet from an inconveniently-sized paperweight into a usable and interesting instrument is to swap the leadpipe for either an alto horn or trombone leadpipe. That way you can use bigger mouthpieces that actually work with the bore profile, eliminating the horrible intonation problems. If you take it a step further and also swap the weird bell for a small trombone bell, you have yourself a nice alto valve trombone. You can also lower it to C or Bb (with the new leadpipe/bell) and get a bass trumpet of sorts.
One thing that has not been tried yet to my knowledge is to keep the stock bell and horn leadpipe, but put a bunch of tubing on it to get it down to Bb or even low F, convert it to point up instead of out in front, and see how it works as the world’s jankiest Wagner tuba. I would very much like to try that.
Anyway, don’t buy a frumpet unless you plan to either turn it into a lamp, use it for parts or as soldering practice, or extensively modify it. And don’t spend more than about $100.
Alto Bugle
“Alto bugle” typically refers to a type of competition bugle pitched in G for use in drum and bugle corps. Of the four main types of mid-voice bugle used in drum corps history (mellophone, French horn, alto, flugelhorn), the alto bugle is probably the rarest type. Usually based on a G mellophone bugle but with a much smaller bell, they didn’t make a lasting impression on the field. However, they offer intriguing possibilities for use outside of drum corps as they are essentially big flugelhorns in G. (There were actual G flugelhorns in DCI as well, but those were generally standard B-flat flugelhorns with tubing added.)
Many alto bugles had 2 valves, as that was the rule in DCI until 1990. But there are a few models of 3-valve alto bugle that exist. These are as follows:
Dynasty III alto bugle (late 1970s): Likely the earliest 3-valve alto bugle to be made. As DCI was over a decade away from legalizing 3 valves, the complete Dynasty III bugle line was made (mostly by Willson) for the European market. Surviving examples of any type of Dynasty III bugle are extremely rare today.
Dynasty late-pattern alto bugle: This one was based on Dynasty’s existing mellophone design rather than a separate one, and was made in-house instead of by Willson. (The link calls it a flugelhorn bugle, but the Dynasty 3-valve flugelhorn bugle was a different beast made by slapping longer slides on a DEG Signature 2000 Bb flugel.)
Kanstul KAB-175 (‘90s, early model): This early model Kanstul alto bugle design resembles a smaller King 1120 marching mellophone, and as both instruments were designed by Zig Kanstul, is probably where the King design originated.
Kanstul 175 (late model): The later model used a totally new wrap and was made until Kanstul went out of business in 2019.
At one time I owned the only Dynasty III alto bugle I have ever seen. I haven’t been able to find any record of another individual example on the Internet. As none were made for the US domestic market, it may be the only one in the country. But rare G bugles have a funny tendency to show up in the weirdest places, so there could be others hiding in the States. I bought mine from Canada.
The following picture shows the Dynasty III, and also my DEG 1220 alto cornet in F for comparison, also made by Willson around the same timeframe and also very rare (but much more common than the Dynasty III!). It’s easy to see the family resemblance between the two instruments, even though they actually sound quite different.
Dynasty III G alto bugle (top) and DEG 1220 F alto cornet (bottom)
As the names imply, the alto bugle sounds like a flugelhorn, while the alto cornet sounds like a cornet. The alto bugle has a fat, dark flugel sound; the alto cornet has a brighter, leaner cornet sound. Both instruments play very well.
I also used to own an early pattern Kanstul KAB-175.
This instrument had a fabulous flugelhorn sound with a tenor horn mouthpiece (the same one I used in the Dynasty alto bugle and alto cornet). It was smoother and a shade darker than the Dynasty, and was a really refined sound. Which is not to say the Dynasty was rough; compared back to back with my Couesnon flugelhorn the Dynasty sounded quite close, just with a bit more beef in the sound. But the Kanstul took it a step further and makes the sound a little rounder and sweeter still.
Unfortunately, with this mouthpiece the instrument also played quite flat with the tuning slide all the way in. This is likely because it was designed around the classic Mello 6 marching mellophone mouthpiece. I have one of those, and putting either it or my Hammond 5MP marching mello piece into the Kanstul fixed the pitch and felt like the right match for the horn size-wise…but also entirely lost that lovely velvet flugelhorn sound. With the Mello 6 it predictably sounded like a more focused, direct marching mellophone. Very bright and trumpety, but much fatter than any trumpet (or G soprano bugle). There may be a niche for this sound, but I couldn’t find it and the big flugelhorn sound is really what I want in an alto bugle, so I eventually sold this instrument.
Physically, the Kanstul was fantastic. The valves were the best I’ve ever owned in any kind of brass instrument…lightning fast and whisper quiet. The instrument itself felt like it weighed nothing in the hand, owning to its light weight and great balance. I’m sure it would be a pleasure to march with, as instant horn snaps and moves are a piece of cake. The left hand grip is comfortable, there is a 1st valve slide kicker…it has everything you want. It feels like a massive leap forward in alto bugle design from the Dynasty, although the Dynasty’s super-compact form factor is definitely convenient. It is a shame then that the Kanstul doesn’t work out of the box with the tenor horn mouthpiece that the Dynasty happily accepts without issue; it could be that that early alto design was based around a larger, more tenor horn-like mouthpiece.
Although I never found a real use for the Kanstul and thus sold it, it’s one of the most enjoyable brass instruments I’ve ever played and I do miss it.
To hear the Kanstul meehaphone, Dynasty III alto bugle, and Kanstul KMB-175 alto bugle, check out this video:
The Marching Alto
Just as the mellophone bugle in G begat the marching mellophone in F, the alto bugle in G begat the marching alto in F. And as rare as the G alto bugle is, the F marching alto might be even rarer. Unlike the alto bugle and its limited use in DCI drum corps (especially in the 2-valve era), I know of nobody who ever fielded a line of marching altos. (If your high school or university marching band did, I’d love to know about it!)
These are the types of marching alto I know of:
Kanstul KMA-275 (late model): This is the F version of the late-pattern 175 alto bugle. I have yet to find evidence that Kanstul ever made an F marching alto version of the early pattern KAB-175 G alto bugle, or that any other maker made a smaller-bell version of their mellophone. It could be the only purpose-built marching alto ever made.
Nirschl E-102 mellophone: This horn wasn’t intended to be an actual marching alto, it was just Nirschl’s poor attempt at making a marching mellophone. It also works no better as a marching alto as it does as a mellophone…in fact, there is nothing it is good at. But it technically counts?
Andalucia AdVance Series Alto Horn: This is a current-production instrument in F, based on the Kanstul Meehaphone. The Meehaphone was a 2-valve instrument used from 1987-1991, and while it was built around a French horn bugle bell and was essentially a field descant horn in G, it successfully fulfilled the same role as an alto bugle (darker sound than a mellophone, but more projection than a flugelhorn).
As an aside, although they are not really marching altos, there are also bell-front alto horns, aka “solo altos”. These are mostly instruments from turn of the 20th century meant for alto horn soloists and shaped like large cornets. They are usually in E-flat and have much smaller dimensions and a smaller sound, as they are based on concert alto/tenor horns rather than marching mellophones. The Swedish maker Lars Gerdt had a marching tenor horn in E-flat listed on their website until recently.
Anyway, I recently acquired a Kanstul KMA-275 late pattern marching alto in F. It’s the first one I’ve ever seen in the wild; until it popped up for sale locally I had only ever seen the picture of it on Kanstul’s website all the way back in 2002.
The product page for the KMA 275 from Kanstul’s website circa 2002 (via the Wayback Machine).
My KMA 275.
While I knew the design had radically changed since the early pattern design, I assumed that this instrument would play pretty much like my KAB-175 did, just in F. But it actually plays quite a bit differently. Although it lacks the uniquely sweet sound the KAB-175 had with a tenor horn mouthpiece, the KMA-275 is actually usable with a tenor horn mouthpiece as it plays up to pitch without issue. In fact, the KMA-275 is happy with most mouthpieces you could throw at it.
Rather than describe all of these, here’s a short demo of some of the mouthpieces that work well:
I have to admit, although this instrument is very cool and as well-built and easy to play as you would expect, I would really love to find an early-pattern version of the 275. The KAB-175 was one of the most fun, satisfying instruments I’ve ever played and while this KMA-275 is excellent, it hasn’t made me unwilling to put it down yet. We’ll see if I get there.
Until recently I couldn’t find any existence of the early pattern mellophone/alto design in F at all, and I wondered if Kanstul only started making things other than G bugles after the late-pattern design was introduced. But an early-pattern Kanstul F mellophone recently showed up on eBay (for way too much money, or else I would have bought it already), so the early pattern in F has been proven to exist. But I am still in search of evidence of the smaller-bell 275 F marching alto in the early pattern.
The early pattern Kanstul 280 F marching mellophone from the eBay listing - stenciled as a Besson.
Mellophonium
The mellophonium is the primary ancestor of the modern marching mellophone. It is a traditional circular mellophone with the bell straightened out, and usually has a cornet shank. Even many brass players don’t know what a mellophonium is, and those that do (mostly Stan Kenton fans and alto brass nerds like myself) can be forgiven for thinking that “mellophonium” = Conn 16E. In fact, while the Conn 16E is by far the most famous model of mellophonium thanks to its use in the Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1960 to 1963, it is not the only one. There were lots of mellophoniums (mellophonia?) at the time: Holton M-601 and M-602, Reynolds ML-12, Courtois, Couesnon, Vox Ampliphonic, Glier (in E-flat), and more. You can even still buy a new mellophonium in 2022, courtesy of Amati Kraslice and their 16E-like AMP-203.
My 1969 Conn 16E mellophonium, with Conn 1 mouthpiece
Amati AMP-203 mellophonium
The mellophonium has a cool sound that is related to, but not quite the same as, a mellophone (either the traditional circular or bell-front marching variety). Stan Kenton’s electric 4-man mellophonium section inspired the creation of the mellophone bugle in G for use in competitive drum and bugle corps, which in turn directly led to the modern marching mellophone. The marching mellophone was also the mellophonium’s grave digger, because even the early Olds-pattern marching mellophones were much better instruments.
While not the only kind of mellophonium, the Conn 16E was the first (beginning production in 1957), is the most common to find today, and is the quintessential example of the type. Despite this, it is objectively a terrible design. It was built in F with an E-flat crook, so Conn decided to build the valve slides somewhere in between…too long for F, too short for E-flat! (It actually plays best in tune in E with the main tuning slide all the way out…I’ve played gigs with it that way!) Its intonation is a great struggle, it has extremely wide partials that are tricky to center, it has mediocre long-travel pistons, and it has a whiny and difficult upper register that requires tons of alternate fingerings to get anywhere near in tune. It is also an ergonomic nightmare, and every mellophoniumist has to find a grip that isn’t painful. The “standard” (as much as that word can be applied to anything mellophonium-related) grip is to hold it by the 3rd valve slide, like so:
This is the grip that most of the Kenton section used, although they typically canted the instrument less than I do. Some of them grasped the top of the valve block while others cradled the bottom bow. There are a few ways to do it and it really depends on the individual player, but if you’ve just acquired a 16E and haven’t figured out how to hold it yet I recommend trying my canted 3rd valve slide grip as pictured above.
There is also the issue of mouthpieces. The best mouthpiece for a 16E is unquestionably the Conn 1 that came with it. However, while abused and neglected 16Es can be found easily, the Conn 1 is significantly more difficult to find. If your 16E didn’t come with its Conn 1, the only way to get one is usually to find another 16E for sale that comes with it. The same is true for the E-flat crook, which used to be available through Allied Supply (part # C-06028-5) but is not anymore.
If you are a trumpet or horn player that is used to mouthpieces on the smaller side, the Legends Scodwell Mello mellophonium mouthpiece is a great option. That is a new production mouthpiece from Legends Brass that plays as well as the Conn 1, but is equivalent to a trumpet 5C in size. Too small for many players (including me), but you can likely custom order it in a bigger diameter. The Conn 1 has an inner diameter a touch over 18 mm, the same as a Schilke 22 trumpet mouthpiece.
The third option is a Bach traditional mellophone mouthpiece, which has the right cornet shank for the mellophonium. Before I got my Conn 1 I used a Bach 5 of this type, and it was decent but not great. The low and middle registers are nice and beefy, but the high register is very difficult. The beauty of the Conn 1 is that it works well from the lowest F# (sounding B2) all the way up to the scream register (E above the staff and beyond), while the Bach only works well in the staff and below. The Bach really is much better suited for circular mellophones.
Of course, cornet mouthpieces do fit. But deep British-style cornet mouthpieces don’t do anything well on it, and shallower American-style cornet mouthpieces only work for screamer mellophonium parts. They do hilariously well at that (which is why the Kenton section used them when they wanted to be disruptive), but the mellophonium becomes much more of a weapon than a musical instrument when equipped as such.
So, can the 16E be tamed? Oh yes. The Kenton section had it figured out by the end of its time in 1963, and exceptional players like Ray Starling made it sing (it’s this video that made me want to get a 16E of my own back in 2011). And as someone who has played numerous live gigs and recording sessions on mine, I feel qualified enough to say that I have tamed it. It took years of effort, but I feel that the result was worth it.
Now, the more important question. Should you buy one?
The first thing you should know is that you can get them dirt cheap. They were used in high school and college marching bands for years, and Conn didn’t actually didn’t stop making the 16E until 1979, so there are a lot of them still floating around. As they are completely obsolete, when they get found they are put on eBay and bought for a pittance. The only issue is that you can also get similarly-abused ex-school marching mellophones, including the best-of-the-breed Yamahas, for dirt cheap on eBay. And as much as I love my 16E, my cheap eBay find King 1120, Yamaha YMP-201M, and Yamaha YMP-204M were/are much better instruments.
All that said, I do think neglected 16Es and other mellophoniums (except for the Reynolds, which is apparently even worse than the 16E) deserve to be played and loved, or at the very least turned into cool lamps, rather than left to rot or get scrapped. If you want an unusual brass instrument for your collection, need a dirt cheap alto brass instrument and find a suitably-priced mellophonium, or just think mellophoniums are cool, I would encourage you to head to eBay and pick one up. It’s also an excellent choice for someone interested in multitracking, as it records well and adds a unique sound to any instrumentation. (It also accepts trombone mutes!) If, however, you want a gig-ready dirt cheap alto brass instrument, wait for a good deal on a Yamaha or King marching mellophone.
Just, whatever you do, don’t overpay for one. Nobody should be paying $500+ for a 16E. They are worth $200 at most…maybe $300 in pristine condition with a Conn 1 and E-flat crook. I’ve been noticing 16E prices steadily increasing in the past couple of years and I feel bad for whoever is spending that kind of money on an instrument as problematic as a 16E. I got mine for $100 and I feel like that was the right price.
Now that all that exposition is out of the way, here are a couple of videos I’ve made that make extensive use of my Conn 16E mellophonium in a 4-person section a la Kenton:
Here are some more videos of mine that make use of the 16E in combination with marching mellophones (plus a 5-person Conn 16E soli in the Christmas multitrack):
If you’ve made it this far and want to hear more mellophonium, here’s my work-in-progress attempt at a complete list of albums that include mellophonium. I would assume that all of these were Conn 16Es - the Kenton ones definitely were, and the most recent 4 non-Kenton albums were me on my 16E.
Stan Kenton - The Romantic Approach (1961)
Stan Kenton - Kenton’s West Side Story (1961)
Stan Kenton - A Merry Christmas! (1961)
Stan Kenton - Sophisticated Approach (1961)
Stan Kenton - Adventures in Jazz (1961)
Stan Kenton - Adventures in Blues (1961)
Stan Kenton - Mellophonium Moods (1962)
Stan Kenton/Tex Ritter - Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter! (1962)
Stan Kenton - Adventures in Time (1962)
Stan Kenton - Artistry in Bossa Nova (1963)
Lighthouse - Sunny Days (1972)
Stan Kenton - By Request - Volume VI (1973)
Stan Kenton - The Uncollected 1962 Vol. 6 (1983)
Towson State University Jazz Ensemble - Jazz 1985 (1985)
Stan Kenton - Mellophonium Magic (1989)
Finn Mickelborg - Mellophonium Jazz (1990)
The Silencers - Dance to the Holy Man (1991)
Stan Kenton - More Mellophonium Moods (1995)
New York Sound Stage One Orchestra/New York Neophonic Orchestra - Alternate Routes (1996) (solos in “Royal Flush” and “Come Rain or Come Shine”)
Tubby Hayes - Voodoo Session (2009)
La Orquesta Sinfonietta - Canto América (2016) (2 in “El Caldero de Ogun”)
Stan Kenton - Mellophonium Memoirs (2017)
Bootsy Collins - The Power of the One (2020) (1 in “Creepin’”)
Sammy Haig - Cucumber (2021) (1 in “Basement Famous”)
Hollywood Film Noirchestra - Dark Passages (2023) (1 on “I’d Rather Have the Blues”, “Intrigue”, and “Street Of No Return”)
Of course, as mentioned earlier, the Conn 16E was far from the only mellophonium. While it is understandably the one that has seen by far the most use and notoriety thanks to its use in the Kenton band, the other mellophoniums can also be useful instruments. And some of them easily exceed the 16E’s very low bar for playability.
A great example of a refined mellophonium design is the Holton M-602.
My Holton M-602 mellophonium
The Holton M-602 was the only instrument to be sold as a “marching mellophonium”. Presumably this was to differentiate between the M-601, which had a different wrap. In any case, the M-602 is a much better design than the 16E. It was one of the last mellophonium designs (possibly THE last - mine was made after 1980!), and it shows. It is comfortable to hold, it has slide kickers for the first and third valve (even the renowned Yamaha YMP-204M marching mellophone only has one kicker!), it is easy to play, and it is much more in tune than earlier designs like the 16E. Holton never made a marching mellophone, so it seems that the M-602 was their attempt to compete with the new breed. The result is what I believe to be the only mellophonium that truly feels like a modern instrument. It feels like a cross between the practicality and playability of a marching mellophone, and the sound and feel of a mellophonium.
Now, does that mean it is a replacement for the Conn 16E?
I personally don’t think so. For one, the M-602 is very rare. I’ve only ever seen one turn up for sale online, which is the one I bought. The M-601 is much more common, but it has a much more traditional wrap so it loses a lot of the advantages of the M-602. In terms of ease of acquisition, neither hold a candle to the Conn 16E, which was made in huge numbers and thus grows on trees. But also, the M-602 just does not do the same things the 16E does.
The M-602 has an absolutely gorgeous sound. It is dark, creamy, velvety, chocolatey, and more. Playing it feels like curling up in a warm blanket on a cold winter day. But that exquisite sound does not like to be pushed and it does not like to play high. The Conn 16E invites you to frolic in the upper register and bury a big band, while the M-602 insists that you do nothing of the sort. The M-602 is reserved and polite, and it will not allow you to compromise its elegance. It is an absolute sweetheart, but if you want that Kenton sound you will not get it.
To end this article, here are some pictures of other mellophonium models and prototypes.
Holton M-601 mellophonium
Reynolds ML-12 mellophonium (picture from contemporacorner.com)
Olds Ambassador mellophonium
Elkhart mellophonium (picture from horn-u-copia.net)
Kühnl & Hoyer mellophonium in E-flat
A prototype Conn 16E piston/rotor mellophonium bugle in G for drum corps use, next to a Whaley-Royce Imperial Concert piston/rotor French horn bugle and an incomplete piston/rotor mellophone bugle.
A soprano mellophonium in B-flat, custom made from parts
A Conn 16E turned into a lamp