I have my horn, and I'm a happy camper.
On Thursday, I got my new mouthpiece--a Rath B 1 1/2 W--and it is fantastic. The next my new horn arrived, and it also is absolutely fantastic! Here are some pics I took...
The top pic was taken with a good digital camera, while the bottom pic was taken with a not-as-good digital camera. The bottom pic also shows the Cronkhite leather gig bag I got with the horn. The quality of the Cronkhite bag is amazing. Any horn players looking for a great gig bag should definitely check Cronkhite bags. They ain't cheap, but you get what you pay for. You can find Cronkhite bags at Ferguson Music.
The top pic was taken with a good digital camera, while the bottom pic was taken with a not-as-good digital camera. The bottom pic also shows the Cronkhite leather gig bag I got with the horn. The quality of the Cronkhite bag is amazing. Any horn players looking for a great gig bag should definitely check Cronkhite bags. They ain't cheap, but you get what you pay for. You can find Cronkhite bags at Ferguson Music.
posted by WCharles @ 8/28/2005 12:09:00 AM
5 Comments:
Hey W! I just realized you and Bush have something in common - the "W". Anyway, congrats on the new bass trombone. A buddy of mine, a local bass tbn professional, says he makes up for lack of ability by buying more equipment. That is a nice looking horn you have and probably sounds just as sweet. I have a modified Bach that has been pieced together. The bell/valve section came from Joe Stanko in NYC - he played it in many of the Broadway productions he was part of. The bell is cut down to just a hair under 9" and is gold brass. He had some of the braces removed for better resonance. The entire section is unlacquered. The F and D pipes resemble those on your horn except they are reversed, F being on the inside and curved like your D pipe to clear the neck. Sounds great and projects well. I've used a Yeo mp for a couple years now - tried a Laskey for several months but went back to the Yeo. I have another Bach bell/valve section that decorates my music room. The bell is heavy yellow brass and was once used by Randy Campora (Baltimore) and Blair Bollinger (Philly). The heavier bell and traditional wrap make it stuffier, but I like knowing it was used by a couple top guns.
Enjoy your horn.
Bush's "W" is his middle initial, while mine is a first initial. And that's just one of many things we do not have in common. :-)
The new horn does sound sweet. It will take a while to get fully adjusted from playing a Holton TR 180 for years, but I am nonetheless very happy with the Kanstul.
Your bass bone sounds really interesting with the bell size and a valve and bell section from a big time player who obviously liked it. The bell size seems almost like a modified 42B. There are some good things about having a traditional wrap, but I felt like I need to make the change to an open wrap. I think it's good that some of the braces were removed given the size of the bell. It just shows that it's all about the overall set up. Your other valve and bell section also sounds really interesting. You must have some good connections to get all this equipment from top pros!
My current dependent setup is an open wrap. Joe said he prefers traditional wrap and sold this section to me to help finance a new Shires. My connection to him was thru the bass tbn forum. I live about 4 hours from him, and he has filled in on tuba in the past with the Binghamton Phil, but I've never met him. I bought my first Bach a couple years ago from a builder/dealer in MD. He just happened to have an old bell laying around with a history. Funny, when I contacted Randy Campora about it for background he initially thought it was sold to me illegally thinking he still owned it. I feared I would lose my horn. But, it got straightened out and he gave some of the history.
Hey Dubya, I'd be even more impressed if you were purchasing one of those Kanstul Contras in F.
No kidding! I saw the pics of the prototype at Steve Ferguson's site. That is one impressive looking instrument. However, I'm going to need to win the lottery before I can afford the price tag. Moreover, I need to really get back in shape in order to have enough air to play that monster. :-)
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