Heavens2kadonka

Okay, I'll make days 5-7 quickies, since the big thing is tomorrow. Played out of Clarke and Bitsch studies. With the 1503, I sounded a heck of a lot better on Bitsch and its crazy intervals, and while the slight range cut frustrates me on Clarke, thats what PRACTICE is for!!

TOMORROW, me and Les and my father (my biggest critic, heh) will be taking a trip down to Mufressboro for some trumpet talk and some etude book shopping, AND THEN, we'll go and jam in Cumberland's concert hall! Excellent chance to play in the environment the horn was built for!!! And of course, allowing my professor to give his opinion on what's coming out of the 1503.

__________________
Stage 1 California Light
'94 Bach Strad 37
1900 Eb Cornet

LOUD Steve Patrick 10 1/2 C
LOUD LM93

gzent

Van,

Have you checked the receiver gap on the 1503 versus the Bach? A small difference in the fit of the mouthpiece in the receiver can make a big difference in how "efficient" the upper range will play.

Personally, I think the portions of the horn closest to the player (lips, mouthpiece, receiver, leadpipe, tuning slide) affect upper end much more than the bore size following the valve cluster. A larger bore size may require more endurance, at first, but I don't think it will reduce range nearly as much as the front end pieces.

Greg

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Heavens2kadonka

Gzent,

I have had no problem fitting any of my mouthpieces in the horn (Even my first mouthpiece, and the shank is kind of warped..)

So now, I will finish the review!

FINAL TEST: CONCERT HALL, CUMBERLAND UNIVERSITY

Had to squeeze in the time to practice time (There's a bee-keepers convention there this week, hah) in the hall. I practiced several pieces in front of my professor and my dad.

The sound could not really be explained, it was gorgeous!

I have played in concert halls before, at Tech and other places I can't remember the names (Bleh, a gigantic blur). And the bach never really shone, just sounded like a bach with echo. The 1503 really wowed my audience, and wowed me.

It's like the horn was built for concert halls. I've been thinking about how to describe it, but the words aren't coming up.

On my way back home, my father was asking what I thought about the horn. Remember, my dad was one of the biggest critic of the Kanstul. When I told him about sending it back, he jumped down my throat!

"Why the heck are you sending the horn BACK!?!"

Wow. The horn won over my father. My professor was also reacting positively about the sound (and the fact I've kept my chops up over the summer!), so the audience reaction to the sound was what I've been looking for.

Spent most of last night mulling over the horn. Finally decided that I need to wait and see what I would have to spend for college out of tuition.

Because I decided to take TWO credit hours of trumpet lessons, I'm going to have to pay about $400 altogether in out-of-pocet fees this semester. Bleh! Not counting books, either!

So, I've recounted the money I will have to spend on a trumpet (I subtracted for this, an estimated $200 for theory and speech books, and new struts on my car..) at a little more than what PCking is asking for the 1503 (A bargain, IMHO).

So, I contacted PC, and told her I'm not sending the horn back.

Everything about the horn pleases me, and surpases my other horns in all areas. My range has returned, and then some (Actually hit a third-oct. "F"!). the sound I am hearing is what I've wanted, and the sound my audience is hearing is MORE than what I had wanted (My father's thumbs-up is a real bonus to the horn, he criticizes EVERYTHING ). The intonation is slightly better than my other horns, slotting is much improved. My endurance has taken a slight hit, but that can be fixed.

Overall, I think it's a solid buy, definitely superior to the other horns I have tried (Holton MF, Bach strad 72 heavy bell, 2 Bach strad regular 37, Conn Vintage 1, Yamaha Xeno). This is a horn that will carry me through my legit works throughout college, and into my graduate work (I like to look ahead). Again, kudos to PCking for dealing with my incessant garble and rants, and thanks to anyone patient enough to read all of this .

Sincerly,

Van Robert Bryant II

__________________
Stage 1 California Light
'94 Bach Strad 37
1900 Eb Cornet

LOUD Steve Patrick 10 1/2 C
LOUD LM93

CJDJazzTpt

I think that the 1503 would serve better as a lead/commercial horn. Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't that horn built after the Calicchio 1s/7? (notorious L.A. Studio horns) I don't think that it was built with the 'concert hall' in mind....but I am glad it worked well for you! Whatever works for you!
I would like to hear a Kanstul rep chime in on this....

slimshady

the 1503 is a lot like the bach 72.

it is a great all around horn.

Kanstulbrass

There should be little confusion. A quick glance at the specs of the ZKT 1503 tells the story:

ZKT 1503
No. 72 Bell
No. 25-O Mouthpipe

Here's the link:
http://www.kanstul.net/pages/instrum.../zkt1503m.html

Remember, please let the page load. Don't click on the button; it's a rollover. Sorry, the website was not my design.

Regards,

__________________
Charles Hargett
Sales and Marketing
Kanstul Musical Instruments