| BTW Trevor,
Your Kanstul Chicago is a clone from an original, truly "as new" condition Chicago Benge trumpet.
The story goes that a school janitor was told, I believe by a band director, that the then new (Chicago-made) Benge trumpets would be very valuable, true collectors items one day.
In his later years, either Kanstul heard of the horn or the janitor contacted Kanstul. Either way . . . I understand that Kanstul came into possession of this absolutely new, never played upon Chicago Benge . . . and they chose to replicate THAT horn over the later Benge models that were surely made from newer toolings after the original Chicago tools wore out.
Maybe Jack Kanstul can validate this "urban legend" and fill in the details with more accuracy than I on this matter of the new "Chicago" models.
BTW, I find the new Kanstul Chicago models to play and sound like the "real" Benges. They are nice horns.
Sincerely,
Tom Turner
PS: In keeping with the popular new "fashion" and ease of building cases to fit 'em, the new Chicagos have the top-mounted finger ring on the third valve.
However, the Callet Jazz horns reverted back to the original Besson concept that inverted the third valve slide (long tube on the BOTTOM not top) that allows for the ring on the bottom. This also requires that the lower tube receiving the tuning slide (and entering the third valve port) be braced to the top 3rd valve tube rather than the current bottom tube. This seems to make that horn slot better. Maybe the original F. Besson trumpets (and original Chicago Benges) were onto something! |