Hey guys,
Screamintrumpet and I took a road-trip to Tulsa this week to visit John over at the Callichio factory. On the way over there, we were joking that it would be 5 guys in a small warehouse making horns. We were close. It was five guys and a dog (of course, the dog didn't make the horns
). John ddn't have much for us to play, because he thought we were coming a day later, but he had a few horns around. We played for about an hour and a half, and then got a tour of the factory. That was fun. John took us through the entire process. I was glad to see that John wasn't one of these owners that sit in an office all day in a suit talking on the phone. He was out there making the horns. We had a long conversation with him, and he told us that he wanted to put out more horns, but without losing the quality. They may be 8 months back-ordered, but they are not going to rush production and lose the quality. Then, we went over to Tulsa Band. These guys were awesome. They had an amazing inventory. We had ten different horns in front us (all proffessional. Kanstul, Callichio, Bach C,....among others.) We played for about 3 hours. By the end of the day, I made my decision. I am going to by a Kanstul WB. That horn just fit me. The response was amazing, and it had a nice big fat tone high and low. I know, I was planning on buying a Callet Jazz, but I changed my mind (Sorry Bruce). while I was there I bought a Kanstul MF II MPC. Now, if you have never seen these, they are Monette copies. It was exact. The only two differences was the name on it, and the price (about $200 less). So, check these out.
Anyway, If you ever get a chance to go over to Callichio in Tulsa, John is a great guy, and he will bend over backwards to help you out. Also, visit Tulsa Band, They have an amazing invetory of everything, not just horns.
Jon