BILL VAN

Happy New Year Everyone! I am going to buy a pro horn in a couple of months and my music store cannot get any Shilkes for at least 6 mo. I am looking at the B1 and the x3. Though I have never played either horn I would greatly appreciate any info. anyone could give me on the differences of the two horns. I have tried numerous stores to try the horns side by side but no one has them in stock! I would like to hear from you if you played both horns and give me feedback to what was the better horn for you and why. I hear the x3 takes more air but is it really a BIG difference? Thanks Bill

patdublc

There just isn't any real substitute for trying the horns yourself. Schilke build quality is excellent. Arturo used to play an X3. The B1 was the favorite horn of Renold Schilke. That amounts to two really good endorsements. A friend of mine bought an X3 and really likes it. It really doesn't feel all that large.

Have you checked with Gerry Lopez music near Orlando? According to the Schilke web site, there are quite a few dealers in Florida.

If you can't locate one near by, consider trying to travel somewhere (e.g. Chuck Levin's, Dillon's) to try some horns. If that doesn't work, some of the web order sites have a good return policy. I think WWBW still has a 30 day return policy. So, you can purchase either horn and have it shipped to you. If you don't like it, you can return it and you're only out the cost of shipping it back. I think that's a pretty good deal.

ldwoods

I have had both, and several other model Schilkes and liked all of them. It would be very hard to "pick" the right model without playing them.

How have you narrowed it down to the B1 & X3? IMHO, the S32 is the best "all around" horn they offer. If I just had to pick one model without playing them, it would be the S32.