tom turner

Hi Jason,

I look forward to reading your impression of the "Thang," . . . and thanks for participating!

Warmest regards,

Tom Turner

jblo

Looking forword to posting a review in just a few days...finals this week

__________________
Jason Blome

Bb - USA Destino 5*
C - Palmer Custom (being built!)
Cornet - Kanstul K-731
Flug - Jupiter 846
Picc - Kanstul made F. Besson
MP - Warburton 4's and Curry 60's

slimshady

this should be interesting. a 1500B owner. i can't imagine the wild thing being any better. the 1500B is the best horn i've ever played.

BrassClass

Hi Jason,

I know you've been busy lately but we'd love to hear your comments about the WT. It is interesting reading the comments from various player levels. Please post when you can.

Best Regards.

__________________
"Brass Ain't Nothing But Class"

jblo

Sorry I have not posted sooner... Few, what a week.

First of all, thank you Flip and Tom for the opportunity to try the horn and be a part of the tour. What a neat community where a $2500+ horn can get shipped around.

Preconceptions:

I have read many reviews on this horn and I expected this thing to be too big for me. I like a little resistance in a horn; I like the control it allows. Whenever I play a more open horn, all I do is crack and chip notes.

Initial Observations:

When I opened the streamlined little case, my first thought was, "Wow! That's a bazooka bell!" I see now why certain mutes won't fit this thing! It almost looks like a trimmed down flugel bell.

Picking it up, I noticed the nice fit and finish, as others have mentioned. This horn has some weight to it but the balance feels great. Putting it up to my lips, it feels short (Later I compared it to my 1500B and it is indeed about 1" shorter. Maybe this has something to with why the balance feels so good.).

The Play Test:

After a somewhat impatiently abreviated warm up on the 1500B, I picked up the WT. After the first few notes I realized this horn is not at all as "big" as I thought it would be. Some large bore horns seem to suck the air right out of you. That was not at all the case. And what a nice, big, round, warm tone. Dark, but not flugel-ish like I expected.

I had been working on the Goedicke, Hindemith and Ropartz this semester so I thought I'd test it on these pieces. It went much better than I anticipated. I expected to be fighting to keep this horn under control the whole time, but that wasn't the case. I wasn't cracking notes. It was a joy on the Hindemith and Ropartz but I just couldn't get the control I'm used to on the Goedicke. I'm SURE that's only because I'm not quite used to the horn yet.

The mouthpiece I'm using is a Kanstul copy of a Mt. Vernon 3C with a #24 backbore. If I would use the Wild Thing on a regular basis I would definitely want a shallower cup. The Wild Thing is just a bit darker than I prefer, though not too dark.

I'm not captain high-note, but the WT could take everything I could give it and slotted nicely above high C.

On to the Caffarelli Etudes. Here's where I couldn't get the horn to do what I wanted. The response is wonderful, but I just couldn't get the precision and control on the technical stuff that I can with the 1500B. Like I said, I'm sure that has more to do with the amount of time I had with the horn.

The #1 slide was too much for me. It was a bit unmanagable.

Final Reflections:

Before I bought my 1500B, I had myself convinced for a time that I should buy a Wild Thing. I don't think I would have made a mistake had I done that. My 1500B is PERFECT for me right now for the playing I do, but I can't say that I wouldn't buy a WT. I actually like the WT better than the 1503 and 1500, which were my 2nd and 3rd choices in the Kanstul Signature Series. If the WT cornets play anything like the trumpets, I'll bet they're amazing. I could definitely see myself looking at the cornets in the future.

In summary, this horn's playabilty really surprised me. I can understand why it's making waves. It certainly seemed to me to be a quality horn with great dealer and manufacturer support for the player. I'll have no hesitation recommending this horn to fellow players.

Thanks again for the opportunity to play this horn. I hope this review make sense and is helpful for those looking into these horns.

__________________
Jason Blome

Bb - USA Destino 5*
C - Palmer Custom (being built!)
Cornet - Kanstul K-731
Flug - Jupiter 846
Picc - Kanstul made F. Besson
MP - Warburton 4's and Curry 60's