Grand Rapids Band Instrument Company

[Gongadin]

Are Grand Rapids Band Instruments an inferior quality student line made at the York factory? Are they the same quality as York instruments only less "dressed up" in terms of engraving and details?

[Chuck(G)]

I posed this question in another thread (the one titled "Pan American") but it got lost in the shuffle.

Are Grand Rapids Band Instruments an inferior quality student line made at the York factory? Are they the same quality as York instruments only less "dressed up" in terms of engraving and details?

I'm interested in hearing opinions about Grand Rapids Band Instruments, especially from folks who own them or have played them, and I'm interested in hearing comparisons between this line and the "main" York line.

I think I'm on my way to having "6 valves" under my name...

The GRBI , as welll as the later "USA Line" offshoots of York are very similar to the York-branded instruments. Mostly brass and not silver-plate with parts interchangeable with regular York (at least in tubas).

I've got an old GRBI BBb helicon and have put it side by side with a York model--aside from the engraving and the finish, they appeared to be identical--even the slides could be interchanged.