Kanstul F tuba review and Pictures!
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 7:03 pm
Good day,
Now that life is a little less crazy I though I would finally sit down and write my thoughts on the new Kanstul F tuba.
Build quality: Top notch. No short cuts were taken on building this horn. Every part on this horn works as it should. Even the slides are easily moved straight out of the box. No work is needed to have this horn work well.
Build features: Kanstul offers a lot of different features on this tuba. All come with a removable valve block and unlike other makers it is quick and easy to remove and reinstall the valve block with an allen wrench. You can order the horn with a removable leadpipe if you want and that also is very easy to remove and install. It also comes with an inter-changable receiver setup so with a quick change out you can use either American shank or Euro shank mouthpieces.
You can also order it with either yellow brass or the "Special bronze alloy" used in the old York tubas. You can either do that for just the bell or the entire body (mine is the entire body with yellow valve block).
Pitch: Pitch is very nice on this horn. Because it has wide slots (just like a real York) it is very easy to play this horn in tune without moving slides. However, for those of us who like to move slides there isn't much needed in that area. Bb and A at the bottom of the staff can ride a little high and the A at the top of the staff can be a little low but I have had no problems playing in tune on this horn. All the slides are at the top of this horn so adjusting for down low is super easy too.
Ergonomics: I have no problems with this horn. The thumb ring and the fifth valve paddle are both adjustable with an allen wrench so you can put them where you want. As I said earlier, all the slide are at the top and are easy to get to so no weird reach arounds to get to a slide.
Water problems: The water has to go somewhere. I find it only really collects in the main slide and the fourth valve. There is no water key on the fourth but an easy slide pull and dump is all you need. No spin required.
Sound: This horn is very different than most F tubas. It has a very colorful sound that is not direct but projects very well (just like a real York). I also find that the bigger the room the more impressed I am with the sound of this horn (just like a real York). What I have found is that (just like a real York, seeing a pattern?) It can blend very well with strings yet have its own voice in a brass section. My quintet (both civilian and Army) just loves this horn. If you like your 6/4 York style CC tuba and wished you could have that kind of sound in a smaller F tuba form this is the horn for you.
Physical size: This is a smaller horn for sure, but don't let that fool you on how much sound it can make. Unlike the small Yamaha F tuba this tuba doesn't really have a volume ceiling, though (again like a real York) you cant push it hard to get the sound out. I was able to bury a large tuba ensemble ( around 20 members) with this horn but could also play super soft with it. Here is the horn next to a Getzen G-50 Mouthpiece sensitive?: I found that this horn isn't too picky about what you put in it. Of course cause of its size it doesn't work too well with a large mouthpiece but I have found that you can easily change the colors of this horn with a different mouthpiece (just like a real York).
Problems?: So far I'm really loving this horn. I feel like I could find a better mouthpiece for the horn (using a Laskey 28F). Sometimes I wish the horn had a little more weight to the sound but again I feel like I can get that with a different mouthpiece.
Overall I think this horn is great. It really seems to fill a void in the F tuba market. Anyone who likes smaller F tubas or wants that York sound in their F tuba really need to try this horn out. I thought that I would use my Willson for quintet and larger groups but this horn does all that well too so I will be selling my Willson in the near future. Personally, I think once people start trying this new F tuba we will see many F tubas go up in the For sale section of this board.
If you have any questions dont be afraid to ask them. Oh and I was not paid to write this and am not an artist for Kanstul. I have played 6 of the 8 of these F tubas so I can also comment on how the different features change how the horn plays if anyone is interested.
Hope you all enjoyed
Now that life is a little less crazy I though I would finally sit down and write my thoughts on the new Kanstul F tuba.
Build quality: Top notch. No short cuts were taken on building this horn. Every part on this horn works as it should. Even the slides are easily moved straight out of the box. No work is needed to have this horn work well.
Build features: Kanstul offers a lot of different features on this tuba. All come with a removable valve block and unlike other makers it is quick and easy to remove and reinstall the valve block with an allen wrench. You can order the horn with a removable leadpipe if you want and that also is very easy to remove and install. It also comes with an inter-changable receiver setup so with a quick change out you can use either American shank or Euro shank mouthpieces.
You can also order it with either yellow brass or the "Special bronze alloy" used in the old York tubas. You can either do that for just the bell or the entire body (mine is the entire body with yellow valve block).
Pitch: Pitch is very nice on this horn. Because it has wide slots (just like a real York) it is very easy to play this horn in tune without moving slides. However, for those of us who like to move slides there isn't much needed in that area. Bb and A at the bottom of the staff can ride a little high and the A at the top of the staff can be a little low but I have had no problems playing in tune on this horn. All the slides are at the top of this horn so adjusting for down low is super easy too.
Ergonomics: I have no problems with this horn. The thumb ring and the fifth valve paddle are both adjustable with an allen wrench so you can put them where you want. As I said earlier, all the slide are at the top and are easy to get to so no weird reach arounds to get to a slide.
Water problems: The water has to go somewhere. I find it only really collects in the main slide and the fourth valve. There is no water key on the fourth but an easy slide pull and dump is all you need. No spin required.
Sound: This horn is very different than most F tubas. It has a very colorful sound that is not direct but projects very well (just like a real York). I also find that the bigger the room the more impressed I am with the sound of this horn (just like a real York). What I have found is that (just like a real York, seeing a pattern?) It can blend very well with strings yet have its own voice in a brass section. My quintet (both civilian and Army) just loves this horn. If you like your 6/4 York style CC tuba and wished you could have that kind of sound in a smaller F tuba form this is the horn for you.
Physical size: This is a smaller horn for sure, but don't let that fool you on how much sound it can make. Unlike the small Yamaha F tuba this tuba doesn't really have a volume ceiling, though (again like a real York) you cant push it hard to get the sound out. I was able to bury a large tuba ensemble ( around 20 members) with this horn but could also play super soft with it. Here is the horn next to a Getzen G-50 Mouthpiece sensitive?: I found that this horn isn't too picky about what you put in it. Of course cause of its size it doesn't work too well with a large mouthpiece but I have found that you can easily change the colors of this horn with a different mouthpiece (just like a real York).
Problems?: So far I'm really loving this horn. I feel like I could find a better mouthpiece for the horn (using a Laskey 28F). Sometimes I wish the horn had a little more weight to the sound but again I feel like I can get that with a different mouthpiece.
Overall I think this horn is great. It really seems to fill a void in the F tuba market. Anyone who likes smaller F tubas or wants that York sound in their F tuba really need to try this horn out. I thought that I would use my Willson for quintet and larger groups but this horn does all that well too so I will be selling my Willson in the near future. Personally, I think once people start trying this new F tuba we will see many F tubas go up in the For sale section of this board.
If you have any questions dont be afraid to ask them. Oh and I was not paid to write this and am not an artist for Kanstul. I have played 6 of the 8 of these F tubas so I can also comment on how the different features change how the horn plays if anyone is interested.
Hope you all enjoyed
