Kansas City here I come - Kanstul tooling bought by B.A.C.

The bulk of the musical talk
greenbean
Superfine Cases
Superfine Cases
Posts: 315
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:01 am
Location: San Francisco

Re: Kansas City here I come - Kanstul tooling bought by B.A.

Post by greenbean »

SousaWarrior9 wrote: Having played a number of their trombones and trumpets, I don't think they have any problems 'delivering the goods'. Their horns are the real deal, and at least in my opinion, most definitely live up to the hype and promises. I've always been bummed they haven't made a tuba as of yet, and I'm excited about the potential of such a horn, especially if their tubas are the same quality as their trombones and trumpets. And with Kevin on staff, I'm confident that, if they do get into the tuba market, they'll be solid horns to say the least.
I didn't mean to sound too much like a downer. I have not played a single BAC trumpet. I was thinking of their custom work. A lot of guys have gotten a lot of runaround from BAC. My experience with their custom work was that I had to have a good tech replace everything they had done. On two trombones. "Fool me twice," etc... But... I am still glad for every instrument maker in existence. And hope they do good things with the Kanstul tools or rights or whatever they now own.
-----
Tom Rice
http://www.superfinecases.com
Mirafone 184 BBb
B&M Marzan BBb
1974 Besson Eb
Tom
5 valves
5 valves
Posts: 1579
Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2004 11:01 am

Re: Kansas City here I come - Kanstul tooling bought by B.A.

Post by Tom »

toobagrowl wrote:First time I've ever heard of "B.A.C". Looking at their page, it looks like they specialize in trombones and trumpets. I would be surprised if they ever make custom-order tubas, even with the Kanstul equipment they will aquire. Guess time will tell......
Same here.

Good luck to them. I will be watching with curiosity from the sidelines and wish them every success.
The Darling Of The Thirty-Cents-Sharp Low D♭'s.
User avatar
Liberty Mo
3 valves
3 valves
Posts: 269
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:26 am
Location: Liberty, MO

Re: Kansas City here I come - Kanstul tooling bought by B.A.

Post by Liberty Mo »

I’ve had nothing but wonderful experience with BAC. I’ve had several horns in for custom work and the results have been outstanding. I just dropped off my Yamaha bass for an overhaul and played a few of their custom horns. They had a custom King 3b with a carbon fiber slide that was amazing. The independent bass that Reggie Chapman has was also an amazing horn.

I doubt custom tubas would be on their agenda any time soon, but custom parts, overhauls and potentially bells are very possible in the future. I’m excited to see anything being done to preserve history and being made in America.
Miraphone 1291-5v BBb
Conn Monster BBb
"Half of the World is Below Average"
bbocaner
bugler
bugler
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2005 6:23 pm

Re: Kansas City here I come - Kanstul tooling bought by B.A.

Post by bbocaner »

I have no doubt he can make nice stuff, some of the instruments I've tried at shows have been really good. But the repair work I sent him was the most ugly awful job I've ever seen. A huge mess of solder all over the silver-plated instrument and a big glob holding together parts that didn't come close to fitting. And I was charged top dollar for it. And the custom instrument he promised he'd work with me to develop was *three years* late and cost over double what he told me it would. It didn't turn out to be usable, I sent it back to be re-worked and he never got around to it. He also pressured me into accepting a low-ball price on an instrument I sent to him on consignment by telling me the custom work was nearly done (it wasn't even close) and I later found out he sold it to his employee for a sweetheart deal.

He's super enthusiastic and really loves his work and the history and culture around brass instrument making, that shows. But he's also an operator who loves to promote himself with fancy videos and by hanging out with famous guys while letting the paid work he has sitting in his shop pile up. I was warned by several of his former coworkers and employers to stay away, I didn't listen, and I regret it. This was many years ago when he first got his shop started and I truly hope he's gotten things in order since then, but I've heard more recent stories and I also know that compulsive liars just can't change.

Don't let me stop you if you think he can make something special for you with the new parts and tooling he's acquired, but you should be more careful than I was. Don't send any money up front.
User avatar
tbonesullivan
4 valves
4 valves
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2016 12:30 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Kansas City here I come - Kanstul tooling bought by B.A.

Post by tbonesullivan »

Well, one of my friend who works in the business just got a music trades email announcing the sale of Kanstul parts and tooling to BAC. I certainly hope this means that the American Tuba and Euphonium will return again. Still wondering why they made the decision to close and sell, only a few weeks after announcing entire new trumpet lines.

Kanstul website now has a more definitive message regarding the closure.
Yamaha YBB-631S BBb Tuba, B&H Imperial Eb Tuba, Sterling / Perantucci 1065GHS Euphonium
Yamaha YBL-621 RII Bass Trombone and a bunch of other trombones
Post Reply