» What's your favorite brand?

[CoatHope]

Inspired by the thread in the baritone section, I'm wondering about people think of the different mellophones being produced. I personally love Yamaha, though I've never tried King. The new Dynasty is a pretty good horn. It takes a bit more air but it's decent. Yamaha is quite freeblowing. I also love that the tendency of the top line F is taken care of.

[Nex]

I'm a King guy myself. I like the Yamahas, but they just don't seem as open in tone as the Kings. It's not a huge difference, but in comparison, the Yamaha seems like you're playing through a thin sheet tone-wise.

The Dynasty horns really aren't as bad as we often rag them for, but they are far from perfect (and still third in my opinion). They (as a general rule) don't handle the amount of air used by drum corps well. Every horn (in every section) last summer would literally rattle at the joints when the line was using the correct amount of air. Also, in comparison to the Yamahas and Kings, they're a little on the flimsy side. They just aren't made to last.

[NamisloC]

I guess I can't really vote for this since I've never played any of these mellophones but if I were voting for tuba brands I'd say King is nice but the old 5/4 Dynasty's were really free blowing.

[BrassoMagnus]

The Dynasty without a doubt in my mind. The last time I played the Yamaha was before they updated them with the more drastic flare in the bell. It's top line F was horrible and I never felt like it could take all the air I could put into it. Also, I found it unbelievably uncomfortable in my hands when the corps I was in switched from the Dynasty to the Yamaha. They Dynasty can take a lot more air without distorting and it looks like a mellophone should.

I also would like to cast a vote for the Kanstul G bugle Mello just because I'm old school like that. I think all F mellos should play like that one did.

[KyMello07]

I would now say yamaha, after playing on one finally at scouts. its so easy to play on, sounds great, and has minimal resistance

[cdatedms]

Kings...best sound available in the key of F (for mediocre players, which is probly 2/3rds of the members in dci), but.........they are way to light. Kinda feels like your gonna break the horn at any second and the tone spreads so when you try to play loud you get this awful tone that is just sounds horrid. ex. phantoms unisons during the end of every closer since 05. Plus the older kings have the bend on the lead pipe. Not cool.

Yamaha...best balance and easiest to play(especially for higher ranges). Tuner friendly. Made for mediocre horn players. Tone sounds blan at any dynamic, but tone doesn't spread, but you can't play loud period. Probly the only two bad things about the new yamaha. At least with Kings you can play loud, even though you get a really bad sound. (made for beginners. As one educator once said. It's a very good marching band horn)

Dynasty m541. I marched scouts 05 and the m541 was developed for the scouts. We tested 3 prototypes (light bore, medium bore, heavy bore)and Dynasty ended up making the m541 medium bore. Probly the best horn IF you know how to play the correct way. Not the best horn for mediocre players. The worst horn for beginners. Range is not as friendly as yamaha or King. Sound is a lot richer than Kings. Kings sound bright compared to Dynasty. Heaviest horn to hold. Feels almost twice the weight as the King. Listening down the line Dynasty has the best wall of sound. Listen to Scouts 05(dynasty) and than listen to scouts 06(yamaha) and its clear that Dynasty's sound is way darker and richer and you can't over blow on it. Definetly made for professionals.

Honestly nothing beats the dynasty m363. G-bugle. Talk about wall of sound. Trust me I played on all of these horns and if your a great player your gonna want to play dynasty. Mediocre players always love Kings or Yamaha's. Kings are made for inferior light weights, while Yamaha's are made for players that just don't know any better and of course g-bugles will win over any horn in F.

Sorry to burst your bubble Aaron. See you next weekend.

asian dave

This post has been edited by cdatedms on Apr 28 2008, 11:16 AM

[Nex]

I'm gonna have to disagree with your "mediocre" assessment. While I realize you probably have loyalty to whatever staffer first told you that, the simple fact of the matter is that while Yamahas and Kings can be overblown, it is those exact mediocre players (or even great players who simply give up on their technique after the full run of a show) who overblow on those horns. If you keep your technique solid and proper, there isn't a King or Yamaha I've played that ovreblows before a Dynasty will. Every Dynasty I've played on (and seen played on by pro-level players) simply cannot take the air that a King or Yamaha can. Now, if you're just forcing air through the horn with sloppy technique, then it'll overblow easier than anything, but with a good, solid, relaxed technique . . . experience just tells me you're wrong.