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Kanstul 1662 Bass Trombone

 

This new custom bass trombone is hand built by Zigmant Kanstul in Anaheim, California. Never heard of Zig Kanstul? He was plant manager at F.E. Olds. He worked for Conn and Benge. He's been making custom trumpets and unusual brass instruments in Southern California for 25 years. Now he's into fine trombones too. This one is fine. It's vintage inspired with a high tech update. Vintage Conn fanatics will be especially pleased with this model. It is one of the very few bass trombones featuring tuning in the slide. Tuning in the slide? Yes, the right hand slide brace and nickel outer sleeves float, and can be moved to adjust the pitch of the instrument. Like this: That way, the bell section can be made with fewer parts. It's much lighter, and is totally conical for true acoustic elegance. This idea is not new. The most famous vintage bass trombone with slide tuning was the old Elkhart Conn 62H. And a fine horn it was, but despite its beautiful sound and excellent response, those old Conns were quirky. Heavy slides, undersized valve ports, poor ergonomics, and unusual valve tuning all contributed to its demise. But despite the poor mechanical traits, the idea was sound, and those old models were updated by some of the best repairmen, including Larry Minick. Many of those old horns are still in high demand on the used market, but they are showing their age. Fifty years of improved instrument technology, including new valves, has upped the standard for how a bass trombone should behave. New models with custom valves and modular bells from small builders are the new high standard. Listen up now. You can hardly do better than a Shires bass trombone. Michael Rath is making some excellent instruments. The Getzen Company makes some fine custom horns. These folks set the standard. But those of us who know of the incredible sound and response from those old horns felt left out. Heavy, big, new, wide, and orchestral has been the rage. How about light, snappy, colorful, commercial? This is it. I have my choice of any bass trombone. I play a Kanstul 1662. When I got my Kanstul 1662, I put my old Minick 62H away and haven't used it or missed it since. This new Kanstul has a beautiful sound, it's very light, easy to hold, responds easily, makes the classic commercial sound that I like, and has style with a capital S. Check it out. I mean, check it out. Super sleek, lightly braced, flawlessly built, and, for frugal guys, reasonably priced. Here are the details, so you can spec your own custom horn. More pics of the Kanstul 1662

 

Slides

Choose classic narrow Conn-style slide, or choose a wider, Bach width slide for more neck clearance and a slightly broader sound. Outer tubes are bronze for a warmer sound, or yellow brass for a brighter sound. Nickel outer tubes are available, which have a fast response without being crass. All outer tubes weigh the same. This slide does have some extra hardware on it, but it's not heavy. The nickel outer sleeves have been turned down to .010" to keep things light. The weight of the 1662 outer slide is within 5 grams of a fine Shires outer slide, and is much lighter than any vintage slide with tuning. You won't notice the weight. Slides include 3 interchangeable lead pipes, from a choice of seven. Lead pipes thread in, and the threads are compatible with Shires slides and lead pipes.

 

Valves

These new oversize CR rotary valves are unlike any other on the market. The slight increase in size allows a full .593" bore through the valves. The rotor is made with a lightweight brass two-part CNC made skeleton, and the airways are enclosed in individual tubes soldered inside. This allows the oversize rotor to be very light, requiring only light spring tension and a short throw. Venting prevents popping, which has been a problem with earlier oversize designs. Also, a light rotor will be more resonant than the solid chunk of brass we're used to seeing inside a valve. I believe a resonant valve produces a sound more consistent with the sound of the open neck pipe. Other advantages of the CR valve include its being nearly maintenance free and ergonomically polite. And, it's open, but not too open. You can still compress the air a bit for the classic commercial bass trombone sizzle without over blowing or playing too loud. The valve wraps are designed for free airflow and proper balance, and are based on a Larry Minick design. This updated version has a slight offset of the valve assembly eliminates several pieces of curved tubing. The F wrap is the most open shape. The D wrap is on the front for balance, and has a smaller crook for better neck clearance. Trigger paddles are built for human hands, unlike some other brands. Both thumb and finger paddles are adjustable. Nylon ball and socket linkages are light and quiet, and are easily adjusted and maintained. Lastly, why stacked valves? 1) That's the way they used to do it, 2) most of the time, you're using one or no valves, so why blow through two on the neck pipe all the time?, 3) the conical bell section expands sooner with only one valve on the neck pipe, and 4) most everything can be played just fine with stacked valves, and you may tend to play more C's in 6th, and Bb's in flat 3rd with one valve in the key of Ab. It's fun, don't sweat it.

 

Bell

Based on the classic Elkhart style taper, the 9.5" one-piece bell and bell branch are available in lightweight .020" bronze (24 gauge) which is my personal choice, standard weight .025" rose brass (22 gauge) for a somewhat darker more stable sound, or yellow brass in both weights. Bronze or rose brass have been the best seller by far. The bell rims are unsoldered for a faster response and a bit more sizzle to the attack, or can be ordered in a soldered version for a smoother, somewhat more modern sound. Note the one-piece bell. Simply superior sound, according to Zig, just harder to make.

 

Kanstul 1662 Cliff's Notes

 

Kanstul Vintage Replica Leadpipes

C - Minick Commercial style L - Minick Legit style OL - Minick Open Legit style H - Burt Herrick style commercial pipe GR - George Roberts (70H) GR2- Burt Herrick style, similar to GR pipe, but longer 62 - Elkhart 62H B - Bach 50 style All these pipes are available separately with Shires compatible threads, and they will also press into Getzen and new Conn bass trombones. Pipes are available with unthreaded rings to press into other horns. Three lead pipes are included with Kanstul 1600 series trombones. Extra lead pipes are $85 each.