Just got back from Chuck Levins:)

OldKid · Veteran Member Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Posts: 135

Went to Chuck Levins yesterday with the intentions of buying a cornet. I had to drive about 220 mi and some of that was in DC traffic so by the time I arrived the last thing I was in the mood to do was play cornet. When you walk into the place there are guards everywhere and R&R type equipment crammed into every nook and cranny. I mentioned that I wanted to buy a cornet and I was escorted upstairs to the band instrument section of the store. My wife and I had to wait in an office while one of the sales reps got off the phone. Then I was taken into a room with horns and cases strewn about in disorder. The sales rep then went about the task of locating the horns he had emailed me that they had in stock. Well he found the Getzen 3580, the Kanstul 1531, and the Schilke A1, but there was no Kanstul 1530 to be found. To top if off the 1531 was in the worst (new) condition I've ever seen. It was badly tarnished and covered with fingerprints. Oh well, I began warming up with the Getzen and then the Kanstul, and then the Schilke. Of the 3 the Getzen was the darkest, then the Kanstul, and then the Schilke. All three were easy blowing with the Schilke having the edge. The Schilke however had these green valve felts that were clearly too thick causing the valves to be miss aligned. I pulled the 2nd valve slide and depressed the 2nd valve. It didn't line up completely. I know this can be easily corrected by changing the felt. But, this horn was straight from the factory in the bubble rap. I would think that Schilke would show more care. Oh well anyway. I finally decided on the Getzen because it had the sound and playability I was look for. I couldn't give the Kanstul a fair assessment due to the fact that the horn they had was clearly used with a new price tag. The Schilke really played like a bandit and the fit and finish was impeccable. Its tone however was just too trumpet like and wasn't what I was looking for. I’m home now with the Getzen and I’ve had a chance to really play it. I’m very happy with it especially since it is 2 to 600 dollars below other company’s offerings. It’s great to see a smaller American company hang with the big boys and beat them at their own game. .
[ This Message was edited by: OldKid on 2003-10-25 12:52 ]

[ This Message was edited by: oldkid on 2003-10-26 13:49 ]

roynj · Heavyweight Member Joined: 19 Oct 2002 Posts: 2065

How odd an experience! I've never been into the place, because I shop at Dillons in NJ. Always had an enjoyable time there trying out horns. And yes, the Getzen is a fantastic cornet. I would hasten to point out that all three makers you sampled were small American companies. Schilke probably makes less than 1/10th the number of cornets than Getzen. By the way, the green felts from schilke are meant to quickly compress out to where the valves line up better, and they look great. But if you really want well-alligned valves, you have to get a proper valve alignment (even on a new horn) and have hard rubber inserts put into the valve caps. Also Schilke (in the past) was always considered among the best for having well-aligned valves right from the factory.

OldKid · Veteran Member Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Posts: 135

Next horn I buy will most likely come from Dillon music. They are a bit far for me to travel but from I've read, they have the stuff.
I should have made myself plainer when I said "big boys". I also tried horns from YAMAHA and BACH at an earlier date. I felt the Getzen was as good as the YAMAHA and better than the BACH. Those were the "big boys" I was refering too and not necessarily Kanstul or Schilke. jmho I'll shut up now.

[ This Message was edited by: OldKid on 2003-10-25 12:53 ]

[ This Message was edited by: OldKid on 2003-10-25 12:55 ]

rich · Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 4:11 pm Post subject:

what's the difference ( as to the way they play/tone quality ) between the Getzen 3580 that you bought and the Eterna 800??... any idea??

[ This Message was edited by: rich on 2003-10-26 19:30 ]

jamesfrmphilly · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 5:46 am Post subject:

i heard that woodwind & brasswind will send a horn to you for trail.
_________________
1946 Martin Committee, Bach 5V

Rick · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:28 am Post subject:

If you deal a Washington Music Center do so at your own risk!! Several years ago one of the sales reps sold me the wrong trumpet. Not being very familiar with the Kanstul line and placing all my faith in the sales rep proved to be not only an extremely embarrassing mistake but a lesson I'll never forget!!! It wasn't until I sold it months later that I discovered the truth. The guy who bought the horn from me checked the serial number with Zig Kanstul in LA and he identified the misrepresentation. Called the sales rep back and confronted him with the truth. The rep refused to acknowledge the misrepresentation and was very rude. The horn's new owner kindly agreed to keep the horn since it was a very nice player so the story did have a happy ending. I'll never deal with Washington Music again and I'll never rely the word of a sales rep without doing the needed research first!!!

By the way, the building does look like a old, rundown army-and-navy warehouse -- not at all like I expected. I, too, noticed the poor condition of some of the horn I played. Some that were represented as new sure look used to me!! However, I'd never seen so many brass instruments in one location before in my life.

---<Rick

johntpt · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 2:07 pm Post subject:

I have bought several instruments from Washington Music over the past few years. I have found that their prices beat everyone else I could contact by 10-15%. 2 instruments I ordered were special orders that were sent directly to me from the manufacturer. No problem. But I did buy one "new" instrument from them that was not really new. It had been played a lot, and had a big dent on the 3rd vlave slide!!!! They don't accept returns, so do be careful.

JU