Bugle? Anyone own one?

[ButchA]

Anyone have a Bugle? On a whim, I decided to order one for only $58 bucks on Amazon. It might be a real piece of junk, ..OR.. it might be a pretty good deal.

I wanted one, because over at the Shriners Temple, either my buddy Steve or I get called on to play "Taps" from time to time, and we use our trumpets. A real Bugle would be a better fit in this case, don't you think?

$58 bucks with free shipping... What the heck...


_________________
1967 Holton Collegiate Trumpet --> my grade school band trumpet. I just can't part with it!
1975 Olds Ambassador Cornet --> my new/used eBay special. Sounds great!
2018 Regiment WI-800 Bugle --> my inexpensive Chinese made bugle from Amazon.

[bean_counter]

Haven’t seen that one, let us know if it’s decent or a bugle shaped object.

The French Couesnon clarion (bugle) is very nice, not too pricey used (they made tons of them) but they’re getting old and tougher to find in decent shape. Single wrap, in Bb.

Getzen is said to make a nice bugle too, tho I’ve never played it.
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Kevin Mc
Strad 180s37 (07 'True Bach'), Schilke 18 or 18B4
anon OTS Bb Saxhorn, Berliner valves c. 1860
Eclipse cornet (Yellow, Bauerfeind) DW 4B Heritage
Cousnon clairon Bb
'60s Besson tenor horn DW 3

[Brad361]

[kehaulani]

Well, I've got a Regulation Bugle that plays well. Like new. I don't need it and I'll let it go, if anyone's interested for $75.00 including postage (CONUS) and PayPal fees. Just PM me
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[Dale Proctor]

FYI, technically, those are called field trumpets. A bugle is much more conical and usually has a fatter bell flare. Anyway, I have a Kanstul Bb field trumpet and it's a really nice instrument. One piece bell, real braces, and a water key. Plays great. It was a few hundred bucks, though. I occasionally use it to sound Taps at military funerals, but those electronic bugles are taking over.
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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[tptptp]

I also have a Kanstul field trumpet. It is very well made and has a great sound.
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Craig Mitchell

[ButchA]

Believe it or not... The new Regiment WI-800 bugle arrived this afternoon from Amazon! What did they do? Have it beamed to me from the transporter room on the Star Trek Enterprise?!?

As seen in the video, the bugle is real good quality, pitched in the key of "G" (I assume, from the description), but the MP that comes with it is 100% pure garbage! It is real lightweight like it's made out of aluminum or some type of cheesy type of pot-metal or Lord knows what. That was the only disappointment. But then, it was $58 bucks off Amazon, so I shouldn't complain.


Link


EDIT... Correction to the video. I mentioned "valves 1 & 3" which is incorrect. It is actually in Concert G, which is valves 1 & 2. I compared the bugle with my trumpet and used 1 & 2, and matched the bugle pitch note for note.
_________________
1967 Holton Collegiate Trumpet --> my grade school band trumpet. I just can't part with it!
1975 Olds Ambassador Cornet --> my new/used eBay special. Sounds great!
2018 Regiment WI-800 Bugle --> my inexpensive Chinese made bugle from Amazon.

[JoseLindE4]

G bugles terrify me for playing taps.

I can just imagine it with a G bugle. A nice cold morning and the funeral procession is late. They finally get there as the bugler stands by their tree. By the time it's time to play, the horn is cold and has dropped at least a half-step in pitch. The shivering bugler puts the horn to their face and plays the first note. It sounds a little weird but it's cold outside, so who knows. Out comes something close to concert F for the first dotted rhythm. Then the leap up to the concert Bb on the third note. Uh-oh, it's a half-step too low. That's not the tune.

You started on the wrong partial and now you're sunk. Hopefully you notice because it's going to get a lot worse as the tune goes on. Even if you do, how do you get out of that in the middle of taps?

If you've played it on a Bb horn your whole life, taps starts on G. That in-between world of a minor 3rd lower seems to be inviting starting on the wrong partial. Seriously, then what do you do? At least the bugle removes the risk of the nervous valve flip turning into a stuck valve in the cold.

[Grayman470]

In this video I talk a lot about the G/D bugle I own. Disclaimer: I am not an expert... And I guess technically, according to Dale, they are field trumpets. This is just something I found in a basement and wanted to mess around with. I tried to somewhat highlight differences between it and my Bach Stradivarius. Check it out:


Link

[OldSchoolEuph]

Among my bugles there is a wide range of capability.

The military issue ones are exactly what they were used for: signalling devices. As musical instruments (at least the standard issue Bohland & Fuchs on one side and the York on the other side in WWI) ugh!

I have a few different York G bugles from 100 years ago. They too are pretty rough. I think scouting and para-military ceremonies were the market for these with amateur players who would not be demanding in terms of tone or intonation.

Then there is the King BSA bugle (in G). Much better instrument. Jari Villenueva also told me he regards these highly. I also have a rare King Bb model with Sterling bell - believe it or not the BSA model plays better!

Sticking to a chronological order: I have an Eb bugle similar to those used by the youth groups in Nazi Germany and in Soviet Russia in the 30s thru 50s. Its another ceremonial toy, though better than what you find typically for <$100 online.

Then there is one I thought was a toy when it was on Ebay. A minimally marked G Holton in chrome finish. In knew in 3 notes I had misjudged. It was also visually apparent on close inspection that this was a very fine professional instrument. Turned out, it had been made for the USMC D&BC in Washington.

From the turn of the new century, I have a Jupiter Brigadier, which is a traditional regulation G, but a bit bigger overall in every dimension. Plays very well.

And finally, one of those "Bessons" horns from EBay, even says "made in India" right on it, in the form of a Bb trench bugle (that people misrepresent as being WWI antiques online). Complete garbage. . . . .

Personally, for Taps, I use Bb trumpets. The only bugles I have with really good tone are in G, and Taps in G just doesn't sound right anymore - even the military went to Bb decades ago. I have used a Bach 72G, a Conn 22B-early, and a Conn Military-issue Symphony variant from WWI all with excellent results. (The last one was a surprise in that regard - it only sounded good on the day I needed it to dedicate a military service monument, every other time I swear it was fighting me)
_________________
Ron Berndt
www.trumpet-history.com

2017 Austin Winds Stage 466
1962 Mt. Vernon Bach 43
1954 Holton 49 Stratodyne
1927 Conn 22B
1957 Holton 27 cornet
1985 Yamaha YEP-621
1975 Yamaha YEP-321 Custom
1965 Besson Baritone
1975 Olds Recording R-20

[pinstriper]

[bean_counter]

My local tech told me he would sell me his prized 1920's era Conn M1892 field trumpet - when he retired. Alas, he passed away, and I didn't hear about the estate auction until after it happened.

It was a very fine instrument, played great. But I still prefer the Couesnon in b-flat.
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Kevin Mc
Strad 180s37 (07 'True Bach'), Schilke 18 or 18B4
anon OTS Bb Saxhorn, Berliner valves c. 1860
Eclipse cornet (Yellow, Bauerfeind) DW 4B Heritage
Cousnon clairon Bb
'60s Besson tenor horn DW 3

[Brad361]

Two year old thread, I realize.

Personally, I don’t know how a cheap bugle could possibly be a better choice than a good, even a borderline good Bb trumpet for Taps. I seriously doubt anyone other than other musicians would even notice....unless you screw up, which you can do on a bugle or a Monette.
I would wager that whenever I’ve played Taps, many people would think it WAS a bugle, most people don’t know the difference. I once had a lady at a gig compliment my “trombone playing”, even though I thanked her and mentioned it’s a trumpet, she said “no, I’m pretty sure that’s a trombone.”

Brad
_________________
When asked if he always sounds great:
"I always try, but not always, because the horn is merciless, unpredictable and traitorous." - Arturo Sandoval

[dr_trumpet]

I would love to get my hands on a Bach Bugle. I know there are some out there, but I cannot seem to locate anyone parting with theirs. Short of that, I agree, a high-quality Bb trumpet makes more sense than a margin bugle.
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Dr. Albert L. Lilly, III DM
Artist/Clinician for Vincent Bach Trumpets (Conn-Selmer)
Principal Trumpet, Hendricks Symphony (Avon, IN)
Arranger/Composer; Lilly Music

[Christian K. Peters]

Hello all,
I spent a few years in retirement working in a music store. One day a customer came in, a Boy Scout asst, leader, with a couple of bugles he had bought for his troop. One of them was a vintage C.G. Conn, the others a Rexcraft and a no name. The Conn played the partials with the sound and intonation of a normal Bb. It was incredible. It also accepted a normal Bb mp. I was also at the time, an asst. scout master, who owned a Rexcraft and helped kids in troop, play the calls. The Rexcrafts will accept a Bb mp to a degree, and improves the sound and playability of the horn.
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Christian K. Peters
Schilke Loyalist since 1976

[TrumpetMD]

Resurrected thread, but still an interesting thread.

I have a Getzen Field Trumpet with G and Bb slides. If I'm called on the play Taps or To The Color, this is what I use. However, at events where I'm asked to play other songs as well, I bring my trumpet.

There's a place for cheaper bugles. I purchased an "eBay special" for my son, when he was in the Boy Scouts. It had some intonation issues (high C and low C), but otherwise played well enough. He would take it on camping trips. And at $35, he didn't have to worry about damaging or losing it. For other events, he would just use his trumpet.

Mike
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Bach Stradivarius 43* Trumpet (1974), Bach 6C Mouthpiece.
Bach Stradivarius 184 Cornet (1988), Yamaha 13E4 Mouthpiece
Olds L-12 Flugelhorn (1969), Yamaha 13F4 Mouthpiece.
Plus a few other Bach, Getzen, Olds, Carol, HN White, and Besson horns.

[OldSchoolEuph]

[Scooter Pirtle]

[Speed]

I use a Getzen Field Trumpet for sounding Taps at funerals and certain memorial events. I have the G slide, but I normally play it in Bb. It has a bright tone in Bb, and it's a bit darker with the G slide.

I have read - mabye on Jari Villaneuva's page - that a trumpet is used at most funerals at Arlington these days.

Take care,
Marc Speed

[Dale Proctor]

I have a Kanstul Bb field trumpet. It’s a quality instrument, plays well. I’ve used it for numerous military funerals, mostly relatives and a few friends who have requested I sound Taps for them. The honor guard usually shows up with an electronic bugle, but they always have accommodated me.


_________________
"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham