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Post by Cheechoo on Oct 8, 2003 15:20:41 GMT -5
Yes I have one but it is the silver version. IMO it plays as well as a "gold" one....especially when used with a SPARX or GR mouthpiece.
Cheech
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Post by Trptmaster on Oct 8, 2003 16:00:49 GMT -5
What is this business about short one? IS there a long one as well. TM
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Post by Cheechoo on Oct 8, 2003 16:09:27 GMT -5
Yes. Flip Oakes also makes an American Long Cornet. I never played one so can not compare but since they are all optimized by Flip himself, my money says they are also first class. I hope Flip will come over and moderate the Wild Thing Forum.... that would be great for the web site as well as the trumpet playing community.
Cheech
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Post by tomturner on Oct 12, 2003 23:49:18 GMT -5
Yes. Flip Oakes also makes an American Long Cornet. I never played one so can not compare but since they are all optimized by Flip himself, my money says they are also first class. I hope Flip will come over and moderate the Wild Thing Forum.... that would be great for the web site as well as the trumpet playing community. Cheech Hi Cheech, I first played the two cornets, and had them both in my possession, in the summer of 2001. I was going to be attending the annual meeting of the "Cornet Conspiracy" (cornet collectors, players, scholars and scoundrels from around the planet) and invited Flip to come and bring his horns. He couldn't make it but e-mailed me, "Why don't you let me ship you the horns so people can play them and let me know what they think." I was jumping up and down, for that meant that I got to keep 'em all and play 'em for a few days at no charge! HOW TO THE TWO CORNETS COMPETE? 1. The short model is Flip's initial cornet offering. It comes with a nice, hard Gladstone leather case and an additional (longer) tuning slide for hot weather outdoor playing. It is a pricier horn to make and sell, with the extra tuning slide and the more expensive case that is required to protect it's unique shape safely. Like all short model cornets, the sound is very intimate . . . for the player is closer to the bell. Unlike any other short model cornet I've played, the lushness of the sound is breathtakingly velvet, rich and smooth. People stop talking and listen when I play my short model on gigs. 2. The long model "American Cornet" is quite simply the best bargain out there on a Wild Thing instrument! It comes in a fine, but less pricey Pro-Tech cornet case and doesn't need the extra slide--BIG SAVINGS HERE. Long bell cornets started being made in the mid 1910's and eventually "obsoleted" the short cornets due to the greater power and projection of the long bell cornets. A long bell cornet can virtually hang with a trumpet on power . . . not so on the shepherd's crook cornets. The long bell WT cornet is a great choice for someone wanting a great cornet for both jazz work (ala Hackett) and/or American band literature. With a vintage-type cornet mouthpiece these can trick you into thinking it is a shepherd's crook cornet . . . yet really light the stage with a modern cornet mouthpiece of "C" shape cup! It will out-power the short model. BOTH CORNETS are made (as is the Bb WT trumpet) with the unique, exclusive WT bell so the wonderful rich quality of the Wild Thing sound is shared by all three! BOTH CORNETS are also enhanced by the master himself, Flip Oakes. A veteran brass technician/horn designer/performer, Flip makes sure that each instrument is the best that it can be with hours of work tweaking each horn!!! BOTH CORNETS play astonishingly well. Great, even scale, awesome slotting to as high as you can take 'em, great valves that are aligned precisely and individually both vertically AND horizontally! After the cornet collectors meeting was over, I HAD to have that little gold plated short model. It wasn't that I needed another fine cornet . . . its just that this horn was simply too good to pass up! Why the short model vs. the long model cornet? I like the short models personally that's all! Both are destined to be cherished, limited edition classics! Let me know if I can answer any other questions! Sincerely, Tom Turner Flip Oakes Wild Thing US representative turner05@bellsouth.net |
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Post by Cheechoo on Oct 13, 2003 11:22:56 GMT -5
Tom, I was hopeful that my huge deficiency in WT knowledge would help lure you to this site.  However, I am a fellow WT short cornet and Bb trumpet owner so my post was selfish in a way. I own other excellent horns as well (Schilke, Bach, Kanstul) which all have a place in my trumpet "hobby", however I tend to favor the WT short cornet. If you have played the Kanstul signature cornet which looks like the WT short cornet, would you mind giving me your impressions on the differences? Thank you. |
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Post by tomturner on Oct 13, 2003 13:27:15 GMT -5
Hi Charlie,
You have an impressive batch of horns from some great companies indeed! However, like you I favor my little short one--what a joy to play and hear that awesome sound!
As you know, Kanstul builds the Wild Thing line for designer Flip Oakes . . . and Kanstul doesn't make a bad horn! You also, having some of both lines, know what the enhancements do for a horn after Flip takes one off the end of the assembly line and tweaks it! It would be an error though to attribute the awesome sound and playing charecteristics to Flip's enhancements only. Here's why . . .
DIFFERENCES?
The Wild Thing short model looks, at first glance, to be a Kanstul ZKC 1530 under a different name but is a totally different horn.
Here are the similarities:
Both horns use the same bore, valve body, and valve slide sections (where the bore is a constant, cylindrical bore with no flare). They also look darn near the same to the untrained eye.
The differences:
1. The Wild Thing cornet uses totally different CONICAL areas of tubing. In other words, the WT uses a different leadpipe (designed for that wonderful WT blow) AND, most importantly . . .
2. The famous and unique Wild Thing bell that is used on all the Bb trumpet and cornets is employeed too! This means the flare begins at the base of the bow and continues to enlarge!!!
The quick taper WT bell throat necessitates that the bell assembly be a little shorter to compensate for the additional flare rate, thus usually requiring a shorter tuning slide also, MOST of the time! (The WT comes with its standard tuning slide and the longer Kanstul slide for "hot, outdoor concerts.")
In other words, all the conical area that defines the sound of a specific cornet . . . is different!
3. Another difference is the amount of time invested by Flip himself after the production line has ceased to make the instrument. Flip spends hours doing custom work to make each specimen play much better by attending to the subtle nuances that every horn has.
Sometimes this means some radical valve alignment work (re-clocking the valve spring barrel part to the valve bottom for correct rotational alignment). Each horn is totally deburred internally of any solder blob
and protruding edges that could hurt the OPTIMUM performance of that instrument. On other instruments you pay much more to get Reeves or Tanabe to get your valves set up perfectly. This "hidden cost" is already taken care of on the Wild Thing horns!!!
Gosh, I guess you could say that this makes 'em play and sound like totally different instruments, and you'd be correct!
Both are great horns! Just different markets. One aimed at the discerning buyer in the popular price field, the other a no-compromise, hand-tweaked masterpiece!
I bumped into Joe Johnson at the Atlanta Hornfest meeting. Joe is co-conductor of the Georgia Brass Band, as well as being a fine, fine trumpet player and human being.
"Tom, I loved your short model Wild Thing sooooo much when I played it last year that I bought a Kanstul 1530 just like it, only cheaper on my wallet." I told him he had a fine horn . . . and he does.
Still . . . there's something about how a Wild Thing plays and sounds that makes it an instant classic and a horn worth investing the extra money on!!!
Sincerely,
Tom Turner
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Post by jamesfrmphilly on Oct 21, 2003 20:52:50 GMT -5
the large bore of the WT definitely intimidates me!  not that i actually have that much money |
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Post by tomturner on Oct 23, 2003 17:15:22 GMT -5
Hi James,
It's probably the easiest, most nimble horn I've ever played.
The bore size difference, by itself, is insignificant. Whether one is talking about an inner bore that is 46/100th of an inch, or 47/100th of an inch, the difference is sooo tiny!
Other factors contribute greatly to the way a horn plays, and I hope one day you can experience a cornet that has been enhanced and adjusted like Flip's products . . . you'll instantly understand what I mean.
Sincerely,
Tom Turner
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Post by Leatherlip on Nov 6, 2003 9:44:39 GMT -5
WTB: Sorry if this is the wrong area to post this, but I'm looking for a Wild Thing Short Cornet. Not to worried about condition or finish. Let me know what you might have or know of. THANKS to ALL. ....Bill
wrife33554@aol.com
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Post by Trptmaster on Nov 6, 2003 11:08:17 GMT -5
Leather you might also want to post this in the For Sale Page. TM WTB: Sorry if this is the wrong area to post this, but I'm looking for a Wild Thing Short Cornet. Not to worried about condition or finish. Let me know what you might have or know of. THANKS to ALL. ....Bill wrife33554@aol.com |
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