Posted by Tim Cary on October 07, 2002 at 09:36:39:
In Reply to: Kalison Daryl Smith posted by Mookie on October 06, 2002 at 12:40:30:
I have played a Kalison DS since 1995. To comment on some of the others postings; the brass is soft, but is stronger than the Mirafone 186 the I previously owned. All tubas will dent, the key to keeping them nice is the be careful. I find that mine has a dark sound, and several directors have commented on the color of the sound and that they appreciated it. It is mouthpiece sensitive, and it took some experimentation to find the right one (I use a TE Rose model - Dillon's had them for a great price). The low register on the horn is tremendous, but the upper end is a bit difficult - but then again I am not much of a stratospheric player. The construction is OK, but not great for players who are rough on horns; the screwed on design is nice for repair work but requires regular inspection and adjustment of the screws. I find the horn to play very open, with little stuffiness. As then horn has aged, the pistons have become a bit noisy, but no worse than on similarly priced horns. The silver does have some wear spots (partly due to my skin chemistry), but still looks nice. This horn has been to Europe twice, and has held up extremely well on the trip (the coldness of the cargo/baggage hold on the plane may have even given a "cryo" treatment to the horn! ;-) ).