Brass Instruments Made in India

[davewerden]

I can't add a lot of firsthand perspective, but I have seen several repair techs talking about India instruments. The refuse to work on them because the can't be sure they can even resolder a brace without the metal distorting beyond usability. Of course, there was talk like that about Chinese instruments for a while, but that seems to be a thing of the past. The Chinese have made remarkable progress for quality over the last decade or two. But they were targeting a world market. I'm not sure India has that in mind.

I DO own one instrument that I bought several years ago. It is a cavalry bugle (pitched in C for some reason), and I have never held a more flimsy instrument. Fortunately I just used it for school demonstrations to make a brief point about valveless instruments, so I didn't care a lot.

In the news, it seems that India is organizing to be known for manufacturing. If so, perhaps they could (or do) have quality factories for instruments. On the other hand, while they might be aiming for certain markets, perhaps quality musical instruments would not be a cost-effective goal, given the head start many other countries have. And they still need to satisfy their own local market for instruments. I think their are plenty of smart, ambitious folks in India, so I would never say that a particular goal would not be possible for them!

This article has some interesting general perspective on India vs. China for manufacturing:

https://www.helium10.com/blog/produc...s%20of%20work.

[notaverygoodname]

The old school derpy 4-valver with the tuning slide leadpipe is a Bb Baritone, not a Euphonium, and therefore (without even playing it) it goes immediately into the do-not-recommend pile. I have thought about getting one at some point just to test it and see what sort of mouthpiece it wants, but the fact is that it will never be worth the cost. Even if everything in terms of quality is perfect, it will require a very specific mouthpiece to play well, and it won't ever play THAT well.

The newer inline 4 valver is a copy of the same design that you see from brands like Mendini, with some some minor differences. I like the addition of the little knob on the bottom bow, and I'd probably get one if I had infinite money. Not sure what kind of case you're getting with it though, so that might be problem? It would be cool to get one in person to see what other changes to the design they've made. I wouldn't be surprised to see old school valve guides and a wacky mouthpiece receiver.

For a while there, you could find some Indian made copies of the original F.E. Olds Marching Mellophone on ebay. They looked decent, but I don't see them any more. Why? Dunno. The more interesting point is that they have been trying to develop their technology and acquire better designs.

[highpitch]

Certain Besson horns are reportedly made in India. It must be about the costs...

The repair guys that won't touch Indian horns know they are well neigh impossible to repair, and the correct parts are unobtainium.

My local repair guy gave me one after a customer said keep it after being told it was not repairable. The tone it owned was not quite as bad as blowing a half-inch piece of conduit.

Dennis

[massmanute]

Here's a link to Trent Hamilton's summary of the three worst instruments he has ever reviewed. Interestingly, all three of them were from SAI in India. None of the three were euphonium or baritone horn (though the sousaphone-like instrument had the same range), so I guess technically speaking it doesn't quite fit my question. However, it's not encouraging.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcY1tUbOTZo

[Chris Waters]

Halifax & Co in the 1980's was one of the biggest instrument manufactures in India and I met Mr Halifax at the Frankfurt Music Fair in 1984. He proudly told me they supplied Boosey & Hawkes with 1,000 Euphonium component part Knuckles which went from the top of the 3rd Valve to one side of the slide as the tool that Boosey & Hawkes used had broken and it was cheaper to pay 75 cents for each part than buy a new mould tool for this component part. This was confirmed by Mr Gillard at Boosey & Hawkes when I mentioned it to him at the Fair. Every Boosey & Hawkes Imperial and Sovereign Euphonium in the mid-80's has a little bit of India in it!

[Chris Waters]

Indeed! And our ABCs fit them!!
www.heavybottomcaps.co.uk