Kanstul Artist Avital Handler

For years tuba players, band and orchestra conductors and sound engineers have agreed that the quintessential and defining tuba sound was that produced by the historical J.W. York and Sons tubas. It is a sound that disappeared along with the old York craftsmen and the long lost J.W. York and Sons secret live metal formulas. The legendary tuba sound was the secret trademark of the famous J.W. York and Sons, “House of York” of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Due to poor record keeping, along with the sale of the company in 1940, experts agreed the sound would probably never be perfectly recreated.  J.W. York and Sons had possessed significant expertise in the characteristics of the brass alloys as well as in instrumental design and construction. All of this expertise was lost.

However, after more than fifty years of trial and error experimentation by numerous American and European musical instrument companies, the sound of the J.W. York and Sons tubas has finally been reproduced to a never-before imagined degree of exactness of tone and timbre in a modern day instrument. Zigmant Kanstul of Kanstul Musical Instruments is now able to recreate the magnificent sound qualities produced by the historic J.W. York and Sons tubas!

Two tuba-playing scientist-engineers and musical archaeologists have been instrumental in allowing this exciting development to take place. Tom Treece and Robert Carpenter – both respected and internationally recognized scientists and musicians in their own rights, had been wrestling independently with the puzzle for years. The two men eventually met, and later teamed up with Zig Kanstul to conquer the mystery once and for all.

With the assistance of the U.S. Copper Development Association and the cooperation and contributions of music industry and scientific experts, Treece and Carpenter began a period of qualitative and quantitative experiments, including a year-long series of laboratory tests of brass samples taken from eight original J.W. York and Sons tubas from the early 1900s.

Utilizing the research of Treece and Carpenter, new data of molecular structure regarding the properties of the original brass, and his own usual adherence to the exactness of the physical integrity of airflow and resistance, Zig Kanstul is now able to recreate the magnificent sound qualities produced by those historic J.W. York and Sons tubas!

These “Zigmant Kanstul” tubas are currently being hand tooled and and hand crafted at the Kanstul plant in Anaheim, California, and are now being offered to the market. Before shipment, each instrument is tested by a professional tuba player.

Model 902-3B 3/4 BBb Concert Tuba

.689″ Bore; 16″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $6,590 in lacquer finish, $7,420 in silverplate

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Model 902-4B 3/4 BBb Concert Tuba

.689″ Bore; 16″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $9,060 in lacquer finish, $9,960 in silverplate

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Model 902-4C 3/4 CC Concert Tuba

.689″ Bore; 16″ Diameter Bell

MSRP $9,060 in lacquer finish, $9,960 in silverplate

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Model 902-5C 3/4 CC Concert Tuba

.689″ – .710″ Rotor Bore; 16″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $9,405 in lacquer finish, $10,290 in silverplate

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Model 903/5B BBb 3/4 Flying Tuba

.656″ – .689: ROTOR .710 Bore; 16″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $14,600 in lacquer finish; inquire for silverplate pricing

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Model 904/5C C 3/4 Flying Tuba

.689″ – .710″ ROTOR .734 Bore; 16″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $14,600 in lacquer finish; inquire for silverplate pricing

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Model 900-4B 5/4 BBb Concert Tuba

.689″ Bore; 19″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $10,745 in lacquer finish, $12,175 in silverplate

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Model 200-C 5/4 BBb Convertible Tuba

.689″ Bore; 21″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $10,000 in lacquer finish, $10,430 in silverplate

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Model 201-C BBb 4/4 Convertible Tuba

.656″ Bore; 19″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $8,855 in lacquer finish, $9,960 in silverplate

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Model 202-C 3/4 BBb Convertible Tuba

.656″ Bore; 16″ Diameter Bell
MSRP $7,560 in lacquer finish, $8,440 in silverplate

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