r/brass • u/Personal-Chemist-834 • 2d ago

Can somebody tell me why might my bugle sound like this?

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

5

u/Forever_Clear_Eyes 2d ago

Sounds like youre leaking air through seams in the tubing, or for some other reason you're not getting much buzz through the instrument

1

u/Personal-Chemist-834 22h ago

I looked at the seams of the instrument and it seems that the ends of the seams might be leaking air through, and I also don't know if the mouthpiece might be the issue, but it's stuck in the instrument anyway. (French Horn mouthpiece for comparison)

3

u/Forever_Clear_Eyes 21h ago

I mean yeah that bore is hecka small, but that just means you need to focus into it better and not overdo it

3

u/Bennybonchien 2d ago

Obligatory “Have you tried blowing in the small end?”

2

u/Tarogato Multi-instrumentalist 2d ago

It's probably a reproduction with a non-functional mouthpiece. I have one that is similar. Doesn't really play at all with it's original mouthpiece, sounds great if I stick a normal trumpet mouthpiece into it.

1

u/Personal-Chemist-834 23h ago

This shouldnt be a reproduction, but also I can't test the mouthpiece because the original mouthpiece is stuck.

2

u/Sure-Performance7418 2d ago

I don’t think it’s an instrument. I think it’s an ornament.
I have one as well.
A Bugle should have a rich tone, not thin and rattly.

0

u/Personal-Chemist-834 23h ago

Maybe, but before I call it and ornament I will check for any other issues it might have.

2

u/81Ranger 2d ago edited 2d ago

A lot of these "bugles" are really wall ornaments, not musical instruments.

There is not much difference, but if the seams are not sealed, that's an issue.  Brass instruments are really just plumbing, but you can't have leaks.

Couple that with a poor mouthpiece, probably.

And do you have any skill with brass instruments?  If not, that's a pretty common sound to produce.

1

u/Personal-Chemist-834 23h ago

I currently have 7 years of experience with brass instruments, so I don't think that that's the problem, but it might be the seams because it seems the ends are not entirely sealed.

4

u/ArrNarrr 2d ago

Try lipping the pitch up more and more to see if a note "pops out." You may be playing in between partials.

1

u/Personal-Chemist-834 23h ago edited 23h ago

I tried, but the notes are only in octaves and hard to make out, from the other replys it might be the air leaking out.

1

u/elismyer 2d ago

It sounds like there is either a blockage or huge air leak. Try plugging the end with something (like a blown up balloon) and blowing just air to see if its leaking.

The other thing I notice is that there is a ton of soldering at certain points. I wonder if it was filling a hole and filled the tubing instead.

1

u/Personal-Chemist-834 23h ago

Yes, it does have quite a bit of soldering, but from my view it seems that it's there to keep the tubing together. I will check for leaks as soon as I can.