Bugle Review: Cavalry Bugle vs Centennial Scoutbugle 

As already pointed out, there was some initial confusion about keys. For the record, the Cavalry Bugle is in the key of Bb, while the Centennial Bugle is in the key of G. The keys of Bb and G are BOTH common keys for bugles. The key has nothing to with the cost of the bugle or the quality of the bugle. But I agree with Brett, that a bugle in G, with it's relatively lower notes, might be easier to play for a beginner/intermediate bugler.

well the cavalry bugle is in a diffrent key.... you need to be playing in a higher register to get the right taps notes. you were playing to low. all beautiful horns. you cant say the cavalry bugle doesnt work..

I have the same scout bugle. I love it. I am 48. Learning to play taps. Vets are being buried with CD Taps. Made me sad so I am learning to play Taps for funerals of my brothers and sisters.

Another Bugle Merit Badge councilor here, as well as classically trained on French Horn. I agree that the calvary bugle is just fine and is just in a higher key. Most people who aren't proficient on brass instruments have a hard time with the higher key. It is somewhat similar in concept to a piccolo trumpet, also much harder to play. If your embouchure isn't very strong you will have a hard time playing any of the "tighter" instruments. You would not say that a piccolo trumpet or French horn are bad instruments just because you yourself haven't practiced enough to play it. That being said, I would always recommend a "rexcraft" style bugle to scouts because they need to the lower sound to be able to hit it with their undeveloped lips. The plus to the calvary bugle is because it is supposed to be played much higher the sound travels farther and clearer. Very useful when needing to call scouts from a long ways off. I own both and play the cavalry bugle when I need to actually gain the whole district or summer camps attention, and the scout bugle when I am feeling lazy. But essentially your recommendation remains unchanged, the cavalry bugle should not be your first introduction to bugles. I see there are no videos that I can easily find of the properly played cavalry bugle. I will try to post one to show the differences. On amazon they list them as regiment bugles or U.S. Regulation Bugle.

The reason I'm watching this is to see how a bugle works cause I might be one for boy scouts

Dude the Calvary one should work fine, you just played it wrong. I own the exact same thing and its just in a different key.

Thanks for the review. I have decided to buy the centennial bugle because it does appear to be one of the better choices available. Thanks again.

The "Cavalry Bugle" may be in Bb, where the Centennial Bugle is in G, with a slide allowing a change to F. Like comparing an apple to a pear. When I earned my Bugling Merit Badge (one of the first three), I used my cornet... that was bout 60 years ago. I used my cornet/trumpet when I was i HS JROTC, as Corps Bugler at Texas A&M, and at USNAVOCS, over 50 years ago. I primarily use a Frank Holton field trumpet in G for funerals these days as part of a veteran's Honor Guard. On occasion, when I need to be heard throughout Jax National Cemetery, I use a reproduction Clairon d'Ordnance, made by Andrew Naumann, in Bb, the one I've used for the past 30+ years in my Civil War reenacting... it's a beautiful sounding horn. Going back a bit, I sounded Taps on a M1894 bugle (Bb), dated 7/12/17, Tuesday for our Aggie Muster. That one was probably the most difficult to play.

Thanks for the review and demonstration. This will probably be a challenge for my son and will need something that makes playing accessible.

By far, the funniest bugle review I've ever seen... on youtube! No seriously, it was funny. "they're both... uhh... nice". Nice job Brett!

That was fun! I came over from Scoutbugle. They were right, your video is well worth watching. I just took up cornet and I'm thinking of learning to play the bugle as my initial training. This is the first instrument I've tried where I'm the vibrating membrane, so it's a little frustrating. I wish I could afford a teacher.

Oddly enough, in the 20th century, calvary calls were pitched in F. That's why there is a tuning slide on the G Field trumpet.

Great job and great info!

@houseguy4 - It may indeed be in a different key, but this actually is a problem even without other bugles playing alongside - the high notes are much higher and harder to hit. My son wasn't able to play most songs on the Cavalry bugle due to this. It also sounded wrong to my ears, but maybe I'm just used to F/G bugles. Regarding ebay, I scoured ebay for a couple weeks before buying new, and never saw a good example of a Boy Scout (Rexcraft) bugle for anywhere close to $25. As always, YMMV.

The cavalry bugle is cooler and more authentic. Just depends what look you’re going for.

Let's just say it's much harder to play well, then. So hard, in fact, that neither my son nor I was able to do it. Whether or not that counts as "working" is then somewhat academic.

That was really useful! I'd borrowed a bugle from my wife's uncle, and was having a hard time getting it to play in tune (using a clip-on guitar tuner as a reference). I was Googling "Do bugles come in various keys" and "Can bugles go out of tune", and came across this video. Yep. The bugle I borrowed looks like the cheapy one, not the "real" one. Okeydoke, then. ;) --GG

They're both eh.. nice

Brett: How was your experience in dealing with Scoutbugle from a business standpoint? They seem to sell good horns. I was wondering about them since they have little contact information, imo.