Zigmant “Zig” Kanstul is decidedly old school.
The 78-year-old runs Kanstul Musical Instruments in Anaheim where his 45 or so workers make brass instruments with soldering irons, baseball bats, Murphy’s oil soap and tar.
Kanstul himself works on the floor fashioning tubas, trombones, Mariachi trumpets and other brass wind instruments the old-fashioned way,by hand.
He sets the tone, said Mark Kanstul, 52, who’s been working at his father’s factory since he was 16.
“He’s kind of a one-man show,” Mark Kanstul said. “He likes to work. He’s an old fashioned businessman.”
Kanstul Musical Instruments makes brass-wind instruments for marching bands, professional musicians and hobbyists,or anyone who can afford a $2,500 trumpet. It does about $3 million in yearly sales.
Part of Local Industry
The small company is part of a bigger musical instruments industry in Orange County that’s led by Buena Park-based Yamaha Corporation of America, part of Japan’s Yamaha Corp. Others include Santa Ana guitar maker Rickenbacker International Corp. and Fullerton’s G & L; Musical Instruments, started by Leo Fender.
Kanstul Musical Instruments competes with much larger companies, including Yamaha and Conn-Selmer Inc. in Elkhart, Ind.
The company sells its instruments to about 70 music stores worldwide. Kanstul Musical Instruments sells its brass at local stores including Anaheim Band Instruments and at online sites such as Woodwind & Brasswinds at www.wwbw.com.
International competition, a stagnant music industry and California’s tough environmental regulations make running a musical instrument factory difficult, according to Zig Kanstul. He said he’s been able to adapt to the changing market because of his conservative principles.
The company spends little on marketing,mostly advertisements in trade magazines,and sells mostly by word of mouth. There also is little overhead.
“Everything, we own. Everything is paid for,” Zig Kanstul said.
Kanstul Musical Instruments focuses on the high end of the market.
A few years ago, Kanstul Musical Instruments used to make a lot more student instruments, but competition from China forced the company to cuts its staff in half and shift its focus to making professional instruments, which cost more to make and sell for more.
“High-priced things are still moving very well,” Zig Kanstul said.
It takes four hours to make a single trumpet, Mark Kanstul said. The factory makes about 22 a day and fewer of the other instruments. Kanstul Musical Instruments makes products on order and doesn’t keep instruments on hand to lower costs.
“We make a little bit of a lot of things,” Mark Kanstul said.
Each worker is expected to know several workstations, which helps keep labor costs down.
“California is a tough place to do business, but you have a large labor pool,” Zig Kanstul said. “There’s an inexhaustible amount of Mexicans coming through for the job.”
The Kanstuls don’t speak Spanish, so they train workers though an interpreter.
Kanstul Musical Instruments’ factory is a throwback to 50 years ago. Many of the methods used to make the instruments were developed by Zig Kanstul, such as pouring the Murphy’s oil soap into the metal tubes and freezing them to prevent wrinkles when the tubes are bent and heated.
Zig Kanstul uses graph paper to design new models. He refuses to use a computer, Mark Kanstul said.
Started in 1950s
Zig Kanstul began his career in the 1950s at the F.E. Olds brass-wind plant in Fullerton, right around the time guitar pioneer Fender was tinkering in the city’s downtown.
Anyone who blows a horn knows of Zig Kanstul. He’s worked with all of the big names,Herb Alpert, Louis Armstrong, Doc Severinsen,and well-known locals such as Charley Davis and Alan Kaplan.
Recently, Harry Kim, trumpet player for Fox Network’s “American Idol” band, was expected to be in the showroom checking out trumpets.
Kanstul Musical Instruments’ showroom is a separate building around the corner from its factory.
The Royal Saudi Air Force uses Kanstul Musical Instruments coronets. The Marine Drum & Bugle Corps play the company’s horns exclusively, said Charles Hargett, sales and marketing manager for Kanstul Musical Instruments.
The company made the bugle that is used in ceremonies at the Arlington National Cemetery, he said.
“There’s too much to brag about,” Hargett said.
Zig Kanstul is a pioneer in the business, designing the first slideless trombones and refining instruments throughout his career, said David Browne, owner of Anaheim Band Instruments.
It was Zig Kanstul who encouraged Browne to open his own music store 25 years ago.
“I’ve blessed and cursed him,” he said.
Zig Kanstul has no plans to retire.
“I’ll retire to my gravestone,” he said.
