No Rim On the Bell
Originally posted by: JTJ On the raw brass thread, Dave posted a comment about a Sterling option "which has no rim on the bell - that has really nice response but a brighter sound." That interests me. In one of those weird convergences, in a rehearsal last night I was sitting next to a old timer, a tuba player who had been doing some fine jazz improv to a Stan Kenton chart (somehow I find myself playing Kenton Xmas charts on euphonium!). In any case, we were talking about jazz euphonium, and he said pointing to my 5050 "take that bead off your bell and the horn will really smoke." Hmm. Has anyone tried that Sterling option? And short of going to England, is there any way to play such a beast? I'm interested. John
At the NABBA competition back in April, Custom Music brought along their demo model with a beadless rim. Just for grins, I played on the horn for awhile.
In a room full of hornhonkers, all of whom were doing their level best to flatten the walls, I could not get a real sense of "sizzle". I thought the horn played not terribly different from the 300 mm heavy rose brass bell that I had been evaluating (and eventually bought).
Unless you're a soloist and are going to play nothing but studio gigs with a bunch of voiceovers (meaning not playing much with other live musicians), I can see some real problems in just keeping the horn relatively undamaged. The bead around the bell offers a level of protection to the rim that should not be discounted.
For my money, the beadless model just isn't worth the hype. YMMV.
U.S. Army, Retired (built mid-1950s)
Adams E2 Euph (built 2017)
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euph (built 1941)
Edwards B454 Bass Trombone (built 2012)
Boosey & Hawkes Imperial Eb tuba (built 1958)
Kanstul 33-T lBBb tuba (built 2010)