Recommendation for High School Owned Euphonium
If the valves lasting are the main issue, I'd look for something with stainless steel valves instead of monel. (Don't most Yamahas have monel valves?)
Monel is a nickel alloy containing 65-70 percent nickel, 20-29 percent copper, and small amounts of iron, manganese, silicon and carbon. It is softer than stainless steel. It doesn't wear down the valve casing as much as stainless and they develop distinctive wear patterns based on how you use them as the valves break in. While the initial tolerances may be a bit tight, the wear pattern eventually becomes customized to the player.
If you're buying a horn with monel valves and you intend to be the sole owner, that's fine. But if the horn in going to be passed from player to player over many years the poor valves can get very confused as many different players impose many different wear patterns. This can apply to horns with stainless or nickel-plated brass valves, too, but I have old (early 1970s) horns where the valves are still much better than horns less than half their age with monel.
Also, monel valves can also turn blackish with use. While it seems to be a characteristic of the alloy and apparently doesn't affect perforomance, the color change can be upsetting.
School horns are going go get some nasty treatment. There have been several posts in here about Adams, Schiller, Jupiter and other budget instruments that should serve in a school setting. I'd recommend trying the Jupiters. The Yamaha 321 has been king of the schoolyard for a long time, though, and it's still a pretty servicable horn.
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Dale Long
South Burlington VT
Willson 2900S/Denis Wick SM3M
B.MusEd, SUNY Potsdam, 1979
M.M., Northwestern University, 1980
USAF Band of the West, 1981-1985
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