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Thread: "The" instrument for me

  1. "The" instrument for me

    Last summer I bought a Sterling Parentucci off ebay. It was cosmetically imperfect but everything worked fine. I bought one of these based on the intonation tests that Dave did at one point (and which I never seem to be able to find again on this site, but oh well.)I play a bunch of instruments reasonably well, certainly well enough to tell the differences between them in terms of tone and response. The Sterling was my 4th euph purchase; every purchase has been in the hopes of finding "the" euph for me. This time, finally, it is. I know it is "the" one for me when I simply stop looking; before that I almost compulsively keep looking.Other instruments I play well, have had the same story. It took four por-level French horns before I found "the" horn for me, and then I simply stopped looking. Same with horn mouthpieces....although that was a longer search and I ended up with the usual box full of pieces. However, once I found the right one, I stopped looking.Same for the other few instruments I play well. I find it interesting, because other people I know never stop shopping, it seems, never find "the" one for them. In that sense I guess I am lucky because at least there are instruments out there that are good enough, and a good enough fit, that I can stop looking after I find them. BL

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    West Palm Beach, FL
    Posts
    3,853

    "The" instrument for me

    I think this might be the link for intonation comparisons you were looking for:

    Compensating Euphoniums - Intonation:
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

  3. "The" instrument for me

    Interesting that you use the word "compulsively" ... no doubt about it, music is a haven for obsessive-compulsive types. (Many of us would feel embarassing pangs of self-recognition when we see that old Jack Nicholson vehicle, "As Good as it Gets," which humorously essays the impact of OCD on day-to-day life and relationships.)

    So, Blatherings, you settled on a pre-Virtuoso Sterling. So did I. Like Nicholson, I asked myself, "what if this as as good as it gets?"

    EDIT AND ADDENDUM by Warum, 02 Jan 2011 ...

    I didn't mean to kill this thread with such an opaque and tangential posting as above ... nor is it my intent to ridicule any forum member, however off-the-edge OCD s/he may be!

    After all, my posting history would show that I'm occasionally in the thick of discussions about various horns and mouthpieces, thus giving me some OCD street creds of my own.

    But here's where the fascination lies for me: it is not amazing how instruments of different brands that look essentially the same, or that even come from the same assembly line or even the same boutique craftsman's workbench, can play and respond so differently? That, I guess, is why I will continue to try out every horn I can get my hands on, even though I feel no compulsion to replace my present ax!


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