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Thread: Entry-level Sterling Royale

  1. Entry-level Sterling Royale

    Caveat: I own a Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium and it is one of my favorite brands so my comments are biased, however I am NOT a Sterling artist and have no commercial ties.

    At USABTEC, I had the opportunity to play a Sterling Royale euphonium at the Custom Music booth. This is the entry-level Sterling horn. The one I played had a 12" yellow-brass bell (instead of 300mm heavy red-brass) and used a Cerveny valveset instead of the Bauerfeind valveset my Virtuoso has. It has no trigger and no gold platiing, but is silver plated. It also does not have the heavy bottom cap of the Virtuoso, so the whole horn is quite a bit lighter.

    I was very pleasantly surprised with the way it played. The horn felt very much like the Virtuoso next to it (same spec as my own) and had a glorious, singing sound with excellent response. However, I was astonished when I heard the price... $4,299. This is about $1,000 less than an equivalent Besson 967S and is near or below the best price one can get for a Yamaha 642S.

    In terms of price/performance, this has to be one of the best buys I saw at the show.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

  2. #2

    Entry-level Sterling Royale

    Wow! I tried this one and liked it even better than the virtuoso! I'm not a fan at all of heavy bells OR red brass bells... Valves were noisy as I recall, but that's something that some better quality felts could help with.

    --
    Barry

  3. Quote Originally Posted by bbocaner View Post
    Wow! I tried this one and liked it even better than the virtuoso! I'm not a fan at all of heavy bells OR red brass bells... Valves were noisy as I recall, but that's something that some better quality felts could help with.

    Sorry to revive such an old post, but would you, or Doug, say the Royale is a Sterling equivalent to the Sovereign?

  4. #4
    No, but I think the design somewhat copied the Sovereign. However, it is not comparable (and at half the price, it shouldn't be).
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  5. An upscale Cerveny compensating euphonium? I'm trying to get an idea where it fits into the classes of horns.

  6. Quote Originally Posted by coolguy684 View Post
    Sorry to revive such an old post, but would you, or Doug, say the Royale is a Sterling equivalent to the Sovereign?
    I played one again this year. The Royale played VERY well. I felt it was not far from Sovereign quality. Valves on the Sovereign are better, but sound and response were comparable.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

  7. #7
    Doug,

    I played a very early sample several years ago, and the sound was not even as full as an Imperial, much less a Sovereign. It's surprising that you found it so close to a Sovereign (but you should know!). No doubt Paul has made some improvement since the one I tested.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  8. Sterling has quite a few levels covered...

    JP Sterling for the entry, Royale for the mid-entry-pro
    and then the Virtuoso variants to cover Sovereign and Prestige.

  9. #9

    JP Sterling comparisons?

    Quote Originally Posted by coolguy684 View Post
    Sterling has quite a few levels covered...

    JP Sterling for the entry, Royale for the mid-entry-pro
    and then the Virtuoso variants to cover Sovereign and Prestige.
    Has anyone spent any time with one of the JP Sterlings? I'm looking to upgrade from my Weril H980 to a compensating horn but need to keep on a budget. I got a chance to briefly try one at one of the dealer booths at the Festival of Brass in Toronto last weekend and it sounded really nice compared to the Weril. There were pros and cons compared to the Yamaha and Bessons I tried there, but they were out of my price range. I was considering the Schiller Elite which seems to have gotten very good reviews here for an entry level compensating horn, but I was quite taken with the JP Sterling. The Schiller is about half the cost of the JP Sterling, which is just under half the cost of a Yamaha 642 Neo. I'd love to hear any comments, good and bad, about how these horns compare to each other.

  10. I've spent a little time with the JP Sterlings at trade shows and at Paul Riggett's shop in UK play testing a production prototype. Very decent horn. Given the pricing difference between Schiller -> JP Sterling -> Yamaha, I'd say that the JP is worth it. Definitely feels more durable to me than the Schiller. While there is not a LOT of experience with John Packer branded instruments here in the states, they have invested in a US Sales rep who has been attending conferences like the USABTEW and NABBA. Nonetheless, make sure you are happy with the particular instrument you are considering buying by carefully inspecting it for blemishes, damage and defects. Also play test it thoroughly.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

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