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Thread: I got my horn! A new (kinda) Yamaha 642II Neo! :D

  1. #1

    Talking I got my horn! A new (kinda) Yamaha 642II Neo! :D

    I got my horn in this afternoon, and I have probably destroyed my lips for a good week since I have played it for about 3 hours already.

    I *REALLY* wish I could play this thing without the Silent Brass mute in there, but since it's almost midnight, I'm sure my neighbors will kill me.

    Anyway, some notes:

    1. Valves are stiffer than the old Conn, but smoother. I'm gonna need to strengthen up me fingers.

    2. This thing is frigin heavy. First compensating horn for me. Silver plate probably adds some weight too.

    3. Playing an inline 4's 4th valve with your left hand does nothing to prepare it for the stress of having to support the horn when you have to hold it lower on the 3+1. My LEFT wrist is super tired from trying to hold the horn in place while I play it. I need to find a comfortable playing position soon!

    4. Notes find their "center" much quicker on this horn than any other I've played (not saying much - I've only played a handful of horns.

    5. Response to slurs and tonguing (sp?) is very nice.

    6. Intonation sounds good. I'm going to have to bust out the tuner tomorrow to check it out for sure.

    7. I now understand why people say you need more air in the compensating range. It feels like the horn is sucking my wind out. I can't imagine what it'll do when I take the mute out. @_@

    8. My range still caps out around Bb-C. I guess it wasn't the horn holding me back on my range.

    9. Its very pretty.

  2. #2
    Ive got a question about the way I'm holding my horn. Now that I hold my left arm around the horn to support its weight in addition to working the 4th valve, my forearm now rests against the tuning slide.

    Will this pressure cause the tuning slide to bend or is it strong enough to accept the pressure?
    My horn: Yamaha 642II Neo. My mouthpieces: Yamaha 51D, Yamaha 53SH, Denis Wick SM4X Ultra, Doug Elliot 104 J8

  3. It should be fine! Enjoy!

  4. #4
    The left hand/arm needs to work harder on a 3+1, and is complicated now because the horn is heavier. Having a mute sticking in the bell also adds considerable weight. I'd suggest you practice sitting down and use a pad/pillow to support the horn at the proper height. Once your left arm feels de-stressed again, add a little more standing practice each day. You don't want to overdo it at first.
    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. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,369
    Man up! Get tough! Some people actually play HEAVY brass instruments, rather than those featherweight euphoniums.

    That being said, for playing in a seated position one of the first things I did was to experiment with pillows to rest the horn on, and then I made myself a "euphonium board" that is a piece of 1/4" poplar (Lowes) with rounded corners (saber saw), clear varnished, and with the waffle style drawer liner on it (actually, now one side has some additional strips added on top of the first one since I found the instrument was slipping on just the one strip).

    Am I too wimpy to just hold the instrument in my arms and play? Well, basically, yes. I can attribute it to a mis-spent youth (or at least a mis-spent couple of decades in my 40s and 50s that resulted in two cervical spine fusions, five broken ribs and collarbone, a broken shoulder, and what my orthopedic surgeon has referred to as "a mess" of arthritis in the shoulders. Yes, there comes a time when you're lying on your back looking up at the clear Georgia sky on a beautiful day -- on the outer edge of Turn 7 at Road Atlanta -- and you say to yourself "Maybe this isn't such a good idea for a guy in his 50s." Or turn 12 at Carolina Motorsports park a couple of years later (the ribs and collarbone). Anyhow, I am not apologetic about using a support for playing when seated. And I don't see it as unmanly for anyone else. So that's something to think about.

    I don't need to do this for my oval euph (largely because of the different hand positions), but for the BBb tuba I made a special support device that has a cushion on top (so I sit on the whole thing) and a kind of adjustable "T" made of PVC pipe in front that the horn rests on. I do not like to wrestle with my instruments while trying to get music out of them. I seem to be able to play the Eb horn without any aid -- it's just the right size. But for the compensating euph and the Cerveny tuba, I use mechanical aids.
    Last edited by ghmerrill; 01-05-2013 at 03:23 PM.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

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