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Thread: Purchased new Adams!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    El Paso, Texas
    Posts
    383

    Purchased new Adams!

    Hi everyone, I just purchased my Adams E1 SS .6mm Euphonium(mentioned to be the same specs as Dave's Euph, I just was lucky enough to acquire a free set of custom made mother of pearl concave finger buttons that matched the gold brass of the valve casing) on Tuesday and just wanted to let you know what I notice so far.

    When I was comparing the Adams between my 83-86 Besson Sovereign 967, it was almost no competition, the majority of my notes are in tune, with some occasions of the 4th space G being 15-20 cents sharp. All of my other intonation fluctuations will likely be fixed or improved when I fine tune the instrument to myself as I get adjusted to the horn as well as it being broken in. I love how light the Adams is, and fits my frame better than the old Besson did, even better than the Sterling that my friend has, as well as one in the shop when I purchased the horn. Reason being the Adams seems to be slightly wider and taller, could just be a different placement of braces but I am unsure about those specifics. Holding position does not change at all from standing to sitting due to the larger frame of the Adams. It sings just like my sovereign does, but with even more volume control and pitch stability when pushing the envelope whether it be loud or soft. The adjustable receiver is nice for fine tuning a sound, I adjusted mine to be about 3 threads out, any less or any further and the tone began to be less desirable with the setup I was using. Another thing I noticed while test driving the Adams and the Sterling, was that in comparison to my Sovereign, the Adams took in more shank, and the Sterling took in less shank. Rumor said that the valves moved slower, but not bad or sticky than other horns, I disagree. I was unable to notice a difference between the valves of any Sterling, Besson, or Willson I have tried(all of the horns have been consistently played for at least 3+ years).

    The only thing I personally would choose differently about the horn would be the finish. Because I did not order the horn directly from Adams, and wait X amount of time for it to arrive, I was not deciding based on finish, and by the way it does look amazing with the Sterling silver and Gold Brass finish, but I am not a huge fan of the lacquer coat on the horn, it seems to have visible bumps in the coat that you can feel, but this is a minor detail and I am overlooking this simply because the horn plays phenomenal!!! I will do another review for you all at the end of the semester in May to see the progress of the horn, and myself.

    Hope this is helpful to everyone!

    Justin

  2. #2
    Thanks for sharing those thoughts, Justin - it's nice to get details!

    The G you mention will be sharp (a little) with 12. But it's pretty good with 3. I use both fingerings, depending on the context and the sound I want. Here is an example where I chose to use 3 for the middle G concert (from a video I just posted on YouTube):
    http://youtu.be/H_6hknl1euw
    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

  3. #3
    Ah, another satisfied Adams customer!
    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)

  4. #4
    Congrats on your purchase and thanks for sharing!

  5. Congrats Justin. One small thing, the lightness if the horn is great, but I've found that it also dents very easily. My bottom bow is riddled with dents from hitting my chair. Enjoy it! Ps, when you get up in the high range, check out 1-2 for high B. Seems to work better than the normal 2nd valve for me.

  6. #6
    I dented the inside of my Adams bell from putting in a mute....

    Ugh, Euphonium mutes.
    Last edited by JakeGuilbo; 01-10-2014 at 10:40 AM.
    Adams E3 0.6 with SS Bell
    K&G 3.5D
    ---------------------------------
    Founder and Solo Euphonium
    San Francisco Brass Band

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by JakeGuilbo View Post
    I've dented the inside of the bell from putting in a mute....
    Ugh, Euphonium mutes.
    Ouch! I assume this was a really fast mute change?
    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. #8
    Yep, the Martin Ellerby Trombone Concerto - super fast mute changes in Euph.
    Adams E3 0.6 with SS Bell
    K&G 3.5D
    ---------------------------------
    Founder and Solo Euphonium
    San Francisco Brass Band

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    El Paso, Texas
    Posts
    383
    Thanks for the insight on the high B as well as the dents. I wouldn't have put two and two together until the dents began to appear!

  10. #10
    I just purchased a new Adams E1 0.6 SS bell and love it! Thanks for the heads up on the mute vulnerability. I just played some concerts with multiple mute passages, and will be more careful going forward. No noticeable issues so far, but I will certainly be more vigilant about that.
    Thanks.
    Best Regards,
    Don Brown
    -------------------------
    Besson BE2052S Prestige, SM3X
    Adams E1 0.60 SS Bell, SM3X
    Hirsbrunner HBS 479 black nickel plated, SM3X
    Bach Stradivarius 42B0 F Attachment 'bone, SM4AL
    Yamaa YBL613 F/Gb Bass 'bone, DW HT1AL
    Besson 10-10 F Attachment 'bone (1968), SM4AL
    Conn 50H Director F Attachment Tenor 'bone (1970), SM4BS
    Blue pBone just for fun!
    Indian bugle
    Shofar

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