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Thread: What should I buy?

  1. What should I buy?

    Alright so I am mainly a euphonium player. I played sousaphone for sometime in my high school marching band. Now I'm in college and minoring in music. I have an old 3 valve holton that plays beautifully but I have wanted a 4 valve instrument for a few years now and finally have some extra money to spend. I play sousaphone occasionally in a pep band, however that is only when the other sousa player isn't there and their sousa is available to me. I have also wanted to buy a sousaphone for some time. I have little interest in a traditional tuba. So my question is should I buy a sousaphone or a 4 valve euphonium? Either way I plan to keep my holton. I hopefully will keep the horn I buy for the rest of my life.

  2. #2
    Good evening,

    If you had to choose between either a sousaphone or 4-valve euphonium, it all depends on what you plan to do music-wise. Do you plan on focusing mainly on marching and pep bands or do you plan to gear your musical talent more toward concerts? In my honest opinion, I think a nice 4-valve concert euphonium will be applicable to a good number more musical ventures throughout your life than a sousaphone will. This of course also depends on your budget. If you have enough, you could purchase both.

    I can't speak on prices for sousaphones, and certainly don't know enough about them to point you in the right direction. For euphoniums, however, are you looking for a compensating horn or do you think you'll be satisfied with a non-compensating horn?

    For non-compensating horns, I recommend firstly the King 2280 and secondly the Yamaha YEP321. I prefer the King because it has a large-shank mouthpiece receiver, whereas the Yamaha is small-shank. Both have a nice sound and pretty consistent intonation. Both are also built well and will last a long time if taken care of. You can find either of these used in good condition for about $1000-1500.

    On the other hand, if you are looking into a compensating horn, for about the same price, you could get brand new a compensating 4-valve Mack Brass, Wessex, (other JinBao branded horns) euphonium, which is a copy of the Yamaha 642. I have heard great things about these horns. I have heard they are about 90% of the Yamaha for a sixth of the price. Another option would be to find a vintage Besson New Standard or Boosey and Hawkes Imperial euphonium. In terms of longevity and build-quality, these really cannot be beaten. They are tanks! Also, they are highly respected horns and have a world-famous sound. I play one and love it. They were top-of-the-bill in their day. You should be able to find one in good condition for about $1500-2500. I've seen them for less than that.

    Hope this helps and good luck!


    Kyle Aufderhar

    1982 Besson Imperial 767 euphonium (Giddings and Webster Carbonaria)
    1966 Salvation Army Triumphonic baritone (Doug Elliott, LT 100 rim, F cup, F3xs shank)

    Lafayette Concert Band
    Acadian Wind Symphony
    University of Louisiana-Lafayette Wind Ensemble

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,369
    Sousaphone or 4-valve euphonium? Split the difference and but a 4-valve helicon in Eb.
    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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