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Thread: Determining if it's worth spending $500 for a euphonium

  1. I'm in Elkins Park, PA, which is just

    Quote Originally Posted by 58mark View Post
    I bought one for 300, but it needed 200 in dent work
    north of Philadelphia. I'll see if I can learn anything about the King. I do know from the picture that it is a 3-valve.

    Little Jimmy

  2. #12
    I meant the person who started the thread

  3. #13
    If you're willing to go to $750- $1000 consider a Besson 3-valve compensating. They seem to pop up on Ebay from time to time in this price range. I can't personally recommend them, but I've heard a lot of positive things about them. There's one on Ebay now, but it's well over $1000. If you can accept a little wear and tear, you can do better on the price.
    - Carroll

  4. #14
    A 3-valve Besson would be an excellent horn if you don't need to low range (below low concert E, or treble clef F#). Great tone and durability. Here's an example of one that sold very recently:

    http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...ilver-1974-ish
    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. #15
    Damn I sold mine too cheap

  6. #16
    I'm in a remote area, so I'm really not counting on being able to get repair work done, or at a reasonable rate at that. Somebody I play with needed to get soldering work on his euphonium, and IIRC, he mentioned that the shops in town have to ship it elsewhere for the work to get done.

    Speaking of which, I read up here how if an instrument is TOO cheap, shops may not be willing to fix it. They can make it worse, or it simply may not be repairable. Were there any other considerations for cheap instruments besides that? IME, these instruments are durable enough even if it falls over (from an upright position on the floor), and I recall people just leaving their instruments on the grass for marching band (although all bets are off if it gets trampled).
    Last edited by ackmondual; 06-25-2016 at 10:11 PM.

  7. #17
    One other consideration would be getting a replacement part. It's hard to know if these horns would use non-standard parts for things like valve guides. If a guide breaks off, can you get a replacement part? Note that I'm just guessing about this. The only actual stories I have heard were about metal that was too soft to be successfully soldered.

    Otherwise, if you have a more-experienced close at hand, I would suggest have them play any really cheap horn you might get to make sure it plays relatively "true" and doesn't have any leaks. A small leak may not be noticed by a player who is inexperienced, but it will make the player work a lot harder to get what they want. That same advice might apply to almost any used horn you get, and even more if it is an old horn.
    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. It will be a few months, but as soon as Wessex re-orients the bell on the next batch of their 4-valve BR115, I will be getting one. Then my King 3-valve will be for sale. I would do that price for it and an Alteri soft case, plus shipping, but not now. I paid a little more than that for it, and had a couple of tweaks taken care of by my tech, but I understand the reality of a deal. When I got it at the beginning of the season, we had no euph player in my community band, and a plethora of tubas, so I volunteered to switch, and luckily found my horn immediately. It was worth an extra couple of hundred or so to get up and running, and that's about the budget I had to start with.

    Personally, I thought about waiting for a good King bell-front 4-valve, (And yes, I am a second generation H. N. White man, sorry Conn, Reynolds, Holton, Olds, Martin, etc.) but since the concert band literature we play does have the entire range, I'm looking forward to the .571 bore of the Wessex to give just that little bit more roundness in the lower register that the .562 bore of the King, Conn, Reynolds, etc., does not, without changing the entire character of the instrument that even the .580 bore horns do, especially since they have the upright valves and therefore a shorter leadpipe, making the "effective bore" even larger by comparison, and cause them to not blend as well with the woodwinds, when called for, or to do cued notes for bass clarinet or bassoon as well, especially without a mute, in my opinion. (It's OK. I wear the badge of anachronism well.)
    Last edited by iiipopes; 06-20-2016 at 08:45 PM.

  9. #19
    Just a quick update.. I tried going for a used Yamaha YEP-321, but that was a no go. I'm still in sort of in a "limbo"... I could make do without an instrument until the fall semester starts up again. OTOH, it'd be nice to have something. I've also been looking into the Yamaha YEP-201, Barrington EP423 4 valve Euphonium, and have decided to up my budget to $700 if it's a nicer horn.

    Still tempted to get a Mendini for $400 and call it a day, but part of me would like to know if I could do better
    Last edited by ackmondual; 06-26-2016 at 04:58 PM.

  10. #20
    There is a great buy right now in the For Sale section on a 321 - $495. Don't wait if you want it.
    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

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