Eastman Euphonium

[dsburnette]

Can anyone tell me something about the Eastman euphonium brand? I haven't heard much about it. Is it a Chinese horn? Or a less common non Chinese horn? Or is it a really good brand and that I've just been in the dark about? I'm especially interested in the 3+1 valve compensating horns. Any info at all would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[davewerden]

I played one briefly at ITEC. It was made well and played roughly in line with the JP Sterling and Wessex horns I had just tried. But unfortunately I was pulled away by other business and could not really test it thoroughly.

[Asianeuph]

I can't comment on the playability;however, my local music shop tells me parts are hard to acquire, even valve guides.

[highpitch]

One of the bands I played in had a lady on an Eastman. I tried her horn out, and thought it was a very free-blowing euph.

I never did notice her having intonation problems against the rest of us, of course that might mean we were all off....

Just kidding.

Dennis

[RickF]

There was a pretty good discussion about the Eastman last year at the link below.

Eastman Compensating Revisited

[wrachko]

I played and tested an Eastman 526s 3 months ago at the PMEA all state festival. It didn't really have an impact on me. I had a hard time getting the horn to speak, and I actually had to wait for the valves to come back up in certain passages. I'm not sure why, but the valves seemed properly oiled. It didn't really stand out for me.

[bbocaner]

They're Chinese made, but it's not just another Jin-Bao stencil. Eastman is set up to sell through traditional distribution channels. Eastman has their own factory. They have a US subsidiary for importing and marketing in California. They've had people like Matt Walters at Dillon Music and Steve Shires develop instrument designs for them, although this applies to tubas and trombones and not directly to euphoniums. I'd consider them a step or two above the normal Chinese makers in quality generally, although their prices are also a step or two above. Eastman also now owns Haynes and Shires, both in Massachusetts, which make some of the absolute best boutique flutes and trumpets/trombones.

I've tried out their euphonium and thought it played exceptionally well. I did not get a good comparison against other Chinese instruments nor did I have a chance to really examine the intonation, but I thought it had a nice dark sound and was easy to play, very responsive, and had good mechanicals.

[BDeisinger]

I played one a few years ago at the tuba/euphonium workshop at Ft. Myer. Nice playing horn. I was in the market for a horn but not Chinese made. With many improvements today it might be a better option for some.

[Mary Ellen]

I recently acquired a student Eastman 3 valve euphonium model EEP321M. Eastman website did not show that model (with the M). Also the unit came with an additional slide, and I cannot figure out it's function or where it would be attached. Sorry - a real newbie here - originally an oboe player LOL.

[davewerden]

Mary Ellen,

I'm not familiar with Eastman directly, but they seem to be a good brand making many horns that are copies of mainstream instruments. Consequently it is hard to figure out what an additional slide might do, especially one that does not seem to fit. Could you attach a few photos showing the horn from the front with the additional slide sitting beside the horn? That might give us a better guess.

My best guess for now is that it is not a slide, but rather a replacement leadpipe (the tube between the mouthpiece and the first valve) to let the horn point forward for a marching configuration (hence the "M" perhaps).

Yamaha adds an "M" to their model name in that way. See the large photo here:

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musi...01m/index.html

[ChristianeSparkle]

I can confirm that it is a convertible euphonium and the extra piece is the leadpipe to change it to marching form.

Found it on a Taiwan website. http://www.showmusic.com.tw/product.asp?c=58

[JakeGuilbo]

It should be worth noting that two former Adams artists are now Eastman artists, Matt van Emmerick and Brian Wilson - the new horn they are developing caused the switch I guess?

[davewerden]

It should be worth noting that two former Adams artists are now Eastman artists, Matt van Emmerick and Brian Wilson - the new horn they are developing caused the switch I guess?

Perhaps that, plus the fact that Adams does not spend much on artists, and at some point(s) in one's career such funding may be necessary to "get around" as much as one might like. (Sterling lost a couple of artists in the same way, to a company with a higher budget for artist support.)

I know Matt thought the prototype Eastman he had fit better with the orchestra, too.

Note that I have not tried this model of Eastman so I can't say much about its qualities.

[dsurkin]

Perhaps that, plus the fact that Adams does not spend much on artists, and at some point(s) in one's career such funding may be necessary to "get around" as much as one might like. (Sterling lost a couple of artists in the same way, to a company with a higher budget for artist support.)

I know Matt thought the prototype Eastman he had fit better with the orchestra, too.

Note that I have not tried this model of Eastman so I can't say much about its qualities.

I took a look at the Eastman website. They show a large bore size for the professional euphonium -

• Three-valve top-action assembly through a .610” bore
• Separate 4th valve assembly through a .630” bore

That makes it comparable to the Miraphone 5050, and larger than the Adams.

[davewerden]

I took a look at the Eastman website. They show a large bore size for the professional euphonium -

• Three-valve top-action assembly through a .610” bore
• Separate 4th valve assembly through a .630” bore

That makes it comparable to the Miraphone 5050, and larger than the Adams.

I'd forgotten that (short memory!). So that may bring the choice as a matter of personal taste to some extent, assuming the horn is made nicely. The 5050 is a dandy horn in so many ways, but for MY taste it was too large to carry off some of the lighter works. For example, I tried it on a Mendez solo and found it as easy to play as my own horn but lacking some of the "dance" quality I want from the piece. For something like the solo in the Holst 2nd it's wonderful!

I heard a solo recently that Matt did on his Eastman. He sounded wonderful, of course, but a touch too dark for me (I don't often say that!). One can't judge by a single recording, though, because I have no idea what the acoustics of the venue were like.