Now Vented Valves on the Wessex Dolce Euphonium!

[Jonathantuba]

The latest batch of the much acclaimed and popular Wessex EP100 Dolce euphonium have just been improved still further with vented valves. Side by side comparison by John Powell of professional tuba quartet, Tubalate has shown that these improve legarto response of the euphonium allowing for smoother playing - very important for the lyrical euphonium!

At the same time we have upgraded the pistons from stainless steel to monel for smoother action and have topped off the valves with beautiful new Wessex Wyvern engraved valve buttons which not only look great, but provide pleasant textured feel.



The latest Dolce euphonium are also being fitted with heavier 0.75mm thick bell for greater projection and extra nickel strengthening plates to repel against dents.

And at the same time we have introduced new mechanical polishing method for higher quality finish.

Wessex just gets better and better!

[davewerden]

Good work, Jonathan! I like the vented valves on my Adams and recommend that option for others. I suspect I would also like the valve buttons, too. A little texture is very reassuring for the player!

[euphony]

The new valve caps are beautiful.

[DaveBj]

Woot-woot! Dang, but those are pretty!

[dsurkin]

I didn't realize monel was considered an upgrade from stainless steel. I thought that the monel, being softer, was more prone to small dents or distortions that would affect smoothness as the horn aged.

[graeme]

Has anyone had valves vented on a Besson Prestige with any positive outcome ?

[ghmerrill]

I didn't realize monel was considered an upgrade from stainless steel. I thought that the monel, being softer, was more prone to small dents or distortions that would affect smoothness as the horn aged.

This is pretty much like the beer situation in the US now. Maybe you've noticed that it's become almost impossible to find (what I think of as) "real" beer -- i.e., lager, and particularly German style lagers. 99% of the cool little breweries that have sprung up and offer a bewildering list of "beers" all make ales. Part of this is because of the huge marketing success in convincing American beer drinkers that IPA actually tastes good, but there is a more fundamental economic issue in play.

Ales are cheap, quick, and easy to make. Lagers are more expensive to make, require more attention in the brewing and fermentation processes, and require MUCH longer before they're ready to drink. So the market is flooded with ales of various sorts and very few breweries make lagers. The Brits make ales, the Germans make beer (lager). There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but it's close to universal in terms of products. There are now only a few lagers available in supermarkets in the US, and fewer of them are drinkable (some are really excellent, but really in the minority). On the other hand, I have a picture on my cell phone from when I was in Vienna a bit over a year ago, in a supermarket on Mariahillferstrasse, and in the beer section all you see is rows and rows of lager (with some hefeweizen, Kölsch, and Guinness thrown is for the sake of some ale presence).

So, ending the beer rant ... Monel is cheaper and easier to use than stainless steel. Each has some advantage (other than the purely major economic/production one). Some people have a taste for one, and some for the other. It appears that stainless is, in the brass community, generally (though not universally) regarded as superior. It is a bit odd to regard Monel as an "upgrade" -- but things like that can always be chalked up to marketing -- like IPA. I thought most Chinese beers were lager, but most British beers are ales. Make of that what you like.

[bbocaner]

I think the Brits and Germans and Swiss (and now Dutch!) have tried to convince us that stainless is better. I think stainless does stick more after a period of unuse. I can't really tell a huge difference other than that myself. I don't think it really matters all that much.

[iiipopes]

Add to that some companies have used nickel plated valves to great success, notably Getzen.

I think the phrase to sum it up is, "Horses for courses."

[Jonathantuba]

Yamaha uses Monel, Besson since 1990's have used Stainless steel. 1980's Besson used Monel.

Monel is more expensive than Stainless steel and according to metaligists is better on sliding surfaces.

[davewerden]

Interesting (monel vs. ss). I have played both and did not notice a difference in speed of the valves. And I found that I can make either one stick!

[John the Theologian]

Add to that some companies have used nickel plated valves to great success, notably Getzen.

I think the phrase to sum it up is, "Horses for courses."

My son's Getzen Renaissance trumpet had nickel plated valves and his trumpet teacher said that they were the best valves he had ever tried-- better than the Monel valves on his Bach Strad.

I guess this just demonstrates that there are various opinions on this issue.

[jimpjorps]

Are these available now? I'm considering upgrading to a compensating horn some time soon.

[Jonathantuba]

We have a few silver-plated Dolce with these upgrades in UK store now. The first vented valve Dolce will be arriving in US store February.

[adrian_quince]

My son's Getzen Renaissance trumpet had nickel plated valves and his trumpet teacher said that they were the best valves he had ever tried-- better than the Monel valves on his Bach Strad.

I also own a Getzen Renaissance I purchased in 2001. After 15 years of every day playing, the nickel plated valves show almost no signs of wear and are slippery to the touch, even when dry. They're also the smoothest, tightest, and fastest valves I've ever had on an instrument. I have never actually had one stick on me. Even when bone dry, all they do is slow down a little.

With my body chemistry, every instrument I've had that has Monel valves will stick without frequent (a.k.a. every time it's played) oiling. Everything from the very fine Monel valves in the Kanstul euphonium to the cheap monel in my C trumpet (a Jupiter) behaves exactly the same. When I was trumpet shopping 15 years ago, I couldn't find a Bach Strad that didn't lock up on me. Put simply, I only buy a horn with Monel if there is no other option.

Here's an article from Brett Getzen on why they use nickel-plated nickel: http://www.getzen.com/gazette/2006/0...ttle-rages-on/ From my experience, I'm fully in the Getzen camp on this issue.