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Thread: Finally an Adams Owner

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    263

    Finally an Adams Owner

    This past week I attended TMEA, and of course Adams was there. I met Miel Adams, and he ended up getting me a horn! I got an E1, .55 gauge, gold brass bell, with the sterling silver leadpipe. The second I played this one I knew that this was my horn, it outplayed everything else at the convention, and everyone I had listen to me was blown away by the difference between the way I sounded with my Willson.

    I do have a couple questions for the other Adams guys though.

    What am I looking for when it comes to the adjustable gap receiver? I've been messing around with the settings of the receiver and if I'm being honest I don't personally notice a huge difference. Am I looking for a sound quality change or an ease of playing change?

    Does anyone feel like the Bonna case is a tight fit?

    Has anyone experimented with switching the springs out for Mead or Yamaha springs?

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    Thanks everyone!
    Marco Santos - Marcher and Performer
    Guardians Drum & Bugle Corps 2015
    Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps 2016, 20i7, 2018

    Adams E1
    Modified Schilke 52E2 by Justin Gorodetzky

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Summerfield, Florida Sturgis, SD (summers)
    Posts
    1,863
    Congratulations on the new Adams, Marco!! It is gorgeous. I never get tired of looking at new Adams euphoniums. You are going to love it!!!!

    As for the adjustable gap receiver, here are my observations and findings after having my Adams now going on a year (in May). If you make just a half turn or maybe even a whole turn one way or the other, you won't notice a whole lot of difference. To really see what is happening, I screwed the receiver all the way in and played a bit with that setting. Doing things like wide interval slurs and playing notes with wide intervals and leaps between them. Basically trying to land on the notes I was aiming for. I think you can call this slotting. Trying to land on notes at various dynamics and articulations. Then once you have a feel for the horn and receiver in the all in position, try screwing it out a whole bunch of turns, maybe 20. Here is where I really saw a difference, with the two extreme settings. Things could get sloppy and very hard to land on notes accurately. I think having the adjustable gap helps you find "YOUR" particular setting that works for you along with the mouthpiece that you use. I suspect I might have a little different setting if I used another mouthpiece(s). I talked with Dave Werden, who also plays the Adams (is an Adams Artist), too, and he and I both have the receiver in the range of 2-3 turns out from all in. That seems to be the "sweet" spot for me, and I think for Dave, too.

    Now another thing, there are two different receivers that I know of, one is the nickel-silver that comes standard (I think that is still the case) and the other is a stainless steel receiver. I have both, and am now using the stainless steel receiver pretty much exclusively after long experiments with both. In truth, there is not very much difference in sound. There might be a little more difference in which receiver makes the player feel more secure.

    As for the Marcus Bonna case, I have an E3 and it is fairly snug putting it in, but not overly. The E3 I think is a wee bit wider than the E1, so I would think yours would fit ok. I don't have any extra pads like Dave had in his for where the 4th valve goes. I think yours would be the same.

    The sterling silver lead pipe is new to me. I did not know that Adams had that as an option, but I suppose being a custom maker, anything might be an option. Did Miel explain the reasoning behind the sterling silver lead pipe?

    When I saw the springs, I was surprised at how "small" in diameter they looked. I thought these couldn't possibly do the job, but they have been just fine for me. I have not thought about switching them out as they seem to work just fine. I play some fast stuff, and I have no problem with them. I use Yamaha synthetic, I did not opt for the Monster oil that came with the Adams.

    Anxious to hear your thoughts and experiences after playing it for a while.

    Congrats again and welcome to the Adams family!!
    Last edited by John Morgan; 02-15-2017 at 11:17 PM.
    John Morgan
    The U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) 1971-1976
    Adams E3 Custom Series Euphonium, 1956 B&H Imperial Euphonium,
    1973 F. E. Olds & Son Studio Model T-31 Baritone
    Adams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
    Year Round Except Summer:
    Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)
    KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)
    Summer Only:
    Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
    Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)

  3. #3
    Congratulations, Marco! That is a lovely instrument and I'm sure you'll enjoy it more each day.

    John responded to your questions and was very accurate from my point of view. One thing I can add is info on the fit of an E1 in the Bonna case. I would certainly call it a snug fit. As John says, there are extra pads on the 4th-valve side of the case. Those combined with the generous padding on the bottom of the shell hug their horn pretty good. I need push down slightly to "seat" the horn in the case in order to close the case easily. That might get easier over time, but I use the Bonna case so seldom that it is not really broken in yet.

    I switched out the factory springs for a special Mead combination. On the normal set the 1st spring is too stiff for me these days, so I purchased 2 sets. That gives me enough springs that I can use the #2 or #3 springs on all 3 main valves, which I find just about perfect. They make a lighter set that I have not tried in their current form.

    When I was at ITEC 2014 I met Koichiro Suzuki from the River City Brass. He purchased a display horn that is identical to yours except without the sterling silver leadpipe. I had played that a bunch at the show and it was a sweet horn! And Koichiro sounds great on his. Below is a photo of him with his new horn at the time. Seeing that horn made me really start to like the finish combination on that one!

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Here is his Facebook page, in case you want to connect:
    https://www.facebook.com/koichiro.suzuki.169
    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

  4. Congrats on the new horn, it looks awesome! I am also intrigued by the silver lead pipe. I can add a little something on springs... I found the springs a little "light" so I carefully stretched them all such that at rest they are about 1/8" longer. This in effect increases the spring rate since they are more compressed. Being me I just did it, but Aaron Hunt at Adams later reassured me that this is ok to do. If you are concerned about messing them up, an option would be to get a second set from Adams before you try it.

  5. #5
    sterling lead pipe! Neat... I have some sterling leadpipes for my trombones, I like what they do.

    Yes, the case is a tight fit for sure.
    Last edited by bbocaner; 02-16-2017 at 10:05 AM.
    --
    Barry

  6. #6
    Congrats! I really liked my E1 .55 Gold Brass horn - it's a very sweet sounding horn!
    Adams E3 0.6 with SS Bell
    K&G 3.5D
    ---------------------------------
    Founder and Solo Euphonium
    San Francisco Brass Band

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    263
    The Sterling lead pipe is what made the horn for me! I didn't know anything about it at the time, and when I went through the horns at the booth this one felt the most live and vibrant to me. Miel said the lead pipe makes it have more projection to the sound but can make it a little brighter so that's why it's only done on the gold and red brass bells. The equal horn without the pipe to me was not even a comparison, mine just had so much more life that pushed me over to buying the horn.
    Marco Santos - Marcher and Performer
    Guardians Drum & Bugle Corps 2015
    Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps 2016, 20i7, 2018

    Adams E1
    Modified Schilke 52E2 by Justin Gorodetzky

  8. I know the feeling of finding a new favorite horn. I attended TMEA as well and the Sterling Virtuoso at the DF Music booth completely destroyed everything else in terms of warmth of sound, evenness of response, and ergonomics. The Adams horns were very nice as well but I found the valves not to my liking and the sound wasn't quite to my tastes (though still very good). The Sterling had a few notes that were a little sharp but the trigger was very comfortable and slick. Sadly I can't afford a high end horn at the moment but it's still a relatable feeling.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    263
    Quote Originally Posted by euphony View Post
    I know the feeling of finding a new favorite horn. I attended TMEA as well and the Sterling Virtuoso at the DF Music booth completely destroyed everything else in terms of warmth of sound, evenness of response, and ergonomics.
    That wasn't even the top of the line Virtuoso! That was the baseline with gold valve caps on it. For me actually that was my second choice horn at the event.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Msan1313 View Post
    That wasn't even the top of the line Virtuoso! That was the baseline with gold valve caps on it. For me actually that was my second choice horn at the event.
    Can you clarify that? I thought the Virtuoso was the Virtuoso, but with different trim options of course. It what you mean? Many of the trim options on horns won't make them play better, despite the bling factor they bring. But options like metal material/weight would matter.
    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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