Hello everyone!
My brand new custom E3 euphonium from Adams arrived this week. I drove up to Baltimore Brass (which I highly recommend doing business with, by the way...ask for Andrew) on Friday to pick it up. The guys at Adams did a PHENOMENAL job through and through. Here's my set up:
* E3 - .60 gauge
* sterling silver bell
* sterling silver lead pipe (I opted for no adjustable gap receiver as I kept mine set to all the way in on my previous E3)
* yellow/gold/red brass body
* tuning slide trigger
* vented valve pistons
* slightly shortened 4th valve reach
* Adams version of "Amado" spit valves on main slide, and all slides 1-4
* heavy valve caps and finger buttons w/ wood inlays (also have lightweight versions w/ wood inlays as well)
* 4th valve lock mechanism (they are sending this to me soon; photo to follow)
* entire horn brushed (including interior of bell, all valve caps/buttons, slide crooks, etc...literally everything is brushed finish)
Initial impressions:
WOW. Upon opening the case, it is just absolutely beautiful. They really outdid themselves in the assembly. It is absolutely perfect. Upon playing a few notes I could immediately tell the difference I was looking for from my original E3 selected which has all yellow brass. The sound is "deeper", "bigger", offers more color options, yet feels even "zippier" to me than my previous E3. The response is second to none. I was pleasantly surprised with how smooth and fast the valves were right out of the box, and after cleaning and playing for a day at my home, they are already faster than my previous E3, believe it or not. I was also pleasantly surprised that the pitch is actually BETTER than the previous E3. Every single note now slots right in the center. I have to lip very, very little. I decided to go with a trigger on this horn for basically 2 reasons... the high concert D I like to finger 2nd valve because it absolutely sings, but as on any euphonium, is incredibly sharp. With the trigger use, it is literally dead on in tune! I also like having the option for a trigger when using a mute. The trigger is built incredibly well and you can actually customize how far the trigger sticks out from the body of the horn as well as how far you want it to push the main slide out with use. Pretty clever! They're sending me a 4th valve locking mechanism to use if you desire when storing the horn in the Marcus Bonna case that they ship with or a gig bag of your choice. They choose to not solder a lock directly to the horn as they feel it disrupts the vibrations of the horn, which I can totally see. This will be a detachable 4th valve lock to alleviate that issue while still allowing the 4th valve to be depressed for safety when storing the horn in a case/gig bag. Innovative, indeed, and smart!
I had this horn customized to exactly what I wanted, no compromises, and I literally could not be happier with what Miel and his team have produced for me. I have some initial photos of the horn that can be viewed by visiting my Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/bariphonium. Yes, my name there is "bariphonium". Don't act like you're not impressed...
If you haven't tried Adams, I can't recommend them highly enough. It always seems that we're forced to make compromises in our equipment too much with euphoniums. There are SO MANY fantastic choices these days, and the Adams Custom Euphonium manages to stand out in a BIG way for me. I haven't been this excited about practicing in years!
Click HERE for photos