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Thread: Hoping to find out more about my euphonium

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
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    2,369
    Quote Originally Posted by preston View Post
    If I am still playing flat with a small shank mouthpiece, does this mean I'll have about the same results with a medium shank one?
    Preston
    Think of how much difference there is in the overall length of the horn when you change from a small shank to medium shank (and even to a large shank) because of the difference in seating depth. Do the math and calculate what the pitch difference would be. Not a lot -- if you can even hear it. One thing you can do to test this is to wrap some Teflon tape around your small shank until it seats out further (approximately as it would if it were medium shank), and see what the result is. In some instruments you will get a larger difference based on the shape and size of the mouthpiece bowl (and rim) than with changing the seating depth.

    Also keep in mind that there are two things of concern here: pitch and intonation. Even if you get an open horn pitched "correctly" by shortening or lengthening it (e.g., by increasing length of main tuning slide), it doesn't automatically follow that the valve sections will also be in tune (or may be put in tune by pulling the tuning slides). So the resulting horn may still play out of tune on many notes. Each of those tuning slides may need to be shortened/lengthened. This is particularly the case, for example, with the second valve slide which is already so short that it has little "tune-ability" built into it.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  2. #12
    I find this thread interesting as the 1941-vintage Boosey & Co compensated Imperial euph I have (based on the serial number) was horribly flat for me. Even with a medium shank mouthpiece (and I tried several sizes), the horn was just plain, flat flat.

    It was so flat I had to have it cut down and it's a fine player now, and definitely in pitch for me. Maybe it wouldn't be for a different player -- don't know. The gentleman I bought the horn from in 1984 indicated he played a 1G on it (he was mostly a bass trombone player) and never had a pitch problem.

    Just another story about how weird intonation can be with the older horns, I guess.
    U.S. Army, Retired (built mid-1950s)
    Adams E2 Euph (built 2017)
    Boosey & Co. Imperial Euph (built 1941)
    Edwards B454 Bass Trombone (built 2012)
    Boosey & Hawkes Imperial Eb tuba (built 1958)
    Kanstul 33-T lBBb tuba (built 2010)

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