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Thread: Adams E3 configurations?

  1. #41
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    West Palm Beach, FL
    Posts
    3,853
    Congrats on your new Adams Brandon.

    That’s interesting what you say about the ‘yellow brass’ vs ‘sterling silver’. Several years ago I was at Tuba Exchange — before the E3 model — and was talking with one rep there. We were talking about the Adams horn. He said he thought the yellow brass sounded better in his opinion but added that the sterling silver seemed more popular. Don’t remember if he mentioned the thickness of the horn.
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

  2. #42
    Quote Originally Posted by BrandonJones View Post
    Sure, I’d be happy to. The thicker gauge yellow brass has a bit more “zing” to it and more “presence” perhaps versus the sterling silver. Sterling silver to me had a great “sparkle” at big dynamics, particularly in the upper register. However, I found that the middle of the horn sounded somewhat “covered” at softer dynamics, therefore I had to push a bit more to get it to project through. It would just often get lost. It still feels great and is a good material to use, for those that are interested in it. It’s hard to beat yellow brass in a thicker gauge for euphonium playing, in my opinion. I will say that thinner gauge (.50, .55, and even .60) yellow brass does not resonate (pun) well with me. It needs to be .70 or thicker. This particular E3 is .70 all yellow brass and silver plated. I believe there is some truth to the sound being a bit different on euphonium with silver plating as well, versus the non-plated finishes. There is so much material on a euphonium versus a trumpet, for example, that you can really tell and feel a difference. Euphonium is already a super dark conical instrument. I feel some try to make it “too dark” and lose the singing vocal quality of the horn. Thicker gauge yellow brass on this E3 has a HUGE sound that is resonant, full, vibrant... but still has core and “zest” to it. Hope that helps!
    Could not agree more (with the bit about sterling. I do like the .60 yellow brass although the .55 and thinner to me sounded like cardboard.)
    --
    Barry

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Summerville (SC)
    Posts
    483
    Hello Brandon, thank you for the fascinating information on your new E3....

    Could you also comment on...

    * Tthe tonal difference that you perceive between the silver plate finish vs lacquer,

    * the impact of heavy caps vs the standard ones?

    Regards, guido
    M5050L - DC2&3, SM2&4U, BT16, Carbonaria Heavy & New
    Wessex EP104 Festivo - available
    Carolbrass CCR7772 Bb cornet - Available

  4. I wanted to add that my Adams E3 is .70 yellow brass like Brandon's but is brushed lacquer instead of silver. I chose it over two other E3's that were .60 with SS bells and silver plate. I chose this horn because I liked the sound better than the other two. The bonus was the prototype short action, top-sprung valves that came along for the ride. This horn paid for itself from May 2018 to November 2018 when I used it exclusively due to my broken middle and ring fingers in my right hand. The light weight and great ergonomics kept me "in the saddle" with manageable pain!

    I am now back to my Sterling Virtuoso for rehearsals and concerts through June, but will likely pull the Adams out for the outdoor summer season concerts.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Dumfries, VA (Potomac Shores)
    Posts
    316
    Guidocorona,

    The tonal differences between silver plated and lacquer are that the silver plate to me has more energy in the sound. Lacquer is a bit more mellow.

    The impact of heavy vs standard caps will vary with player-to-player and also with different mouthpieces. I find them to perhaps “center” the sound a bit more and possibly add some projection. Marginal, to be honest.

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Summerville (SC)
    Posts
    483
    Thank you so much Brandon for the additional information!

    Guido
    M5050L - DC2&3, SM2&4U, BT16, Carbonaria Heavy & New
    Wessex EP104 Festivo - available
    Carolbrass CCR7772 Bb cornet - Available

  7. #47
    Brandon was kind enough to let me blow a few notes on his new E3 after rehearsal last night and it's fantastic. It does seem to be a "magic" combination. It's an absolutely huge sound but it feels surprisingly nimble to play. Some of these larger and heavier instruments tend to feel like a truck and this was not the case with his new instrument. The articulations are really well defined and it's got a nice "zing" and "pop" to the sound. Brandon sounded particularly awesome on it -- he sounds awesome on anything he plays, but he was getting comments from a bunch of band members about how good it sounded. I played my own E3 with it back to back and felt mine had a little less well-defined slots and a slightly lighter sound, although still very big. I felt like my own instrument might be a tiny bit easier to play, but that might just be my familiarity with my own instrument.
    Last edited by bbocaner; 03-11-2019 at 08:42 AM.
    --
    Barry

  8. #48
    I couldn't agree more with the above ^^^ I fall more and more in love with my .6 yellow brass silver plated E3 every day. The snakewood finger buttons are something to behold too. I only have a heavy valve bottom cap on the 4th valve - once I made this addition I didn't even try to add any more caps, I had the sound I wanted dialed in! No trigger for me although sometimes I wish I had one.
    Adams E3 0.6 with SS Bell
    K&G 3.5D
    ---------------------------------
    Founder and Solo Euphonium
    San Francisco Brass Band

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