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Cheap Euphonium - Besson clone or Yamaha clone?
Hi everyone, my name is Kenneth. I come from Hong Kong. This is my first post and is my pleasure to share my observation and research on cheap horns. Sorry for my English, but I will try my best to explain.
Recently I am thinking of buying a new cheap euphonium to practice at home (my main instrument is Yamaha 642Neo. I store and use it in my church. Since I don’t have a car so it is painful to carry the horn between two places). So I started web surfing and did some research on the cheap euphoniums.
I observed one of the main discussion is that whether the euphonium is a Besson clone or Yamaha clone. I was curious and eager to find out what is the difference between Besson and Yamaha. My finding is that the most distinction is at the back, the compensating tube of the 1st and 2nd piston.
As you can see below, the tubes of Besson, both 967 and 2052, are oblique; and the tubes of Yamaha, both 642Neo and 842 are vertical.
<-967 and 2052
<-642Neo and 842
The positions of the tubes are so different, needless to say, the pistons are different too. It proves that they are different tubing designs. Therefore, I think this is the easiest way to distinguish the “clones”.
Here is my analysis:
Wessex dolce: Vertical tubes – Yamaha design
Mark Brass EU1150S: Vertical tubes – Yamaha design
Thomann 804GP: Vertical tubes – Yamaha design
JP274: oblique tubes – Besson design
JP374: oblique tubes – Besson design
Thomann 902: oblique tubes – Besson design
Thomann 906GP: oblique tubes – Besson design
Schiller Elite IV: oblique tubes – Besson design
Schiller Elite V: oblique tubes – Besson design
I understand they all sound different, but if they are the clones of Besson or Yamaha, by the design of tubing, this is the result.
I am quite surprised that with the same tubing design, some horns sound apparently different. According to “Matonizz: JP274s vs Schiller Elite. Best CHEAP Brass Instruments” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-OSpMLgN5o , although the JP274 and Schiller Elite are both on the Besson side, they just sound so different. At first, I thought Schiller Elite is a Yamaha clone, but I was wrong.
I believe that not only the tubing design affect the sound, but also the materials, bell size, thickness, bore size, leadpipe and other many factors that can affect the sound finally come out from the horn. And different factories have different bracing materials and technique too.
To conclude, we cannot choose a cheap euphonium only by the brand (Thomann has clones of both) and the design. An euphonium is a mixture of every parts and the design. But generally, we can distinguish a cheap euphonium by the tubing design at the back.
At last, these are my Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjq1NI5kUkE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTTc43SXSmY. Feel happy to share with you. Thank you.
Recently I am thinking of buying a new cheap euphonium to practice at home (my main instrument is Yamaha 642Neo. I store and use it in my church. Since I don’t have a car so it is painful to carry the horn between two places). So I started web surfing and did some research on the cheap euphoniums.
I observed one of the main discussion is that whether the euphonium is a Besson clone or Yamaha clone. I was curious and eager to find out what is the difference between Besson and Yamaha. My finding is that the most distinction is at the back, the compensating tube of the 1st and 2nd piston.
As you can see below, the tubes of Besson, both 967 and 2052, are oblique; and the tubes of Yamaha, both 642Neo and 842 are vertical.
The positions of the tubes are so different, needless to say, the pistons are different too. It proves that they are different tubing designs. Therefore, I think this is the easiest way to distinguish the “clones”.
Here is my analysis:
Wessex dolce: Vertical tubes – Yamaha design
Mark Brass EU1150S: Vertical tubes – Yamaha design
Thomann 804GP: Vertical tubes – Yamaha design
JP274: oblique tubes – Besson design
JP374: oblique tubes – Besson design
Thomann 902: oblique tubes – Besson design
Thomann 906GP: oblique tubes – Besson design
Schiller Elite IV: oblique tubes – Besson design
Schiller Elite V: oblique tubes – Besson design
I understand they all sound different, but if they are the clones of Besson or Yamaha, by the design of tubing, this is the result.
I am quite surprised that with the same tubing design, some horns sound apparently different. According to “Matonizz: JP274s vs Schiller Elite. Best CHEAP Brass Instruments” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-OSpMLgN5o , although the JP274 and Schiller Elite are both on the Besson side, they just sound so different. At first, I thought Schiller Elite is a Yamaha clone, but I was wrong.
I believe that not only the tubing design affect the sound, but also the materials, bell size, thickness, bore size, leadpipe and other many factors that can affect the sound finally come out from the horn. And different factories have different bracing materials and technique too.
To conclude, we cannot choose a cheap euphonium only by the brand (Thomann has clones of both) and the design. An euphonium is a mixture of every parts and the design. But generally, we can distinguish a cheap euphonium by the tubing design at the back.
At last, these are my Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjq1NI5kUkE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTTc43SXSmY. Feel happy to share with you. Thank you.
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