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Thread: Wessex BR144 review

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Varese,Italy
    Posts
    384
    [QUOTE=euphlight;148975]Without wandering away too much from this topic, I can possibly see an use for a 4 valve compensating baritone in a concert / wind band playing bass clarinet or bassoon parts (or cues) in thinner woodwind voicing where the euphonium sound is a bit much covering the missing bass woodwind voice but it would be noticeable that the bass woodwind voice is missing. There's a few times which I wish I had a 4 valve compensating baritone just for that function in my community band and well, just so people know the difference between the euphonium and baritone.



    When, over 50 years ago, I started the study of a brass in the local wind band of the country the "flicorno tenore"( baritone) was a stable component of the band then,, with the passing of the years, it gradually disappeared ( as well as other instruments such as the flicorno soprano Bb, the flicorno sopranino Eb, the little clarinet Eb, sax soprano etc.) and today there is no trace of it, at least in the wind bands of northern Italy and neighboring Switzerland. You can still note its presence in the south of the country where bands interprets arrangements of the most famous works by italian composers ( Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Donizetti, Bellini etc.) and the voices of the singers are replaced by various instruments ( soprano by flicornino Eb, tenor by flicorno tenore ( baritone), baritone by bombardino (euphonium). The directors of the bands where I play don't want to see the baritone horn even in photography, is just tolerated for the services of marches. I don't know what this is due to, maybe the baritone players were not skilled enough to be able to melt the sometimes harsh sound of their instrument with the rest of the band, so the various directors have declined it the oblivious in favor of the sweetest and melodious sound of the euphonium. However I am trying to bring back it, at least on some occasions and with tracks suitable for the purpose, the presence of the baritone in my band that, if played well and discreetly, can give more color and amalgam to the complex,
    Last edited by franz; 01-18-2019 at 12:10 PM.
    2007 Besson Prestige 2052, 3D+ K&G mouthpiece; JP373 baritone, 4B modified K&G mouthpiece; Bach 42GO trombone, T4C K&G mouthpiece; 1973 Besson New Standard 3 compensated valves, 3D+ K&G modified mouthpiece; Wessex French C tuba, 3D+ K&G modified mouthpiece.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Varese,Italy
    Posts
    384
    It is normal of the three compensate valves ( due to the limit of being able to put an adequately short compensation tube on the second valve) to be flat on 2/3: this can be a problem to stay i tune with other brass instruments that has 2/3 sharp.
    2007 Besson Prestige 2052, 3D+ K&G mouthpiece; JP373 baritone, 4B modified K&G mouthpiece; Bach 42GO trombone, T4C K&G mouthpiece; 1973 Besson New Standard 3 compensated valves, 3D+ K&G modified mouthpiece; Wessex French C tuba, 3D+ K&G modified mouthpiece.

  3. Quote Originally Posted by franz View Post
    It is normal of the three compensate valves ( due to the limit of being able to put an adequately short compensation tube on the second valve) to be flat on 2/3: this can be a problem to stay i tune with other brass instruments that has 2/3 sharp.
    I run in to this issue when I play baritone in brass band. I just lip up as much as I can, and I will push in my main tuning slide on sustained 2-3 notes.
    James Kircoff
    Genesee Wind Symphony - principal euphonium (Adams E3 Custom .60mm yellow brass bell w/ K&G 3.5)
    Capital City Brass Band (2019 NABBA 2nd section champions) - 1st baritone (Besson BE956 w/ Denis Wick 6BY)

  4. #14
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    20
    Quote Originally Posted by iiipopes View Post
    Hmm. I know about 2+3 tending flat due to the limitations of how small the comp loop on the 2nd valve can be, but I never heard of 1+3 being flat. On my Besson New Standard BBb tuba, 1+3 was right on the money. It sounds like a little judicious slide trimming would have fixed the issue.
    I considered that, but I wasn't sure it would fix the issue. If not, it would have drastically decreased the value of the instrument. So, I tried selling it. Which went fast.

    Maybe the Besson and me were just not a happy couple. I had the same with a Besson cornet, a Yamaha Neo worked better for me.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    20
    [QUOTE=franz;148980]
    Quote Originally Posted by euphlight View Post
    Without wandering away too much from this topic, I can possibly see an use for a 4 valve compensating baritone in a concert / wind band playing bass clarinet or bassoon parts (or cues) in thinner woodwind voicing where the euphonium sound is a bit much covering the missing bass woodwind voice but it would be noticeable that the bass woodwind voice is missing. There's a few times which I wish I had a 4 valve compensating baritone just for that function in my community band and well, just so people know the difference between the euphonium and baritone.



    When, over 50 years ago, I started the study of a brass in the local wind band of the country the "flicorno tenore"( baritone) was a stable component of the band then,, with the passing of the years, it gradually disappeared ( as well as other instruments such as the flicorno soprano Bb, the flicorno sopranino Eb, the little clarinet Eb, sax soprano etc.) and today there is no trace of it, at least in the wind bands of northern Italy and neighboring Switzerland. You can still note its presence in the south of the country where bands interprets arrangements of the most famous works by italian composers ( Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Donizetti, Bellini etc.) and the voices of the singers are replaced by various instruments ( soprano by flicornino Eb, tenor by flicorno tenore ( baritone), baritone by bombardino (euphonium). The directors of the bands where I play don't want to see the baritone horn even in photography, is just tolerated for the services of marches. I don't know what this is due to, maybe the baritone players were not skilled enough to be able to melt the sometimes harsh sound of their instrument with the rest of the band, so the various directors have declined it the oblivious in favor of the sweetest and melodious sound of the euphonium. However I am trying to bring back it, at least on some occasions and with tracks suitable for the purpose, the presence of the baritone in my band that, if played well and discreetly, can give more color and amalgam to the complex,
    It still has a fixed place in British style brassbands. But I believe there are hardly any of those in Italy.

  6. Quote Originally Posted by franz View Post
    Personal opinion: for me there is no need to have the fourth valve on a baritone. A 3 compensated valves is used to carry out all the work that a baritone must do: the 4th valve leaves it to the euphonium.
    Agreed.

  7. Quote Originally Posted by franz View Post
    It is normal of the three compensate valves ( due to the limit of being able to put an adequately short compensation tube on the second valve) to be flat on 2/3: this can be a problem to stay i tune with other brass instruments that has 2/3 sharp.
    The non-comp players in your section should pull and set the 3rd valve slide to be in tune and not sharp. You can tell them I said so. No less a player than Harry James on his trumpet did the same thing, and in some of his movie shots you can actually see his 3rd valve slide pulled and set so he didn't have to use a 3rd valve ring.

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Barking Iron View Post
    Some of the soldering is not super tidy and threading on the valves is a bit rough. But, at this price, these are minor points.
    I have the same issue with my BR140-S. The soldering is a bit messy, and I can clearly see toolmarks on the instrument. The valve cap threading issue exists on mine and is not a minor issue for me, it is a major inconvenience, especially with how much cleaning and re-oiling the valves require in the beginning. I once spent a solid 10+ minutes trying to re-thread one of my valve caps, which is just way too much time. I tried all the 'tricks' suggested (and my husband works on tools and small engines so he had tips and tricks of his own) and nothing works, he agreed with me: you just have to get 'lucky' to eventually to get it on.

    However, in defense of Wessex, they have admitted to the valve cap issue and have apparently solved it. Doesn't do me any good, of course.

    Other finish issues that my BR140-S arrived with included a complimentary dent-and-scuff combo -- very small and most would consider it hardly noticeable, it is on the back of the instrument facing in toward me, no one else will ever see it, but I know it's there and it kind of annoys me. To get into Wessex, I recommend people not be nearly as nit-picky as I am

  9. #19
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    20
    Yes, screwing the valves back in place is annoying, I do not worry too much as I trust that the cleaning and re-oiling will not be a daily necessity after a while.

    How long do you have your horn now? Did the valves improve?

  10. Quote Originally Posted by Barking Iron View Post
    Yes, screwing the valves back in place is annoying, I do not worry too much as I trust that the cleaning and re-oiling will not be a daily necessity after a while.
    Do you also put the slightest bit of heavy slide grease on the valve cap threads to ease the caps and help seat the threads?

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