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Thread: Decisions, Decisions

  1. #1

    Decisions, Decisions

    Hello everyone! How are y'all doing today? I have returned to the forum to seek advice.

    So recently, I have came into some money, and with this money, I have the opportunity to upgrade. I am currently in the second semester of my freshman year of college, and I am double majoring in music education and performance. I am currently using a school owned Yamaha YEP-642(pre Neo), but I want to use a horn of mine own(I also really don't like this horn.) I am presented with two options.

    Option 1: For the past four years, I have been researching many cheaper alternatives, reading different threads on the forum, and play testing horns at TMEA. The two horns that I have become most interested in are both the Wessex Dolce, and the John Packer JP274. I've read and heard many good things on both of these horns, and after play testing both of them a fair amount, I've really liked both of them. While I do like the "Besson" feel of the JP274, the Wessex is financially the better option(I am very still fond of how it plays and sounds).

    Option 2: Just last month, I was able to acquire a very old Besson New Standard with a brushed finish (some of it is missing). This horn is in rough shape, with the 4th valve tubing ripped, the valves need to be replated, the bell needs to be rounded out, and many other issues. I can put the money into getting this horn as fix up as it can be, in hopes that it will be cheaper than purchasing a Wessex or Packer.

    In conclusion, it is either buy a new horn, or fix up the one I already have. The most obvious answer may be to fix the Besson, but a part of me thinks that it would be better to have a horn with some more life left in it. I am also not sure if repairs or (maybe even an overhaul) could get the horn where I want it. The factors to consider are long term use, quality, and saving money. What do y'all think?
    Jacob A. Casas
    TLU Sophomore
    Yamaha 642 Neo(School Owned), Denis Wick SM$
    Miraphone 186(School Owned), Giddings and W4bster Williwaw
    Besson New Standard 3v Comp, Yamaha 51D
    King 1140, Conn Helleberg
    King 607F Tempo II, Bach 5g
    King 605F, Conn 12c
    Conn 15a cornet, Bach 7c

  2. Isn't the Dolce basically a clone of the 642 you say you don't like? I'm curious what you don't like about the 642 and how the Dolce is better?
    Wessex Dolce

    "Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"

  3. #3
    It's just the specific 642 I'm using. It has terrible valve action and response. I've played other ones that I have really liked. Its just that this one isn't that good of a horn. I've had the other euphonium players in the studio try it, and they didn't like it either.
    Jacob A. Casas
    TLU Sophomore
    Yamaha 642 Neo(School Owned), Denis Wick SM$
    Miraphone 186(School Owned), Giddings and W4bster Williwaw
    Besson New Standard 3v Comp, Yamaha 51D
    King 1140, Conn Helleberg
    King 607F Tempo II, Bach 5g
    King 605F, Conn 12c
    Conn 15a cornet, Bach 7c

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,369
    Quote Originally Posted by jacobcasas99 View Post
    I am also not sure if repairs or (maybe even an overhaul) could get the horn where I want it.
    This is a very significant consideration, but one difficult to evaluate since you don't know how the horn performed when it was in top shape. But you already know it's in "rough shape", needs substantial work, and has not been treated well. It's quite unclear at this point in time (given the situation with Anderson Plating) whether, and how quickly, you could get the valves overhauled. And even just the repairs you mention would be EXPENSIVE. Money you put into it would be (from my point of view) purely speculative.

    Abandon it and get a different horn.
    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)

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