View Poll Results: Which Finish Do You Like Better

Voters
25. You may not vote on this poll
  • Brush, with brass body and sterling silver bell

    16 64.00%
  • Brass with satin-gold lacquer

    6 24.00%
  • They are equal

    3 12.00%
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Thread: Adams Options

  1. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by mbrooke View Post
    ...it may be my imagination, but there also seems to be a slight difference in the piano tone in the two recordings, with the B piano being a bit more mellow.
    The mic position and piano position did not change between takes, but Sara may have played slightly differently between takes. The A/B order is the way we played them, so perhaps she was more relaxed on the B take, having just played through the same excerpt once.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  2. #42
    B does sound slightly darker to me, I'm not sure yet if that's good or not. I think perhaps some of the detail is getting swallowed up in the room based on the way it was mic'd.
    --
    Barry

  3. It’s a bit difficult to hear differences between the 2.
    I’d say B is a bit warmer, more mellow.

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Summerville (SC)
    Posts
    483
    Thank you so much David for the URL... Worked perfectly!


    Playing the clip on my laptop's internal speakers, the difference between the two horns was not terribly in evidence....

    So I connected my HP Zbook to the stereo system via USB... And while both horns do sound great, my better half and I quickly developed a preference for Mr. B. Here are some of our joint mumblings....

    ** B speaks more easily and attacks are crisper.
    * B is more nimble/agile.
    * B has a more open tone, and simultaneously sound sweeter.
    * B is grander and more resonant.
    * B sounds more expressive, nuanced, emotionally intense, and lyrical.
    * When pushed, B actually seems to yield greater carrying power.

    Saluti, Guido

    PS. If anyone were curious, my active audio chain consisted of a Rowland Aeris DAC feeding a pair of Rowland M535 bridged amplifiers into Vienna Acoustics Die Muzik speakers. Power cords are Cardas Clear XL, balanced interconnects are Cardas Clear Reflection, and the USB cord is generic.
    M5050L - DC2&3, SM2&4U, BT16, Carbonaria Heavy & New
    Wessex EP104 Festivo - available
    Carolbrass CCR7772 Bb cornet - Available

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Sacramento, CA area
    Posts
    309
    I too am joining the horn B bandwagon. The two sounded the same to me until Beauty and the Beast. Then horn B sound was a little deeper and a bit more like singing. And it kept those advantageous qualities into the final number. And by "deeper" I am not referring to lowness of pitch or frequency. Rather to tone quality. There was just a bit more to it in the bottom, and it was slightly nicer/more desirable to my ears.

    Another thing I liked was how horn B handled the sudden jump down to the lower range for a single, short note (happened a few times in the last piece). It sounded like it should, and like it came out of almost nowhere with little effort. Which I know actually takes some skill to pull off. On horn A, those same notes sounded like something of a "blat" and somewhat landed on with something heavy. Could this difference have come more from the player and their technique? Possibly. I know when I have a note that sounds "landed on" like that, it is usually more me than the horn. And sometimes that is the desired sound. This time, I am not familiar enough with the piece to say whether it was desirable or not. And I don't know if Dave was trying to adjust how those particular notes came out (musician's technique). Whatever made the difference, I noticed the better result from horn B.

    All this being said, I wonder if there is some bias or disadvantage that horn A is getting from going first. If the horns were switched in their order of being played, unbeknownst to this listening public, and more samples played, whether we would still be able to tell which horn was which and still maintain our choice as to which sound was preferable. Hmmm....

    Or if we are just contributing to analysis paralysis for Dave (lighthearted joking)....
    - Sara
    Baritone - 3 Valve, Compensating, JinBao JBBR1240

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Farmington Hills, MI
    Posts
    472
    Really hard to tell any differences between the two. In the Holst I felt a bit more presence in horn A, other than that they sounded as close to identical as possible. There are far to many variables to make a real judgment although I'm sure Dave tried to play the music exactly the same. I'm curious as to his comments on the two horns when he reveals which is which.

  7. Having watched Beauty & the Beast about 100,000 times (per summer) growing up, I appreciate the selection! I too liked B 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"

  8. #48
    Thanks for everyone for the input!!

    In the listening samples, horn B is my current E3 with the sterling silver bell. As I mentioned before, my first criterion is the sound output, and my questions about the appearance were to see if the gold horn was "good enough" in appearance or if I should seek other choices if I went with horn A.

    So my conclusion is that I'll stick with my current horn. It is interesting to play the 2 horns, though. Mine sounds "special" every time I play it. That has to be the sterling bell. At ITEC 2016 I compared the display .70 yellow E3's with my .60 sterling E1. The E3's had a larger sound, which I liked a lot, but there was still a special quality to my E1. Anyway, the gold E3 is still a great horn. I'd say it has a very good ROI because it sounds really good without much effort, and it is over $1k cheaper at today's prices.

    As far as finish goes, if I were ordering a yellow brass today I would go with brushed metal and gold lacquer, instead of shiny metal and satin lacquer. I think the basic effect would be similar, but with the brushed horn I could have bright highlights on the connecting rings as well as the removable pieces. With satin lacquer, it has to coat everything that is soldered together.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  9. #49
    BTW, I also had Sara listen to the recording. She liked some qualities in each horn and could not pick a favorite.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Summerfield, Florida Sturgis, SD (summers)
    Posts
    1,867
    Well, hallelujah! I thought B was your Sterling Silver E3!! I have to agree with your conclusion. I absolutely love my Sterling Silver E3. Even better, Lee Stofer has promised me it will be with him and complete (a little detailing, valve work, and the hand grip which came unsoldered) at ITEC in just about 10 days!!!

    There is just something really special with that horn. And yours, Dave. It is my horn for life, no doubt. Even if something "better" came along, I won't change. It's got my name on it.
    John Morgan
    The U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) 1971-1976
    Adams E3 Custom Series Euphonium, 1956 B&H Imperial Euphonium,
    1973 F. E. Olds & Son Studio Model T-31 Baritone
    Adams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
    Year Round Except Summer:
    Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)
    KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)
    Summer Only:
    Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
    Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)

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