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Thread: The importance of bore

  1. The importance of bore

    Hello everyone,
    My question is how important the bore size is on a euphonium. (below is context)

    ----
    I am in the process of buying a new euphonium and narrowed it down to the Adams E1 and the Geneva Symphonie.
    Although I like the Symphonie more than the E1, my Music teacher(who is also an Instrument builder) is recommending me to be wary of the Symphonie because of its small bore of 14.7mm, compared to the 15/16mm of the E1.
    I'm coming from a Jupiter JEP-570 with a bore of 14.5mm.
    As far as I know and what he told me is that although a wider bore is more tirering, the lung and the player is trained and conditioned to play louder and broader.
    I am a young player (16.5 years old)
    and am finishing school 0.5 years and am hoping to study physics in Heidelberg(I'm German), so I'm looking for advice if I should even buy and what to buy.
    ----

    I'm hoping to get some advice on the importance of bore in this thread, as there doesn't seem to be a lot of infomation on the internet about the topic in both the english and german forums I know of.
    Thank you for reading through all that!!!
    Last edited by Iliad P.; 08-08-2019 at 11:10 AM.

  2. #2
    Welcome to the forum!

    Of course the choice of a horn is complex and controlled by what your own tastes are. Perhaps your tastes are still evolving, though.

    The bore of the Geneva is similar to the original Besson design, which was around .580". The newer horns are mostly around .592". The larger bore probably requires a bit more air, but when I first switch from 580 to 592 I can't say I had any problem adapting and I did not notice a problem playing long phrases. It took me a couple weeks just to get used to the horn itself, and by that time I had probably adapted to the bore without thinking about it specifically.

    The larger bore may help the response a bit, particularly (but not only) in the low register. In theory you can also get more volume, but volume is determined by several things. My Adams E3 will produce more volume than my E1 did, but they have the same bore.

    Leadpipe design makes a difference as well, and I'm not sure where the Geneva is. Going back to Besson, when I first got a Sovereign 967 it had the same bore as my New Standard. But the bell was larger and the leadpipe was a much different concept. I think it was larger up by the mouthpiece end, so there was not as much taper. The 967 had a deeper tone and more volume than the New Standard.

    I'm dancing around the issue a bit because I don't have a certain answer! But I think it is safe to say you should not worry too much about the bore size.

    What do you like about the Geneva more than the E1? I ask because I like my E3 better than the E1 for MY playing. The tone color between the E1/E3 is very close at most volumes. But the E3 is a bit easier for ME to play at any volume, and certainly has a bit more capacity at higher volumes. If possible I'd try an E3 before making your final decision.

    Note that I have never even held a Geneva in my hands, nor have I seen one "in person." So I can't compare Geneva against Adams yet.
    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

  3. Thank you very much for such a quick answer. I like the Geneva more, as although it has a bigger resistance than the e1 it is easy for me to lock the tone in. In addition I was strongly surprised that I, for my first try couldn't play fast with the e1. I needed a couple of minutes to get used to it, as it has a "different" play style to the Geneva, my Jupiter or even the Sovereign I tried, as the air resistance is lower, but you need more air. The symphonie has a simmiliar play style to my Jupiter, bur still a bit different. The sound of the Geneva also seemed darker for my Father and me, while the Adams seemed a bit "metallic". I was also able to try the E2, but it wasn't for me. It couldn't play slow as nicely as the e1 and fast as nicely as the Geneva (I used Sonata by Telemann, transcribed by Ostrander). I sadly didn't try the e3, though I will give it a go next time I'm there.
    Thank you again for such a quick answer from an euphonium legend!!!
    Last edited by Iliad P.; 08-08-2019 at 02:00 PM.

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