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Thread: Wessex Sinfonico

  1. #11
    Here are my impressions of the ITEC prototype. It seemed very promising!

    http://www.dwerden.com/forum/entry.p...Made-Euphonium
    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. #12
    Having every confidence in your opinion Dave, I just spoke with Steve Marcus at the Chicago store and ordered one up. Surprised they are still open at this hour. This batch should be arriving mid-April, will be a great addition to present company of horns.

  3. #13
    Looks like a neat horn.
    John 3:16


    Conn Victor 5H Trombone
    Yamaha 354 Trombone
    Conn 15I Euphonium

  4. Hey all, I was able to play test this euph after a masterclass Wessex was helping sponsor at the university I currently attend. It also sounds like it'll be staying here for at least a few days, so I'll be able to spend some quality time on it and hopefully give it a spin during my tuba-euph and wind ensemble rehearsals this week!

    If it all works out, I'll follow up with a more detailed post in a few days, but for now, my initial impressions are below, along with some info on the design I learned from Chuck, the Wessex rep there. This particular instrument I believe is one of the first of the production models.

    For background, I currently play on a Willson 2900TA-1 with a Wick 4AM, and I used a Wick Heritage 4AL on the EP600 (the only large shank mouthpiece I had with me in the moment).

    I found a lot of my initial impressions to match Mr. Werden's review from ITEC he posted: The response was great throughout the range, and it seemed to project very well. I didn't have a tuner with me, but nothing seemed noticeably out of tune to my ears.

    In regards to ergonomics, it's physically a large horn, like a Hirsbrunner or Miraphone M5050. However, it's much, much lighter than you might expect given the size, due to the sheet brass construction. This also contributes to the responsiveness of the instrument. The bell is also smaller in diameter (280mm on the website, about 11 inches) but with a wide throat. Despite the larger size of the euph, I didn't find it uncomfortable to hold standing up (I think the lighter weight definitely helped this).

    It sounds like it will come with the option of either a large shank or medium/european shank receiver, but I'm not sure if the horn would ship with both and you would be able to change them out yourself or if it would be something specified when you order. The one I tried had a large shank receiver installed.

    Lastly in regards to the finish, the copper highlights are indeed copper plate, but with a clear lacquer over those plated parts to prevent oxidation/patina.
    Willson 2900 TA-1 Euphonium - Denis Wick 4AM
    Yamaha YSL-643 Trombone - Bob Reeves BrassArk 5G "Gladstone"
    Yamaha YSL-8440 Trombone - Denis Wick 5BS
    VMI 3301S BBb Tuba - Schilke Helleberg

    Past:
    York Preference 3067 Euphonium - Denis Wick 4AL
    Benge 165F Trombone - Benge Marcellus
    Wessex BR140 Baritone - Denis Wick 6BS
    F.E. Olds Special Trombone (ca. 1941)

  5. Sorry about the very late follow up, but due to some unforeseen circumstances (including getting sick), I wasn't able to get extra time on the Sinfonico nor test it out in an ensemble setting. My sincere apologies if any of you were waiting for that post.

    However, I did want to post some photos of the instrument that I had taken when I did have access to it, so you might get a little better of an idea of what it looks like in natural light, as well as how it physically compares with another common model (in this case, my Willson 2900).

    The first two photos are of a close up of the bell engraving and the valve buttons, which are a slightly different design than those on the Dolce or other Wessex piston valved instruments. The last two are side by sides (front and back views) with my Willson 2900.

    Again, I do apologize for not being able to provide the follow up review I had mentioned in my last post!

    Last edited by Fujiifilm; 12-15-2019 at 02:34 PM. Reason: messed up the photo uploading the first time, trying to correct.
    Willson 2900 TA-1 Euphonium - Denis Wick 4AM
    Yamaha YSL-643 Trombone - Bob Reeves BrassArk 5G "Gladstone"
    Yamaha YSL-8440 Trombone - Denis Wick 5BS
    VMI 3301S BBb Tuba - Schilke Helleberg

    Past:
    York Preference 3067 Euphonium - Denis Wick 4AL
    Benge 165F Trombone - Benge Marcellus
    Wessex BR140 Baritone - Denis Wick 6BS
    F.E. Olds Special Trombone (ca. 1941)

  6. #16
    Aww, it's okay! Hope there will be others who will get the chance to try the Sinfonico and drop a review here.

    The brace connecting the bell and the rest of the body seems to be higher on the Sinfonico, and also, is it me or is there no 4th valve lock on it? Can't see it in the photo
    "Never over complicate things. Accept "bad" days. Always enjoy yourself when playing, love the sound we can make on our instruments (because that's why we all started playing the Euph)"

    Euph: Yamaha 642II Neo - 千歌音
    Mouthpiece: K&G 4D, Denis Wick 5AL

    https://soundcloud.com/ashsparkle_chika
    https://www.youtube.com/user/AshTSparkle/

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    West Palm Beach, FL
    Posts
    3,853
    Interesting pics. In the pics compared to the Willson 2900 you can see where the top bow is shorter and bottom bow is longer. Overall length has to be the same but that really strikes me as a big difference.
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

  8. #18
    I went and played this today at the Wessex Showroom. The horn at the showroom didn't have the "copper" highlights, but I'm told it was a "production" version of the horn regardless.

    It plays very much like a Willson 2900, in my opinion. In fact, it played significantly better than the yamaha Neo I tried this afternoon. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but I was. I don't know how wessex horns hold up generally speaking, but (especially for the money), it's quite good. I'm planning to play a JP sterling wednesday at Midwest, so we'll see how that fares in the same price range.
    Mike Taylor

    Illinois Brass Band
    Fox Valley Brass Band

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