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Thread: Wessex Sinfonico?

  1. Quote Originally Posted by Dom View Post
    Thank you James, this actually completely changed my mind about which instrument I'll buy. I currently play on a very heavy imperial and I'm not sure I would be able to control the sinfonico. How would you rate the quality of silver plate on the dolce? I will be wiping it often after I play I want to make sure it'll last. Thanks!
    I will answer as I specify such things as silver-plating thickness with the factory.

    To answer your question, the silver-plating on the Dolce will be around 11 microns thickness, similar to the silver-plating thickness on a Yamaha - and double the thickness of plating on most other Chinese manufactured horns. It should last well, as long as you do not use abrasive silver polish. I would suggest mostly wiping down with silver-polishing cloth, one of which we do supply with all Wessex silver-plated horns.
    www.Wessex-Tubas.com
    Customer Services & Chicago Showroom visits: Dolce@Wessex-Tubas.com
    Shipping & UK Showroom visits: Coda@Wessex-Tubas.com

    Visit our Facebook page

  2. My Sinfonico journey ended this morning.
    TL;DR: stitched up for US $200 in shipping on a return. And thanks to Wessex' choice of shipper, getting my customs duties refunded (C$ 464 = US$ 350 approx) is going to be a bit tricky. Legally I have every right to the $464, but I still need Canadian Customs to do their job.

    My Sinfonico with the included 4Y mp played almost a full semitone sharp. An extra 30mm of tuning slide wasn't going to save the day, so I requested a refund. I actually very much liked the way the horn sounded and a part of me wanted to be the proud owner of a great sounding B-natural Euphonium. The thing was well in tune with itself, so maybe...maybe... but I got spooked. If this wasn't right "what else was lurking under the hood?"

    I was told that if they could replicate the sharpness, they would refund the full amount; if not, they would deduct shipping charges. Today they claimed they could not replicate the sharpness. The shipping charges are a magically round number of exactly $200 US.

    James Garney said that although he could not replicate the sharpness on my specific instrument, I was not the first player coming from Willson to have that issue. They had been working with people at a particular university who experienced similar.

    Wessex ships DHL to Canada. DHL pre-collects the customs, will not deliver til I pay their number, and slaps their own 'brokerage fee' on top for the pleasure of this convenience I never asked for. I now need to take this up not with DHL, but with the government. The local office is somehow closed (Seriously? How about being open and requiring masks, sanitiser, and distancing? Ha ha--it's the government!) so I need to photocopy my evidence of the return and mail it to a town down the coast. Garney has kindly offered to help if I need further documentation.

    Summing up:
    1. Do not buy this instrument online. Sharpness is a known issue. If you want it, go to a showroom and get one that's perfect.
    2. If you need to return an item, before taking Wessex' advice about using a return label they provide, ask what the shipping charge is--and do your own due diligence. Maybe their return shipping price is indeed competitive, maybe it's not. I didn't do my homework because I trusted them.
    3. If you're ordering from Canada, beg them not to use DHL or UPS (UPS is just as bad, eh).

  3. #83
    Thanks, yeah Canadian Imports are a pain. Hopefully I'll be able to circumvent it as much as possible. Definitely going to get the Dolce, seems to me like a better deal and it's going to last me well. Hopefully it feels better than my current (beat up) imperial, I am gonna look forward to taking care of the instrument! Another question for James, does the gold plating hold up well? It'd be nice to get the gold accents but Again I'd like this to last a while

  4. Quote Originally Posted by Dom View Post
    Thanks, yeah Canadian Imports are a pain. Hopefully I'll be able to circumvent it as much as possible. Definitely going to get the Dolce, seems to me like a better deal and it's going to last me well. Hopefully it feels better than my current (beat up) imperial, I am gonna look forward to taking care of the instrument! Another question for James, does the gold plating hold up well? It'd be nice to get the gold accents but Again I'd like this to last a while
    Curious: are you at all near their showroom or at least near the border? If yes to either I strongly encourage you to make your shipping life easier.

  5. #85
    I'm 1 hr north of Toronto. What would you suggest? I am technically capable of going but I unfortunately do not have my license yet and there is probably noone willing to drive me at the moment. I'd like to get this horn for the school year. Any shipping company you'd recommend other than DHL and UPS?

  6. Quote Originally Posted by Dom View Post
    I'm 1 hr north of Toronto. What would you suggest? I am technically capable of going but I unfortunately do not have my license yet and there is probably noone willing to drive me at the moment. I'd like to get this horn for the school year. Any shipping company you'd recommend other than DHL and UPS?
    The current border situation is too tough if you need it for the school year. Non-essential land travel closed. (As much as we deem euphonia essential...)
    I would suggest USPS/Canada Post if coming from USA.

    More generally, once the border opened, if I lived near Toronto I'd set up drop-shipping in/near Buffalo for everything. First $800 you bring back is tax free.

  7. #87
    Take what I say with a grain of salt as the oils in my hands absolutely chew through plating, but I think it's comparable to what other brands are currently offering. I think with proper maintenance, it will last quite a while. I had a dolce from 2017 at the showroom that was used as a demo instrument and the finish on it was still in great condition aside from some minor scratching.

  8. Quote Originally Posted by Dom View Post
    Thank you James, this actually completely changed my mind about which instrument I'll buy. I currently play on a very heavy imperial and I'm not sure I would be able to control the sinfonico. How would you rate the quality of silver plate on the dolce? I will be wiping it often after I play I want to make sure it'll last. Thanks!
    I will answer as I specify such things as silver-plating thickness with the factory.

    To answer your question, the silver-plating on the Dolce will be around 11 microns thickness, similar to the silver-plating thickness on a Yamaha - and double the thickness of plating on most other Chinese manufactured horns. It should last well, as long as you do not use abrasive silver polish. I would suggest mostly wiping down with silver-polishing cloth, one of which we do supply with all Wessex silver-plated horns.
    www.Wessex-Tubas.com
    Customer Services & Chicago Showroom visits: Dolce@Wessex-Tubas.com
    Shipping & UK Showroom visits: Coda@Wessex-Tubas.com

    Visit our Facebook page

  9. Quote Originally Posted by Shawn View Post
    My Sinfonico journey ended this morning.
    TL;DR: stitched up for US $200 in shipping on a return. And thanks to Wessex' choice of shipper, getting my customs duties refunded (C$ 464 = US$ 350 approx) is going to be a bit tricky. Legally I have every right to the $464, but I still need Canadian Customs to do their job.

    My Sinfonico with the included 4Y mp played almost a full semitone sharp. An extra 30mm of tuning slide wasn't going to save the day, so I requested a refund. I actually very much liked the way the horn sounded and a part of me wanted to be the proud owner of a great sounding B-natural Euphonium. The thing was well in tune with itself, so maybe...maybe... but I got spooked. If this wasn't right "what else was lurking under the hood?"

    I was told that if they could replicate the sharpness, they would refund the full amount; if not, they would deduct shipping charges. Today they claimed they could not replicate the sharpness. The shipping charges are a magically round number of exactly $200 US.

    James Garney said that although he could not replicate the sharpness on my specific instrument, I was not the first player coming from Willson to have that issue. They had been working with people at a particular university who experienced similar.

    Wessex ships DHL to Canada. DHL pre-collects the customs, will not deliver til I pay their number, and slaps their own 'brokerage fee' on top for the pleasure of this convenience I never asked for. I now need to take this up not with DHL, but with the government. The local office is somehow closed (Seriously? How about being open and requiring masks, sanitiser, and distancing? Ha ha--it's the government!) so I need to photocopy my evidence of the return and mail it to a town down the coast. Garney has kindly offered to help if I need further documentation.

    Summing up:
    1. Do not buy this instrument online. Sharpness is a known issue. If you want it, go to a showroom and get one that's perfect.
    2. If you need to return an item, before taking Wessex' advice about using a return label they provide, ask what the shipping charge is--and do your own due diligence. Maybe their return shipping price is indeed competitive, maybe it's not. I didn't do my homework because I trusted them.
    3. If you're ordering from Canada, beg them not to use DHL or UPS (UPS is just as bad, eh).
    Shawn, I am so sorry about the tax problems you are having. We are trying to sort this out through DHL from our end too.

    For the sharpness, we are not just saying we can’t reproduce such sharpness, we really can’t - it plays well in tune to A=440Hz (with main slide out about 3/4 inch) for both me and James Garney. I can even supply you with a video of me play testing if James has not already shared with you. For us it is one of the most in tune euphonium either of us has ever played. In fact it is so good that James is going to keep as the showroom demo horn in Chicago.

    I personally think you should have waited to try with the longer main tuning slide, before returning - but obviously now too late. We expect to have batch of longer slides for those customers that have requested in about 10 days and as James indicated, all future EP600 will be supplied with an additional longer slide straight out of the box.
    www.Wessex-Tubas.com
    Customer Services & Chicago Showroom visits: Dolce@Wessex-Tubas.com
    Shipping & UK Showroom visits: Coda@Wessex-Tubas.com

    Visit our Facebook page

  10. #90
    Join Date
    May 2021
    Location
    Longview, WA
    Posts
    8
    Hello, I'm new here and wondering if anyone would share some thoughts / advice for a former player (who hasn't played in 15+ years) looking for a compensating Euphonium. I started on a Miraphone compensating euphonium in about 1994. Then I moved to a Yamaha 641, which I thought had excellent valves, and played better w/ better intonation than the Miraphone. (It appears Miraphone now sells very high end instruments. They were good, but not great in the 1990s, I'd say). I loved my Yamaha but sold it to focus on tenor trombone. I last played an older Wilson 2900s, which I found to be good, but not having the best intonation. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s we didn't have so many choices. I'm drawn to the Sinfonico, but not sure I will like it. Please advise. Thank you!

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