Hello everyone,
On Saturday 3rd October 2020, I had the opportunity to test a range of Euphonium’s whilst helping a friend pick a brand new Euphonium. I wanted to share a few of my thoughts from this really superb day.
The instruments that we tested were as follows.
Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium with a Heavy Red Brass Bell.
Yamaha Custom Euphonium.
Yamaha Neo Euphonium.
Geneva Cardinal Euphonium.
Geneva GVL Euphonium.
Silver Plated Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium.
Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium.
Besson Sovereign 976T Euphonium.
Overall each instrument was really impressive and it really highlighted how lucky we are to have a range of really top quality instruments that are well made.
The Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium is a solidly built instrument and a brand which I have played on for quite a few years. I was interested to see how this brand had developed in the five years since I had last played a Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium. The sound was as expected with a dark tonal colour to each note, the mechanics worked well however I found the position of the leadpipe to be quite different but this is down to personal preference.
The Yamaha Neo Euphonium and Yamaha Custom Euphonium’s are really well built instruments that have a light sound and solid mechanics. I found when testing both instrument that I had a preference for The Yamaha Custom Euphonium over The Yamaha Neo Euphonium but both instruments are very well built and you would be troubled to find any faults with them.
The Geneva GVL Euphonium and Geneva Cardinal Euphonium are instruments that I have wanted to test for quite a long time due to the current popularity of these instruments within the brass band world. I found that both instruments were quite different with The Geneva GVL Euphonium having a darker sound than The Geneva Cardinal Euphonium. The aesthetic look was quite pleasing and both instruments were free blowing with the sound being a touch brighter than I expected.
The Besson range of Euphonium’s are instruments which I always find to be consistent. I absolutely love The Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium which has such a vibrant sound and is such a free blowing instrument with the changes that have been made to the leadpipe. Again the Silver Plated Besson Prestige Euphonium is a joy to play with the sound slightly different to that of The Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium. The final instrument of course is The Besson Sovereign 967T which has such a lively and responsive sound, the only thing I dislike about this instrument is the positioning of the leadpipe which is just down to personal preference.
After four hours of testing my friend settled on a Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium which we both felt overall made the best sound of all the instruments we had tested that day. It consistently came top in all blind tests that we conducted that day and was the solid choice for my friend.
I hope this short thread has been of use and I look forward to hearing about all of your recent testing experiences.
Best Wishes,
Micah Dominic Parsons
On Saturday 3rd October 2020, I had the opportunity to test a range of Euphonium’s whilst helping a friend pick a brand new Euphonium. I wanted to share a few of my thoughts from this really superb day.
The instruments that we tested were as follows.
Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium with a Heavy Red Brass Bell.
Yamaha Custom Euphonium.
Yamaha Neo Euphonium.
Geneva Cardinal Euphonium.
Geneva GVL Euphonium.
Silver Plated Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium.
Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium.
Besson Sovereign 976T Euphonium.
Overall each instrument was really impressive and it really highlighted how lucky we are to have a range of really top quality instruments that are well made.
The Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium is a solidly built instrument and a brand which I have played on for quite a few years. I was interested to see how this brand had developed in the five years since I had last played a Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium. The sound was as expected with a dark tonal colour to each note, the mechanics worked well however I found the position of the leadpipe to be quite different but this is down to personal preference.
The Yamaha Neo Euphonium and Yamaha Custom Euphonium’s are really well built instruments that have a light sound and solid mechanics. I found when testing both instrument that I had a preference for The Yamaha Custom Euphonium over The Yamaha Neo Euphonium but both instruments are very well built and you would be troubled to find any faults with them.
The Geneva GVL Euphonium and Geneva Cardinal Euphonium are instruments that I have wanted to test for quite a long time due to the current popularity of these instruments within the brass band world. I found that both instruments were quite different with The Geneva GVL Euphonium having a darker sound than The Geneva Cardinal Euphonium. The aesthetic look was quite pleasing and both instruments were free blowing with the sound being a touch brighter than I expected.
The Besson range of Euphonium’s are instruments which I always find to be consistent. I absolutely love The Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium which has such a vibrant sound and is such a free blowing instrument with the changes that have been made to the leadpipe. Again the Silver Plated Besson Prestige Euphonium is a joy to play with the sound slightly different to that of The Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium. The final instrument of course is The Besson Sovereign 967T which has such a lively and responsive sound, the only thing I dislike about this instrument is the positioning of the leadpipe which is just down to personal preference.
After four hours of testing my friend settled on a Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige Euphonium which we both felt overall made the best sound of all the instruments we had tested that day. It consistently came top in all blind tests that we conducted that day and was the solid choice for my friend.
I hope this short thread has been of use and I look forward to hearing about all of your recent testing experiences.
Best Wishes,
Micah Dominic Parsons
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