Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Gerhard Baier

  1. #1

    Gerhard Baier

    Do any of you have experience with a Gerhard Baier 4 Valve non-compensating euphonium? I am an ex-trombone player who bought this as an adjunct instrument 20 years ago, not really knowing much about euphoniums. There is currently no information about this horn on the Internet (i.e. no parts, valve guides, etc.)

    During the COVID lockdown I have gotten back into playing shape over the last 5 months – long tones, scales, technical exercises, and lessons. Assessing the instrument from a construction standpoint, it is very well made (I’m a retired engineer). I play for my own edification and in Church on Sunday morning. I am very mediocre compared to most of you guys.

    The instrument has nice mid-range tone, but I struggle with intonation on anything above the staff. The horn will not ‘center’ from F sharp above the staff to high B flat. I have no problems hitting these notes with clarity on my Bach 50B bass trombone using a Bach 5G mouthpiece.

    Is this horn a problem? Would a new horn solve some of these3 issues?

  2. #2
    Welcome to the forum!

    We may have some members who know of this brand, but I sure don't. Did you buy it new or used? I'm wondering if it is antique-ish.

    I have a 1895 tenor horn that is quite hard to center. In this case it is almost certainly because they valve have virtually no sealing ability after years and years of use. That could be the problem for you, or there could be a leak in the horn somewhere, which would also do this.

    Most euphoniums (and trumpets, for that matter) have 1st and 3rd pistons that are nearly identical. But if they happen to get swapped the horn could play badly. Usually there is a number stamped on top of the piston to show which valve it is.

    Anyone else have some help on this?
    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. #3
    I bought the horn new. The valves are installed correctly as they are numbered. The valves have very little wear, and the slides are tight....

  4. #4
    I looked it up. Looks like a really old Chinesium rebrand. Probably Jinbao or Jinyin.

    What mouthpiece are you using? I haven't had the luxury of encountering a piston horn that's so sensitive to these things, but it's entirely possible to get this effect with the wrong shank size. If you're not sure what it's supposed to be (totally plausible), I'd consider just reaming it out. There's probably enough metal on the receiver to ream it for large shank and 20mm insertion depth. If you want to try to do this operation yourself, have measuring tools and a tuner on hand. You need to check intonation and slotting behavior basically every millimeter of insertion depth (after 15mm) that you add. When you can play 3 octaves of concert Bb's in tune, stop, clean up your mess, and call it a day.

    Yes, the stock mouthpiece could be wrong for the horn.

    I had an obnoxious Jinbao horn that gained a lot by being reamed out for 12mm shank, but it was a pain. (I already had the custom mouthpiece.)
    Hobbyist. Collector. Oval rotary guy. Unpaid shill for Josef Klier mouthpieces.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •