New Sterling Horns at Baltimore Brass

[miketeachesclass]

Just curious whether anyone has played the Sterling horns that Baltimore Brass has. I used to own a Virtuoso, and I’m curious how these horns compare. (I think the valves are different, no gold trim, not that it affects sound, etc)

They seem very reasonably priced.

[davewerden]

I wish (truly) I could tell you!! At the last 2 ITECs I attended this horn was on my list to play-test. In one event the horn was sold before I got to it, and in the other I left suddenly for a family emergency.

The Virtuoso I owned still had the Bauerfeind valves. It played very nicely, and of course had that "British sound" that I seek. One would think today's version would blow very similarly.

Others?

[miketeachesclass]

Well, maybe I’ll have to bite the bullet and try one.

[miketeachesclass]

Looks like I'll be trying one of these out next week - I'll let the group know how it goes!

I'm nothing if not a finicky gearhead, so I should be able to offer some insight!

Well, maybe I’ll have to bite the bullet and try one.

[daruby]

The newest Virtuosos play quite similarly to the vintage Dave Werden speaks of. The linkage and action on the tuning slide trigger is better. I cannot speak to the valves, but I do know that Paul Riggett believes the response on the newest horns is slightly better than the older ones of mid-2000's vintage like mine or Dave's.

[miketeachesclass]

I trialed one of these. Specifics are as follows.

The version I played was the non heavyweight bell, with a trigger.

In a lot of ways, it plays similarly to the besson sovereign 967 I have. (also with a trigger), although I felt the sterling lacked a little bit of the zing I get on the Besson. Totally subjective.

It's got almost identical intonation tendencies as the besson. (very high 6th partial - full trigger pulled it down, etc).

The response on the sterling was slightly less immediate than the Besson Sovereign 967, or the Geneva Cardinal I have (red brass bell). (I've also got an adams E3 with a custom short set of valves, and a Willson 2960, but I'm excluding those horns from this comparison, as the sound concept is a bit different IMO).

The sound was nice; it competed nicely with the other "British" type horns I mentioned above.

Both the Besson and the Sterling have a VERY difficult slot for the Top C# (two lines above the treble clef... B natural concert). Typically not a great note, but the Geneva slots well there, as do the Adams, and the Willson. This note has been difficult on several Besson Prestige horns I've tried as well.

"Out of the box", the valve alignment was pretty bad - at least 1/8" off on all valves. It's possible they threw on new felts before shipping it to me, and didn't check the alignment. I had my trusted tech do an alignment, hoping that would clear up the response, but other than removing a little backpressure, it didn't change response much.

The valves were OK - but definitely not as nice as the Sterling I had from about a decade ago when they were using the Bauerfeind valve sets. The sound was generally a bit lighter as well, but that may be attributed to the fact that the horn I owned then was a heavy bell.

The trigger mechanism was fine; it seems improved over the model I had on the sterling I used to own in terms of the ease of movement, although the main slide seemed like it may have been a little misaligned. That may be because the horn had been played at a couple trade shows previously.

Changing the main tuning slide position requires unscrewing the stop screw and moving the slide, then re-tightening. This is the same style as the Geneva. I find this adjustment style annoying, as it makes adjusting much more difficult than the besson style adjustment with the screw motion changing the position of the MTS when at rest.

I have been told anecdotally that these horns are made from Chinese parts (in particular the valve block) and assembled by Paul/Paul's team and quality controlled in the UK. That would seem surprising given the pricing, but it's possible. I can't vouch for the validity of this information directly, so don't take it as gospel please.

This horn played incredibly similarly to the JP sterling I tried when I was last at Midwest last.

All in all, the horn was perfectly adequate, but I didn't feel it kept up with the pedigree of the older sterling horns.

As always, I'm just a dude on the internet, and YMMV.

[davewerden]

Thanks for the comprehensive report, Mike!

There were some surprises. The valve alignment was one.

I HOPE you heard wrong about the assembly, though. My most recent (several years old) understanding was that the valves were made in China, but the rest was made in the UK. Maybe Doug Ruby has more info.

[miketeachesclass]

Agreed - I know global supply chain has really changed manufacturing, so who knows!

Like I mentioned, the valve alignment may have been a product of the dealer throwing some new felts on as it was going out the door, as this horn had been at a show or two. (It was NOT new out of the proverbial plastic).

Thanks for the comprehensive report, Mike!

There were some surprises. The valve alignment was one.

I HOPE you heard wrong about the assembly, though. My most recent (several years old) understanding was that the valves were made in China, but the rest was made in the UK. Maybe Doug Ruby has more info.