Tweet
Hi all,
I have been very pleased to be the last person on the list to evaluate the ACB Doubler euphonium. In episode 1 you got a very thorough mechanical overview and in episode 2 a 12 minute impromptu sound clip of the Christmas carols I performed for my neighborhood on Christmas Eve from my living room. Before I go on, I want to add that my recording in Episode 2 doesn't do complete justice to the horn as I was having breathing problems at the time.
In this episode, I will provide my analytic evaluation of actually playing the horn for around 10+ hours over the last week.
Ergonomics
The Doubler is a very substantial instrument. At 10 lbs even, it weighs 11 oz more than my Adams E3 and just 8 oz less than my Sterling Virtuoso with heavy bell, trigger, belly pan, and weighted 4th valve cap. The appearance of the horn and the substantial heft is absolutely different than some other Chinese manufactured horns I have evaluated in the past.
The valve action and location is really very good. Smooth and no issues due to any residue from manufacture (remember it received a very thorough cleaning when I received it). I could use Blue Juice and that seemed to last for at least 2 practice sessions of 1-2 hrs each. The springs were just a bit stiff for my taste, but still well within a normal range. Given how smooth the valves are, I think the horn could definitely benefit from lighter springs, but that is a matter of personal preference. I want to also add that the valve caps were easy to thread and unthread for service.
Overall positioning of the 3rd valve wrap, 4th valve, and outer branch made holding the horn with the left hand VERY natural and typical for a high quality (dare I say professional) euphonium. No surprises. Perhaps the most difficult issue for me in getting used to the horn, but not an issue I fault it for, is the wrap of the lead pipe. It is mounted a little lower than those on the Sterling or Adams and wraps further around the bell (slightly). This may make the horn easier to manipulate for a person of smaller stature or a less ample girth than I, but it took me some time to retrain my right arm to hold the horn closer to my body and an additional rolled up lap towel to bring the Doubler's leadpipe up to the perfect position for me. If this were my every day horn I would easily adjust to it.
Intonation
I spent a complete practice session with my Korg and smartphone tuners checking out intonation. Generally pretty good. I am attaching a complete chart that goes from Bb1 to Db5. My tuners stop registering accurately below Ab1 (pedal Ab), but the low pedal range is very good. The only problem ranges were:
Db3 to E3 (3rd partial)
Ab3 and A3 (4th partial)
Db4 to D4 (5th partial)
Eb4 to F4 (6th partial)
2 octave chart (Bb2 to Bb4)
3 octave chart Bb1 to Db5
Response
Overall the Doubler has a good response. All of the notes (even high B natural) have good centers. I didn't find any "bad" notes in terms of response. My daily routine includes low range flexibility with 8th note lip slurs starting at Bb2-A2 and descending to full octave Bb2-Bb1 at a metronome of 132. It then repeats the entire pedal range ending at Bb1 to B0. Also I do 16th note lips slurs at 90 bpm across 5th intervals ascending and descending chromatically down as low Bb1-F2 and as high as Gb4-Db5. I found the Doubler particularly responsive in the low range. I could pop the 8th note slurs at 132 bpm down in the pedal range quite nicely. Even the Bb1-B0!!
Perhaps the biggest difference between the Doubler and either of my horns costing 4X-5X more is in overall response (ease of playing difficult passages and playing dynamics, etc.) I found myself working harder to get the Doubler to do what I could do easier on a different horn. I must say that my age (nearing 70) definitely has something to do with this. In a regular community band setting or with a younger strong player this would not be an issue.
Tone
Another pleasant surprise for me. While I never played the horn in a large acoustic space, the sound of the horn (with or without the bell cover) was warm and pleasant. With its 300mm bell, it is more focused than my Adams, more nearly comparable to my Sterling. I will say that the tone is perhaps a bit more granular (rougher? not as smooth?) than my professional horns. I was very careful to use the exact same Wick 4AL when comparing the Sterling and Doubler. From a purely esoteric point of view, it didn't have quite as much "British" in it as the others, but still capable of producing a fine sound as you all heard from Dave Werden, John Morgan and Jim Williams.
Summary
A good effort here! The ACB Doubler is a well built, substantial instrument. None of the more typical complaints about sloppy valve action or terrible valve threads I have experienced in other horns in this price range. I was particularly impressed with the smoothness of the valves, the overall ergonomics, slightly biased towards a younger or smaller stature player. The pitch characteristics were mostly pretty good and alternate fingerings in a couple of cases can help quite a bit. The tone is robust and capable of standing out in a full ensemble or sounding good in a solo setting. While there were a couple of mechanical things (lyre box, 4th valve lock, and 1st valve compensating slide) that need looking in to, this is a nice horn.
I have been very pleased to be the last person on the list to evaluate the ACB Doubler euphonium. In episode 1 you got a very thorough mechanical overview and in episode 2 a 12 minute impromptu sound clip of the Christmas carols I performed for my neighborhood on Christmas Eve from my living room. Before I go on, I want to add that my recording in Episode 2 doesn't do complete justice to the horn as I was having breathing problems at the time.
In this episode, I will provide my analytic evaluation of actually playing the horn for around 10+ hours over the last week.
Ergonomics
The Doubler is a very substantial instrument. At 10 lbs even, it weighs 11 oz more than my Adams E3 and just 8 oz less than my Sterling Virtuoso with heavy bell, trigger, belly pan, and weighted 4th valve cap. The appearance of the horn and the substantial heft is absolutely different than some other Chinese manufactured horns I have evaluated in the past.
The valve action and location is really very good. Smooth and no issues due to any residue from manufacture (remember it received a very thorough cleaning when I received it). I could use Blue Juice and that seemed to last for at least 2 practice sessions of 1-2 hrs each. The springs were just a bit stiff for my taste, but still well within a normal range. Given how smooth the valves are, I think the horn could definitely benefit from lighter springs, but that is a matter of personal preference. I want to also add that the valve caps were easy to thread and unthread for service.
Overall positioning of the 3rd valve wrap, 4th valve, and outer branch made holding the horn with the left hand VERY natural and typical for a high quality (dare I say professional) euphonium. No surprises. Perhaps the most difficult issue for me in getting used to the horn, but not an issue I fault it for, is the wrap of the lead pipe. It is mounted a little lower than those on the Sterling or Adams and wraps further around the bell (slightly). This may make the horn easier to manipulate for a person of smaller stature or a less ample girth than I, but it took me some time to retrain my right arm to hold the horn closer to my body and an additional rolled up lap towel to bring the Doubler's leadpipe up to the perfect position for me. If this were my every day horn I would easily adjust to it.
Intonation
I spent a complete practice session with my Korg and smartphone tuners checking out intonation. Generally pretty good. I am attaching a complete chart that goes from Bb1 to Db5. My tuners stop registering accurately below Ab1 (pedal Ab), but the low pedal range is very good. The only problem ranges were:
Db3 to E3 (3rd partial)
- Db3 (23) - 12 cents flat
- D3 (12) - 15 cents flat
- Eb3 (1) - 12 cents flat
- E3 (2) - 10 cents flat
Ab3 and A3 (4th partial)
- Ab3 (1) - 5 cents flat
- A (2) - 10 cents flat
Db4 to D4 (5th partial)
- Db4 (2) - 5 cents sharp
- D4 (open) - 10 cents sharp
Eb4 to F4 (6th partial)
- Eb4 (1) - 25 cents sharp, played (13) 10 cents sharp
- E4 (2) - 20 cents sharp
- F4 (open) - 10 cents sharp, played (13) 20 cents sharp, played (12) 5 cents flat.
2 octave chart (Bb2 to Bb4)
3 octave chart Bb1 to Db5
Response
Overall the Doubler has a good response. All of the notes (even high B natural) have good centers. I didn't find any "bad" notes in terms of response. My daily routine includes low range flexibility with 8th note lip slurs starting at Bb2-A2 and descending to full octave Bb2-Bb1 at a metronome of 132. It then repeats the entire pedal range ending at Bb1 to B0. Also I do 16th note lips slurs at 90 bpm across 5th intervals ascending and descending chromatically down as low Bb1-F2 and as high as Gb4-Db5. I found the Doubler particularly responsive in the low range. I could pop the 8th note slurs at 132 bpm down in the pedal range quite nicely. Even the Bb1-B0!!
Perhaps the biggest difference between the Doubler and either of my horns costing 4X-5X more is in overall response (ease of playing difficult passages and playing dynamics, etc.) I found myself working harder to get the Doubler to do what I could do easier on a different horn. I must say that my age (nearing 70) definitely has something to do with this. In a regular community band setting or with a younger strong player this would not be an issue.
Tone
Another pleasant surprise for me. While I never played the horn in a large acoustic space, the sound of the horn (with or without the bell cover) was warm and pleasant. With its 300mm bell, it is more focused than my Adams, more nearly comparable to my Sterling. I will say that the tone is perhaps a bit more granular (rougher? not as smooth?) than my professional horns. I was very careful to use the exact same Wick 4AL when comparing the Sterling and Doubler. From a purely esoteric point of view, it didn't have quite as much "British" in it as the others, but still capable of producing a fine sound as you all heard from Dave Werden, John Morgan and Jim Williams.
Summary
A good effort here! The ACB Doubler is a well built, substantial instrument. None of the more typical complaints about sloppy valve action or terrible valve threads I have experienced in other horns in this price range. I was particularly impressed with the smoothness of the valves, the overall ergonomics, slightly biased towards a younger or smaller stature player. The pitch characteristics were mostly pretty good and alternate fingerings in a couple of cases can help quite a bit. The tone is robust and capable of standing out in a full ensemble or sounding good in a solo setting. While there were a couple of mechanical things (lyre box, 4th valve lock, and 1st valve compensating slide) that need looking in to, this is a nice horn.
Comment