Which high level 4v comp Euphonium?

[Howellsimon]

Hi. So I’ll be trading in my trusty 4v comp Imperial in the next 6 months or so for a new high level 4v comp euph.
The dealer will have all the usual suspects available to try back to back.
I play Neo baritone, so a Neo Yamaha would be an obvious choice, and a Besson as the obvious modern Imperial. I’m not worried about a trigger.
Budget - up to about £6000 gbp.
What other 2 or 3 euphs would you add to the mix and why?
All advice and experience welcome.
Thanks in advance
Simon

[daruby]

Simon,

Since you are in the UK, you should also look at Sterling. Perhaps if your dealer carries Sterling, you could arrange an audition at the shop in Bedfordshire.

[Richard III]

So in six months you'll be putting the trusty Imperial on the market?

[Howellsimon]

Hi Doug and Richard.
The dealer has a massive stock, allegedly the 2nd largest stock in the UK.
He holds all the usual suspects: Sterling, besson, yam, Wilson and a whole load of others, so it’ll be Yam, Besson and Sterling to be trialled so far. Which means I have space for 1 or 2 more.

Richard - to be absolutely honest, the valves on the Imperial need replating as they are rather corroded. The dealer knows this is - he’s inspected it in detail and I think is only part exchanging it in the deal, to get a sale on a brand new euph.
I’d rather not sell it elsewhere because of the valve corrosion. Although the rest of it is pretty tidy for a 48 year old !

[Richard III]

Hi Doug and Richard.
The dealer has a massive stock, allegedly the 2nd largest stock in the UK.
He holds all the usual suspects: Sterling, besson, yam, Wilson and a whole load of others, so it’ll be Yam, Besson and Sterling to be trialled so far. Which means I have space for 1 or 2 more.

Richard - to be absolutely honest, the valves on the Imperial need replating as they are rather corroded. The dealer knows this is - he’s inspected it in detail and I think is only part exchanging it in the deal, to get a sale on a brand new euph.
I’d rather not sell it elsewhere because of the valve corrosion. Although the rest of it is pretty tidy for a 48 year old !

Thanks for being honest. Refreshing these days. Good luck with the swap.

[guidocorona]

Hello HowellSimon, I suggest you add the following horns to your excellent list of candidates:


* Miraphone 5050 -- At ITEC 2019 I playtested most of the high end euphos at the show... Several Adams, Besson Sovreign and Prestige, Yamahas... But my favorite of all was the Miraphone 5050 for all parameters I checked... Easy and quick response... Seemed to me that 5050 would "speak" with bare traces of breath. Tone.... From traditional eupho warmth to the orchestral teutonic or "heroic". Huge Dynamics, from a whisper to fff. Glorious deep bass to higher treble range.

* In more recent times I heard Bente Illevold performing several clips on Youtube with her new Shires Q41.... Lovely tone IMO. Listen to Bente performing Tchaikowsky's Variations on A Rococo' Theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLBy0KNIcvU

* * One more horn that I really enjoyed at ITEC was the Adams E3 with the heavier .70 yellow brass bell.

PS. For consistency's sake, I playetested each horn at ITEC with my Wick 4AL mouthpiece.

Regards, Guido

[Howellsimon]

Thanks Guido. That sounds like a worthy candidate. I’ll try that too. They’re made in US aren’t they?
Any thoughts on Wilson as well?...

[Howellsimon]

Richard - I’m just old school, so being honest for you and me and others like us, is just basic stuff. Unfortunately- I think being honest is not very fashionable for a lot of people these days.
Still, at 50 I’m have to change my toothpaste as I’m too old to change my style....
All the best

[guidocorona]

Hi HowellSimon,

Miraphone 5050 is handmade in Germany at the Miraphone factory, and is supplied with a Warburton Demondrae Thurman mouthpiece:

Miraphone eG
Traunreuter Straße 8
84478 Waldkraiburg
Germany
Tel +49 8638 96820
Fax +49 8638 82863
E-mail:
info@miraphone.de
contact: Christian Niedermaier
Chief Engineer / Director
Christian.Niedermaier@miraphone.de

Here is some info about the Shires Q40 and Q41 euphoniums, which are joint projects of Shires and its Eastman mother company:

S. Shires Company
260 Hopping Brook Road
Holliston, MA, 01746
Phone:
508-634-6805
Sales: Alexis
Email:
info@seshires.com

I spoke to Alexis at Shires a few months ago about Q40 and Q41. Below is a synopsis of the information I received…

Q40 and Q41 are completely Designed/specified by Shires in Massachussetts.
The two-piece hand-hammered bells are entirely made by Shires, then shipped to Eastman in China for assembly.
All other parts are manufactured by Eastman, including stainless steel pistons and valves.
Horns are assembled by Eastman and then shipped to Shires for hand-lapping, QA, polishing, testing.
According to Alexis, when a Q-series horns leaves the Shires factory, it has achieved the same quality of a custom horn fully made in the US factory.
The case is a large hard plastic shell with foam interior… Extremely robust… Hints that, while lacking a Cordura jacket, it might be more prone to some scuffing than jacketed cases, it should be fine on a flight.
The mouthpiece shipped with Q40 and Q41 is the Shires 5MB, which is made by Pickett.
The cost of lacquer or Silver plate finish is identical.
Alexis believes that Q-series’s multi-layer Silver plate might be a little more durable than lacquer, because lacquer is a very thin single-layer.
There is no price difference for large or medium size receiver.
There is one variant that features only lacquer finish…. I do not remember exactly, but it might be Q40 with large receiver.
Medium size receiver is offered because some large US band customers require medium receivers. But Alexis has not perceived there is a tonal difference between large and medium receivers.
Q41 features an unsoldered crimped bead on the flair to compensate for the slightly more focused tone of the 11.5” bell and the slightly brighter nickel-silver lead pipe… According to Alexis, a soldered receiver would make attacks/tone too laser-like.
Both horns have 3 standard lever-type water keys.
According to Alexis, Q40 with its 12” bell, is powerful, warm, but slightly “woofy”, best suited for line-work in ensembles, while Q41 with its 11.5” bell, might be best suited for solo roles…. Q41 yields a purer more focused voice.

Regards, Guido

[Pat]

Ditto the Sterling, but why change horses? Besson makes a fabulous euphonium, and there are lots of high quality used horns on the market.