Another new horn thread

[MichaelSchott]

Shortly after being hit with the Brass Banding bug it occurred to me that my trusty and wonderful Willson 2900 was not the right horn for the role. Moved from the 51D to various Wick mouthpieces which helped but not enough. Truthfully at that time a new horn wasn’t in the budget but more so I couldn’t find a euphonium I liked better. A Prestige had the right sound but the intonation issues were not acceptable to me. The idea of using a trigger to fix a design flaw makes no sense to me.

You probably know where this is headed. I placed my order this week for an Adams E3. .60 Sterling Silver bell and brushed lacquer finish. I’m having the main tuning slide shortened by 3/8”.

Many thanks to this website and input from Dave and John. The hard parts will be the wait and getting adjusted to a new horn after 40 years with my 2900.

[John Morgan]

Whoo-Hoo!!!! Excellent, excellent. Did I say excellent??!! Sounds just about like my horn. You will absolutely LOVE it!!!!! If I were to ever get another horn, which I won't, I might have the main slide shortened just a wee bit, although I have pretty much figured out how to get things to work fine on mine. I love it after more than 5 years, and cannot ever imagine replacing it for another main horn.

Yeah, the wait. I had to wait 6 months once I placed the order, part of that time for entire bell engraving. Boy do I love that horn. I will be very anxious to hear how you like it. Also need to see pictures, many pictures. And make sure you take the pictures AFTER you finish slobbering all over it. Have you played one of these terrific horns? I had not ever played or touched an Adams before getting mine.

Very happy for you Michael. Nothing quite like getting a new horn, and then again, nothing at all quite like getting an Adams E3!!!!

[ChristianeSparkle]

Sounds like a great buy, especially from how John is raving so much about it.

[MichaelSchott]

Thanks John and Christiane. My dealer was quoted 12-14 weeks so that’s encouraging. No I have not played one but from the discussions here I’m very confident of my decision. I promise to take numerous detailed pictures and tempt others towards this brand!

[DEF1]

Michael, that’s going to be a long 12-14 weeks. I’m sure it will be worth it when it eventually arrives.

[Sara Hood]

John Morgan - Do I remember correctly? You wanted to get some custom engraving to commemorate a long history of horn playing and perhaps some significant anniversary of yours? I am remembering a post where someone had asked for advice on what they should have done for a custom engraving that they were getting. Was that you? If it was, what did you end up getting? I don't remember seeing any resolution to the great "What should I get?" question. Pictures too, if you feel up for it (smile). Thanks in advance.

- Sara

[John Morgan]

John Morgan - Do I remember correctly? You wanted to get some custom engraving to commemorate a long history of horn playing and perhaps some significant anniversary of yours? I am remembering a post where someone had asked for advice on what they should have done for a custom engraving that they were getting. Was that you? If it was, what did you end up getting? I don't remember seeing any resolution to the great "What should I get?" question. Pictures too, if you feel up for it (smile). Thanks in advance.

- Sara

Hi Sara,

I had mine engraved and used the same engraving that Matt van Emmerick had done on his horn. He is a world class player from Australia. I spoke with him and Dave Werden before ordering the horn. I did a pretty extensive review in 2 parts on my Adams. The engraving I had done was simply what I had seen on Matt's horn and I really like it. Here are the two reviews and many pictures:

Part 1: http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...w#.YKbaanmSmM8

Part 2: http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...w#.YKbaqXmSmM8

As you can see, I love pictures!!

John

[1Cor13:4]

Congratulations!

John, that's a beautiful horn.

[davewerden]

Of course I've seen this before, John, but I just HAD to stop by and look at the purdy horn again! The engraving really does add something.

[John Morgan]

Thanks, Dave!! Unlike me, the horn gets prettier with age. I absolutely love my Adams. By the way, Miel (Adams) retired the engraving pattern that was put on my horn after I had it done. Not sure why, but now I have a real collector's horn I suppose. Along with Matt van Emmerick, but wait, Matt switched from the Adams to an Eastman I think. Why he did that one can only wonder (and come up with no good answer). I don't know who ended up with his Adams, maybe a colleague in Australia. But there are only 2 like mine. And mine has my name engraved on it (wife request, er, demand, so that I wouldn't be tempted to sell it - no worries about that!!).

[guidocorona]

Actually, Matthew Van Emmerik is now a Shires artist and has adopted the Q41 euphonium. See:

https://www.seshires.com/euphoniumartists

Regards, Guido

[MichaelSchott]

Update: the Adam’s Custom E3 is here! Arrival was 2-4 weeks ahead of quoted delivery. Woo Hoo! To review, I ordered the .60mm model with the Sterling Silver bell. The finish is the same as Dave and John’s. No trigger.

A few initial impressions: The craftsmanship is impeccable. Flawless as far as I can see. It gets loud, with a slight edge. Coming from a Willson 2900, the tone is very different, broader and less focused. Intonation seems as advertised but it’s too early to say for certain as my chops are weak as I sold the Willson about 6 weeks ago and have been practicing sporadically on an old bell front horn I bought for use in MSU Alumni Marching Band reunions. Once I get my embouchure in shape, I’ll post more of my thoughts and some pictures. Thanks to all for your encouragement in this thread.

[davewerden]

Update: the Adam’s Custom E3 is here! Arrival was 2-4 weeks ahead of quoted delivery. Woo Hoo! To review, I ordered the .60mm model with the Sterling Silver bell. The finish is the same as Dave and John’s. No trigger.

A few initial impressions: The craftsmanship is impeccable. Flawless as far as I can see. It gets loud, with a slight edge. Coming from a Willson 2900, the tone is very different, broader and less focused. Intonation seems as advertised but it’s too early to say for certain as my chops are weak as I sold the Willson about 6 weeks ago and have been practicing sporadically on an old bell front horn I bought for use in MSU Alumni Marching Band reunions. Once I get my embouchure in shape, I’ll post more of my thoughts and some pictures. Thanks to all for your encouragement in this thread.

Looking forward to hearing your further impressions!

Just a note, which I have pointed out before (and have to remind myself about now and then). A heavy, well braced horn like a Willson can take being "pushed" into action. A horn like the Adams works best with a cooperative approach. The idea of making the horn from sheet metal is to give it the freedom to resonate along with your playing. So you don't want to "blow through" the horn. You want to resonate your tone production in the mouthpiece and then work on cooperating with the instrument. When you are doing it right, you will feel more vibration under your hands as the tubing and your vibrating column of sound are in a teamwork deal. Gee, that sounds wispy and silly, doesn't it? Basically, when I want to play loudly, I feel like I'm putting in a larger column of air, not forcing air at high speed.

Someday I'll figure out how to express this!

[MichaelSchott]

Looking forward to hearing your further impressions!

Just a note, which I have pointed out before (and have to remind myself about now and then). A heavy, well braced horn like a Willson can take being "pushed" into action. A horn like the Adams works best with a cooperative approach. The idea of making the horn from sheet metal is to give it the freedom to resonate along with your playing. So you don't want to "blow through" the horn. You want to resonate your tone production in the mouthpiece and then work on cooperating with the instrument. When you are doing it right, you will feel more vibration under your hands as the tubing and your vibrating column of sound are in a teamwork deal. Gee, that sounds wispy and silly, doesn't it? Basically, when I want to play loudly, I feel like I'm putting in a larger column of air, not forcing air at high speed.

Someday I'll figure out how to express this!

Thank you David. I’ll have to work on that concept. The horn surely vibrates way more than the 2900.

[John Morgan]

Ditto what Dave said. I think it took me a bit to really get the most out of my Adams. I mean, I liked it from the very start, but I "learned" how to approach it and play it better as time went on. I can get plenty loud if I need to.

Another way to look at it is by using my helicopter analogy. I learned how to fly a helicopter by first flying a TH-55 trainer (bubble job, 2 seater). It was pretty manual in how you handled it (as opposed to big time hydraulics and power stuff with the big copters). Then I transitioned into the Huey, which was way bigger, heavier, stronger, mightier, etc. But the controls felt like a bunch of power steering things that made flying this big helicopter easier. It took less effort than flying the little one. It responded immediately to my inputs.

Sort of like the Adams. Not that it is bigger, heavier, stronger, etc. than other top line horns. But that it feels like I have "power steering" when I play it. It responds easier than others. When I handle it right, it just really sings.

Now then, that sounded much more ridiculous than Dave's attempt above.

Michael, I am anxious to hear more from you about your E3. And pictures are always very welcome here!! Have fun with your new instrument!!