First of all, I am putting up two videos to compare my limited rusty embouchure on both the Wessex Sinfonico and a Besson Imperial from the 80s
Imperial:
https://youtu.be/ElknpYYWtBU
Sinfonico:
https://youtu.be/qSEJXsWVzEM
I figure that this is the sort of “upgrade” consideration that the typical Wessex customer will be ruminating over. As a Adams/Geneva/Prestige/Neo owner/buying power I rightly or wrongly would assume that these people might prefer staying with tried and trusted models and brand names.
The Imperial is on its last legs, you can hear and feel air escaping, it’s had new corks etc. To no avail, air it leaking out of the seams and it would need 2k’s worth of restoration… But, you do get an idea of how I sound on it.
I think I sound pretty similar, if not identical on both instruments, which in my head confirms that the person has a bigger impact on sound than the instrument.
The Sinfonico feels more resonant, but that isn’t reflected on my iphones recording ability.
If somebody else’s unbiased ears hear a clear difference, better or worse, feel free to let me know.
This is after about 20hrs playing.
Build:
Weight is not that much lighter than the 80s imperial, but you can tell.
Threads on valves have already improved at finding the correct path.
Valves are bedding in nicely, I certainly can’t play faster than the valves can return.
Compression when pulling the valves has eased of, and seems normal to any other instruments I have played.
Ergonomics:
Despite me “feeling” that the Sinfonico was thinner when I look at the video it doesn’t get held differently.
I have never felt that any Euph brand/model was odd to hold, so I probably am not sensitive to the minute changes that euph designs have between models.
Intonation/range:
I am playing on a Alliance DC3, which might play a bigger factor for this, but I realise that I made out that the Sinfonico allowed higher notes than other euphs, I tried again on the imperial for a giggle and able to squeeze out the same ridiculous notes, but it definitely required more air and mouthpiece pressure compared to the Sinfonico.
I am still adjusting my larger main tuning slide, which to my mind confirms that any overall sharpness is because of overblowing from the player and not fundamental instrument design error. I might end up on the smaller MTS but time will tell.
Tone/sound quality:
To my ears when listening back to my phones recordings of both the Imperial and the Sinfonico, they are pretty much identical to my ears.
I have had instruments that remove something from my sound, my experiences with student model Jupiter’s and Besson Prestige’s come to mind, so not saying that tone and sound quality it is completely the player, but I am happy with the sound from both the Sinfonico and the Imperial, so the rest is completely down to me.
Final verdict:
Very happy with the Sinfonico, it gives me the sound that I wanted to recapture from my first experiences from playing the Euph, whilst affording me some modern design and build advantages.
It is staying with me.
Would happily recommend this instrument to any level of player beginner to professional.
Only thing I haven’t done is play it within an ensemble, but it’s sound profile similarities to the Imperial, would give me the confidence to just slot right in without a second thought.
Imperial:
https://youtu.be/ElknpYYWtBU
Sinfonico:
https://youtu.be/qSEJXsWVzEM
I figure that this is the sort of “upgrade” consideration that the typical Wessex customer will be ruminating over. As a Adams/Geneva/Prestige/Neo owner/buying power I rightly or wrongly would assume that these people might prefer staying with tried and trusted models and brand names.
The Imperial is on its last legs, you can hear and feel air escaping, it’s had new corks etc. To no avail, air it leaking out of the seams and it would need 2k’s worth of restoration… But, you do get an idea of how I sound on it.
I think I sound pretty similar, if not identical on both instruments, which in my head confirms that the person has a bigger impact on sound than the instrument.
The Sinfonico feels more resonant, but that isn’t reflected on my iphones recording ability.
If somebody else’s unbiased ears hear a clear difference, better or worse, feel free to let me know.
This is after about 20hrs playing.
Build:
Weight is not that much lighter than the 80s imperial, but you can tell.
Threads on valves have already improved at finding the correct path.
Valves are bedding in nicely, I certainly can’t play faster than the valves can return.
Compression when pulling the valves has eased of, and seems normal to any other instruments I have played.
Ergonomics:
Despite me “feeling” that the Sinfonico was thinner when I look at the video it doesn’t get held differently.
I have never felt that any Euph brand/model was odd to hold, so I probably am not sensitive to the minute changes that euph designs have between models.
Intonation/range:
I am playing on a Alliance DC3, which might play a bigger factor for this, but I realise that I made out that the Sinfonico allowed higher notes than other euphs, I tried again on the imperial for a giggle and able to squeeze out the same ridiculous notes, but it definitely required more air and mouthpiece pressure compared to the Sinfonico.
I am still adjusting my larger main tuning slide, which to my mind confirms that any overall sharpness is because of overblowing from the player and not fundamental instrument design error. I might end up on the smaller MTS but time will tell.
Tone/sound quality:
To my ears when listening back to my phones recordings of both the Imperial and the Sinfonico, they are pretty much identical to my ears.
I have had instruments that remove something from my sound, my experiences with student model Jupiter’s and Besson Prestige’s come to mind, so not saying that tone and sound quality it is completely the player, but I am happy with the sound from both the Sinfonico and the Imperial, so the rest is completely down to me.
Final verdict:
Very happy with the Sinfonico, it gives me the sound that I wanted to recapture from my first experiences from playing the Euph, whilst affording me some modern design and build advantages.
It is staying with me.
Would happily recommend this instrument to any level of player beginner to professional.
Only thing I haven’t done is play it within an ensemble, but it’s sound profile similarities to the Imperial, would give me the confidence to just slot right in without a second thought.
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