New Instrument

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello everyone,

On Friday 13th August 2021, I visited Charley Brighton to collect my 1916 dated Solbron Euphonium which has recently been restored to a fully playable condition.

During our time together, I was given the incredible opportunity to test a number of different vintage Euphonium models from Charley Brighton’s personal Euphonium collection which contains a range of instruments that were designed and manufactured from the early 1900’s right up to the present day. I was completely fascinated by how different each Euphonium sounded and I was also surprised at how little the original design of the Euphonium has changed over the course of the past century.

I have literally been playing non stop on this instrument since I got it home yesterday afternoon and I literally couldn't resist sharing some images of my day with you all on this forum post.









Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[Shinn]

Absolutely fantastic - congratulations!! The feeling of preserving the past and extending the life of a euphonium truly is rewarding. Your enthusiasm is also contagious which is encouraging to the forum members!

[Jharris]

Would love to hear it being played, I have a similar age euph and would love to know if it’s worth restoration!

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello everyone,

I have to admit that I spent yesterday playing through a set of Euphonium exercises that were written on Sunday 19th January 1903 by Thomas Conway Brown during his time at Knellar Hall.

I decided to record exercise number twelve from this set of exercises on my 1916 dated Solbron Euphonium which you can view on the following link - https://youtu.be/432XDtI14wk.

It is really amazing to hear that you have a similar Euphonium Jharris. I would also fully recommend exploring getting your Solbron Euphonium restored as they are absolutely superb instruments.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[Jharris]

Awesome, thanks Micah! I am convinced to save some pennies for a restoration at some point, I used the dying breaths of mine to complete my degree, then got it professionally cleaned and the muck seemed to have been what was holding it together!

Is yours still in High pitch or was it converted to A=440?

[MichaelSchott]

That must have been a high end horn in 1916. Never thought it would have a 4th valve. Interesting range in that exercise. Well played.

[davewerden]

These discussion cause me to wonder if a restored horn plays like the original horn when it was made. How well were the seams abutted originally, vs. did the restoration shop take it apart and put it back together "straighter"? Perhaps it plays better now than it did originally. Or not. Such things could make a difference...not that it matters at this point. But inquiring minds want to know!

[highpitch]

My '66 New Standard was totally rebuilt/restored by Dan Oberloh a few years ago.

It was taken down to individual components, and those perfected, and reassembled then perfectly replated.

It took over 2 years (with his schedule) and just over $3K.

Worth every penny to me, it plays much better than I do.

I'm trying to get him to go over my 1918 Hawkes & Son 3&1 the same way.

Bringing an old, high-end horn back to life is a very worthy endeavor in my opinion. They bring the voice back to what it was scored for originally.

I added a couple pix of the trigger detail, and how it looks finished on the horn.

Dennis

[aroberts781]

Bringing an old, high-end horn back to life is a very worthy endeavor in my opinion. They bring the voice back to what it was scored for originally.

Dennis

Really interesting point Dennis, this is something I was thinking while listening to Micah's superb recording that he shared.

Micah -- Congrats on the restoration, your playing of a 1903 exercise on a 1916 instrument sounded fantastic and I couldn't help but imagine I was watching living history before my eyes! Very cool.

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello everyone,

My 1916 dated Solbron Euphonium is in low pitch. I am absolutely blown away by the condition that this instrument is in considering that it is one hundred and five years old.

A lot of instruments made in the early 1900’s were made by hand by skilled labourers and you tend to find that the metal is thicker on older instruments than modern day instruments. It is interesting to consider that all brass instruments were a lot smaller in both bore and bell size than they are today so this must have had a more noticeable impact on the sound of the instruments and a bigger impact on how brass bands sounded back in the early 1900’s.

I absolutely love the Euphonium exercises that were written by Thomas Conway Brown and I really hope that in the future I will be able to discover a little more information about the history of my 1916 dated Solbron Euphonium.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello everyone,

Over the weekend, I was given the opportunity to explore the role of a bandsman serving with an infantry battalion during The First World War and I was able to get the following photograph which features a living history impression of myself and a friend serving with the battalion band of The 4th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers in early 1918. The instrument featured in this image is my 1916 dated Solbron Euphonium.



I really hope I will be able to learn a little more about the development of the Solbron Euphonium over the coming weeks and months ahead.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[davewerden]

Micah,

The attachment does not seem to work. Could you try uploading it again? Thanks.

[DEF1]

Hello everyone,

I have to admit that I spent yesterday playing through a set of Euphonium exercises that were written on Sunday 19th January 1903 by Thomas Conway Brown during his time at Knellar Hall.

I decided to record exercise number twelve from this set of exercises on my 1916 dated Solbron Euphonium which you can view on the following link - https://youtu.be/432XDtI14wk.

It is really amazing to hear that you have a similar Euphonium Jharris. I would also fully recommend exploring getting your Solbron Euphonium restored as they are absolutely superb instruments.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

Nice playing Micah and it sounds and looks like they’ve done an excellent job of restoring your euphonium.

I spent 2 years at Kneller Hall during my time as an army bandsman so I shut my eyes and imagined being back there whilst listening to your recording. It’s a shame it has now closed down, a lot of great musicians have been there over the years.

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello DEF1,

Thank you so much for your kind comments. I think that it is a total privilege to own this 1916 dated Solbron Euphonium and I really want to promote this almost forgotten about period of history with the wider community. I really hope that I will be able to discover some more detailed information about the Solbron range of instruments in the coming weeks and months ahead.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued help, support, interest and encouragement in this project.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons