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Thread: Mack Brass EU5500 (ZO)

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Summerville (SC)
    Posts
    483
    Hello Dean, it is my understanding that MackBrass has distribution exclusivity for EU5500 in the United States. Hence we do not see EU5500 when opening the native zoindustrial.com site from the US.

    This implies that some versions of the ZOIndustrial.com site visible from other regions may or may not list some variants of EU5500, depending on the existance of any applicable local distribution agreements.

    G.
    M5050L - DC2&3, SM2&4U, BT16, Carbonaria Heavy & New
    Wessex EP104 Festivo - available
    Carolbrass CCR7772 Bb cornet - Available

  2. Thanks again, Guido. This is correct. Mack has exclusive distribution in the USA, which affects all that web licensing stuff that’s way over my head. LOL

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Summerville (SC)
    Posts
    483
    All, I chatted with Chris Lair yesterday. As promised, below is a quick summary of what I learned about EU5500, which may complement the info on horn’s home page.

    The list price of EU5500 is as follows:

    Silver plated with spring-loaded MTS trigger: $3895
    Silver plated with Gold trims, and spring-loaded MTS trigger: $4195

    The bell is made from yellow brass by default.

    A variety of finish options are available as special orders. For example:

    Gold brass bell instead of YB: Probably a $300 upcharge.
    Brushed silver plated bell: Pricing not specified.
    No MTS trigger: Chris will research pricing difference with the ZO factory.

    EU5500 is aimed at intermediate up to professional musicians.

    EU5500 is not made from tubing. Instead, it is hand-crafted from sheet metal, and its bell is hand-hammered.

    After some two years of development, EU5500 is almost finalized. According to Chris, this horn is an original design, inspired by the Willson 2950 in overall body plan, as well as tonal consistency across the range. Yet, EU5500 has achieved a considerable flexibility in tone color and expressivity all its own.

    The Current pre-production unit in Chris’s office features two water keys, one on the main slide, and the other one on the 3rd slide…. Future versions may improve on water key design, placement, and potentially number of water keys.

    Finalized production units might arrive with the next shipment, hopefully by the end of September 2021.

    The supplied hard Case features wheels, backpack straps, and the horn is further protected inside the case by a hard foam shell.

    The supplied mouthpiece resembles a little bit “Wick 3”.

    A drip-guard is standard with this euphonium.

    Threading on top/bottom caps is said to work smoothly…. Caps are not prone to cross-threading.

    While no online videos are available yet, Chris is working on a demo video… We'll stay tuned.

    Mackbrass will be showcasing EU500 at upcoming US national brass shows, as well as music education venues, and some regional conferences as well.

    That's all I have for now. I'll add more information as I find out.

    Regards, Guido
    Last edited by guidocorona; 08-31-2021 at 02:53 PM.
    M5050L - DC2&3, SM2&4U, BT16, Carbonaria Heavy & New
    Wessex EP104 Festivo - available
    Carolbrass CCR7772 Bb cornet - Available

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    NYC metro area
    Posts
    523
    Quote Originally Posted by guidocorona View Post
    All, I chatted with Chris Lair yesterday. As promised, below is a quick summary of what I learned about EU5500, which may complement the info on horn’s home page.[snip]
    The Current pre-production unit in Chris’s office features two water keys, one on the main slide, and the other one on the 3rd slide…. Future versions may improve on water key design, placement, and potentially number of water keys. [snip]
    Thanks for posting that, Guido. I'm pleased to read that they paid attention to the threading issue, but I'm surprised at the lack of a water key on the first valve slide. I imagine they'll get a good amount of feedback about that.
    Dean L. Surkin
    Mack Brass MACK-EU1150S, BB1 mouthpiece
    Bach 36B trombone; Bach 6.5AL and Faxx 7C mouthpieces (pBone on loan to granddaughter)
    Steinway 1902 Model A, restored by AC Pianocraft in 1988; Kawai MP8, Yamaha KX-76
    See my avatar: Jazz (the black cockapoo; RIP) and Delilah (the cavapoo) keep me company while practicing

  5. Hi Dean. The first valve water key (or lack of) has already been addressed and is in the works. In addition, we are working on moving to a more efficient version of water keys and also better locations on the slides themselves. Thanks so much for the feedback as it is very welcome! The craftsmen at ZO have proven to be very flexible and thorough when working toward improvements, so they've really been a joy to work with. Of course there are many different personal opinions and preferences out there, but when we see something that will definitely improve the overall design for most customers we're on it asap. Thanks again and keep it coming!

  6. Been looking to upgrade to a more modern euphonium and have heard a lot of good stuff about Mack Brass on this forum. Got pointed to them from my instrument repair guy and started the research. Come to find out they are close to my location. Had looked and played the 1150 several months ago and was seriously considering it at the time. Wanted one more look before placing an order. Chris had the final version of the 5500 available so I did a brief side by side by side demo ( had my old horn in the trunk of my car). Very impressed with the 5500. What won me over was the sound the 5500 produced. Valve operation was what I wanted to see, the horn resonated well. Had great control of dynamics. Notes slotted well for me. So placed a deposit down on the 5500. Chris was fantastic to work with and we talked about the horn and the progress to get it to this level. Oh and the engraving on the bell is fantastic. Yes it was more money than I planned on spending but after my demo, believe well worth the price difference for any serious euphoniumist and will be able to do anything with it I can master. Already thinking of how it will sound with some of the music I am working on now!

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Summerville (SC)
    Posts
    483
    Hello Tomahawk, this is exciting!

    When will you be taking delivery of your 5500? I know that Chris was expecting a shipment to be arriving at MackBrass just around this time.... Or perhaps you have order a custom finish and will have to wait for a spell for your unit to be built?

    Can you tell us a bit more about 5500's tone across the range? .... It is after all the euphonium with the largest bell flair that I have found, at least nominally so.

    I hope that when you take delivery of your unit you will post a good video putting it through its paces

    Regards, guido
    M5050L - DC2&3, SM2&4U, BT16, Carbonaria Heavy & New
    Wessex EP104 Festivo - available
    Carolbrass CCR7772 Bb cornet - Available

  8. #18
    Great to have new euphonium options!
    Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium, Denis Wick 4AL

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