Euphonium Material Customisation Options

[MDP.Micah.Dominic.Parsons]

Hello everyone,

Over the course of the past few months, I have had the pleasure of testing a number of leading Euphonium brands. At The European Brass Band Championships 2022, I got to meet Miel Adams and Ruud Corstjens and test The Adams E1 Euphonium and The Adams E2 Euphonium and this week, I had the opportunity to test The Geneva Oldroyd Cardinal Euphonium and The Geneva GVL Cardinal Euphonium.

I have been absolutely blown away by the innovations which is currently taking place in regards to the development of the Euphonium and it has made me curious to find out a little more about the differences between each of the leading Euphonium brands.

I have become rather curious about the specific materials used within the creation of each instrument and their impact on the overall quality of each instrument for example how does a Sterling Silver Bell on an Adams E2 Euphonium compare with the nickel bell of The Geneva GVL Cardinal Euphonium and the yellow brass bell of a Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium.

There are so many different choices currently on the market and I was curious in trying to find out more about the durability, responsiveness and overall affect that each metal material has on the overall instrument as a whole.

Thank you so much for all your help and support.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[miketeachesclass]

So what was your impression of the horns you played?

Hello everyone,

Over the course of the past few months, I have had the pleasure of testing a number of leading Euphonium brands. At The European Brass Band Championships 2022, I got to meet Miel Adams and Ruud Corstjens and test The Adams E1 Euphonium and The Adams E2 Euphonium and this week, I had the opportunity to test The Geneva Oldroyd Cardinal Euphonium and The Geneva GVL Cardinal Euphonium.

I have been absolutely blown away by the innovations which is currently taking place in regards to the development of the Euphonium and it has made me curious to find out a little more about the differences between each of the leading Euphonium brands.

I have become rather curious about the specific materials used within the creation of each instrument and their impact on the overall quality of each instrument for example how does a Sterling Silver Bell on an Adams E2 Euphonium compare with the nickel bell of The Geneva GVL Cardinal Euphonium and the yellow brass bell of a Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium.

There are so many different choices currently on the market and I was curious in trying to find out more about the durability, responsiveness and overall affect that each metal material has on the overall instrument as a whole.

Thank you so much for all your help and support.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[TheJH]

Glenn Van Looy actually had a Q&A on his Instagram page a while back, so I asked him if he had a specific reason for the metal types he used for his signature instrument.

His answer was that he chose nickel silver for the bell mainly because he felt it projected better compared to normal yellow brass, as well as changing the sound profile more to his liking.

[davewerden]

I wish I had an opinion on the Geneva (with ANY options). They have not been present at any booth for any conferences I attended.

You may want to see this thread for a discussion of 2 Adams configurations:

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...-Adams-Options

An interesting comparison of 2 Adams euphoniums. My own has a sterling silver bell, which gives it a fine tone color and great power-handling ability. But that bell adds over $2,000 to the price! I compared my Adams E3 to another E3 that is made of yellow brass, but of heavier metal (.70mm vs. my own .60mm). The weight adds some nice qualities, and yellow brass is a very friendly material (it does not require as much player expertise to get the best out of it). Listen to the A/B comparison and see what you think. Is mine worth $2k+ more? Or do you actually prefer the other horn? The yellow brass is "A" and mine is "B" in this video. (Oh, and I asked for the yellow horn to have gold, satin lacquer over polished brass.)

[davewerden]

And here is a video comparing an Adams E1 and E3, which are configured the same:

[davewerden]

Speaking of options, here is one of the most subtle, but it still matters. I'm comparing the stainless steel receiver bit with the stock nickel silver receiver bit.

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...Steel-Receiver

[miketeachesclass]

I wish I had an opinion on the Geneva (with ANY options). They have not been present at any booth for any conferences I attended.

Geneva is hard to get in the USA. As far as I know, only one dealer really Carrie’s anything, and they’re hard to get in touch with.

I played the GVL with a nickel bell, and an oldroyd Cardinal with a rose brass bell. They’re nice horns. I find the nickel too bright.

Daniel Thomas from black dyke plays one. As I understand it he also used a non nickel bell material to get the sound he wanted.

They’re still made in the Czech Republic, and there has apparently been some upheaval there recently.

[MDP.Micah.Dominic.Parsons]

Hello everyone,

I have been really impressed with the overall quality of all of the instruments that I have tested. I have to admit that I liked The Adams E2 Euphonium and The Geneva GVL Euphonium best of all out of all the instruments that I tested.

In regards to your question Dave, I think I prefer the sound of your horn, I like the darker sound that you make although it took me a while to reach this decision. I have to admit that when I have tested instruments like The Besson Sovereign 967T and The Adams E1 Euphonium that I have really liked how responsive the instruments have been but it has not really suited me within a brass band situation.

I am hoping to test a Geneva GVL Cardinal Euphonium with a full nickel bell in the near future so I will keep you all updated.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons