Willson 2900S. Time for a new version?

[MichaelSchott]

The Willson 2900 is an iconic euphonium which for years has been the standard for concert band use. Until relatively recently there has been little direct competition but now the Shires Q41, Adams E2 and others are attacking its faults. These seem to be the quirky intonation (flat A concert in treble clef staff and sharp F concert a third lower) and the difficulty in changing tonality. As far as I known Willson hasn’t made any modifications to the 2900 since the mid-80’s. I wonder if this has hurt their market share or caused them to rethink the design. I sold mine a year ago and our friend Ben Dawley has moved to the Shires for his concert band horn. Others such as Bente Illevold, Hiram Diaz, Brandon Jones and others have become Shires artists on their Q41’s. Do you think it’s time for Willson to redesign the 2900S?

[davewerden]

You bring up a good point. Of course Willson made the 2950, but I don't think players of the 2900 cared much for it. The 2950 might have been intended to compete with the Hirsbrunner??

The 2960 seemed to follow the 2900 in some ways, at least based on my testing. It regained some of the charm of the 2900 (that was not there on the 2950) and added a tonal flavor I preferred.

FWIW, here are intonation charts of the Willson 2900 (with a label of "Willson"), Willson 2950, and Shires Q41. One has a variety of tendencies to choose from!

[bdawley81]

The Willson 2900 is an iconic euphonium which for years has been the standard for concert band use. Until relatively recently there has been little direct competition but now the Shires Q41, Adams E2 and others are attacking its faults. These seem to be the quirky intonation (flat A concert in treble clef staff and sharp F concert a third lower) and the difficulty in changing tonality. As far as I known Willson hasn’t made any modifications to the 2900 since the mid-80’s. I wonder if this has hurt their market share or caused them to rethink the design. I sold mine a year ago and our friend Ben Dawley has moved to the Shires for his concert band horn. Others such as Bente Illevold, Hiram Diaz, Brandon Jones and others have become Shires artists on their Q41’s. Do you think it’s time for Willson to redesign the 2900S?

I definitely think some modifications need to be made to address two main things:
1. The inherent intonation issues - I found I was having to do a lot of lipping gymnastics when especially playing in ensembles.
2. The lack of flexibility of the 2900. It is a great euphonium for what it does, but it is built like a tank (for better or for worse), and doesn’t totally fit (for me) the brass band timbre.

As per usual, the quality of build and sound are great, so I’m not knocking the Willson, but it is just a couple steps away from being even better. Shires has certainly done their homework in the production of this instrument. As a side note, the valves on the Shires are stellar as well.