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Thread: FS: Sterling Virtuoso 4-Valve Euphonium In Silver/Gold w Trigger

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA, USA
    Posts
    102
    Quote Originally Posted by Arnbone Euph View Post
    . . . the odd playing angle one is forced to use because of the position of the lead pipe. That does give me pause. . .

    I wonder how the sound does compare to ADAMS E3, YEP-842, and other high end horns.
    I play a goldbrass-bell Virtuoso (son's hand-me-down).
    The straight-out horn position is cumbersome, especially for standing, but it's better ergo to ease the fingering strain on my right forearm. Overall, I'd prefer a more "traditional" position, given the option, but it's not a big deal.
    In blind sound-tests, we preferred my son's Sterling tone over the E3 sterling bell and all the Yamahas, which seemed to have too much of that Yamaha "pure" silvery, brittle sound.
    The one vexing "hmm, maybe I should shop for a different horn" issue: I have to keep the Sterling super clean or the 2nd valve sticks badly (probably unique to my particular sample).
    My other complaints:
    concert BNat an octave above the staff seats poorly and only plays on 2nd valve. D above it won't seat clean for me - those might be me, not the horn, but neither my Willson 2975 nor 2900 acted this way. High concert C sits well using 1&3.
    I prefer a horn that slots a bit tighter, but that's totally personal player preference.
    Concert G in the staff is best tuned on 3rd valve, but that's common and not a deal-breaker.
    Biggest playing beef is that the scale's not as even as on my son's Prestige, but again, that might be unique to my sample, and it doesn't affect the final result - it's just not as fun for me, as the player.
    Last edited by tokuno; 12-07-2022 at 12:17 PM.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Valley City, North Dakota, USA
    Posts
    1,314
    Yeah, my Adams lead pipe looks pretty “straight”. (Parallel to the ground when horn is perfectly upright.)
    Groups
    Valley City Community Band
    Valley City State University Concert Band
    2024 North Dakota Intercollegiate Band (you're never too old!)


    Larry Herzog Jr.

    All things EUPHONIUM! Guilded server

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA, USA
    Posts
    102
    Quote Originally Posted by iMav View Post
    Yeah, my Adams lead pipe looks pretty “straight”. (Parallel to the ground when horn is perfectly upright.)
    I think that's a different axis.
    In the Sterling's situation, the leadpipe sticks more straight out to the side of the horn instead of curling around the bell so you end up holding the horn so it juts out and away from your chest. You can't cuddle it.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Valley City, North Dakota, USA
    Posts
    1,314
    Ahhh. Got it. Need to check my horn again!
    Groups
    Valley City Community Band
    Valley City State University Concert Band
    2024 North Dakota Intercollegiate Band (you're never too old!)


    Larry Herzog Jr.

    All things EUPHONIUM! Guilded server

  5. The modern professional euphoniums such as Besson Prestige, Sterling Virtuoso, Adams (any model), Miraphone, etc all use the "straighter" leadpipe. The major benefit of positioning the horn (especially the valve body) out straighter from the body is that one keeps the elbow up higher rather down against the body and strain on the wrist, fingers, and forearm is reduced. This makes fast and efficient finger action for technical passages more efficient. Yes, when standing, more stress is placed on the left arm to hold the horn up. The solution is to "cradle" the horn in the left arm rather than just hold it up with the left wrist or right thumb via the valve body handhold. The other benefit is in breathing since the body of the horn is out away from your stomach and diaphragm. For someone like myself (5' 11" 225lbs), this is very helpful.

    Horns such as all Yamaha (AFAIK), Besson Sovereign, and almost any horn targeted at younger or intermediate players tend to have the more traditional wrap-around leadpipe. This puts the elbow lower and closer to the body as well which makes fingering less efficient but helps provide more support of the weight of the horn through the right arm.

    I greatly prefer the straighter leadpipe.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

  6. #16
    Thanks so much Doug and Dave for clarifying how the straight lead pipe can be an advantage and is preferred by many. That is very nice to know and gives me encouragement.
    Arnold (Arnie) Williams
    Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium with Gold Brass bell (Capitol Pops Band, Capitol Pops Tuba Euphonium Quartet)
    Yamaha YBH-831S Neo Baritone Horn (Joyous Brass, First Baritone)
    Yamaha YBH-301M Marching Baritone (Ophir Prison Marching Kazoo Band and Temperance Society LMTD)
    Yamaha YEP-830 Xeno Bass Trombone (Sacramento Concert Band)
    Euphonium: DW Heritage 4AL (main); K&G 3D (Ophir Prison Band)
    Bass Trombone: Ferguson M Series Jeff Reynolds

  7. #17
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Valley City, North Dakota, USA
    Posts
    1,314
    I’ve got a variety of different gadgets to help support my horn while standing. (Haven’t settled on one yet!)
    Groups
    Valley City Community Band
    Valley City State University Concert Band
    2024 North Dakota Intercollegiate Band (you're never too old!)


    Larry Herzog Jr.

    All things EUPHONIUM! Guilded server

  8. #18
    I absolutely love my Sterling Virtuoso. You'll be lucky if you win it at that price.
    Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium, Denis Wick 4AL

  9. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by daruby View Post
    The modern professional euphoniums such as Besson Prestige, Sterling Virtuoso, Adams (any model), Miraphone, etc all use the "straighter" leadpipe. The major benefit of positioning the horn (especially the valve body) out straighter from the body is that one keeps the elbow up higher rather down against the body and strain on the wrist, fingers, and forearm is reduced. This makes fast and efficient finger action for technical passages more efficient. Yes, when standing, more stress is placed on the left arm to hold the horn up. The solution is to "cradle" the horn in the left arm rather than just hold it up with the left wrist or right thumb via the valve body handhold. The other benefit is in breathing since the body of the horn is out away from your stomach and diaphragm. For someone like myself (5' 11" 225lbs), this is very helpful.

    Horns such as all Yamaha (AFAIK), Besson Sovereign, and almost any horn targeted at younger or intermediate players tend to have the more traditional wrap-around leadpipe. This puts the elbow lower and closer to the body as well which makes fingering less efficient but helps provide more support of the weight of the horn through the right arm.

    I greatly prefer the straighter leadpipe.

    Doug
    The part about cradling the euph is rather interesting, as I've been holding it up (even when seated). It always felt rather straining for me. Will definitely try out cradling my horn and see if it works better
    "Never over complicate things. Accept "bad" days. Always enjoy yourself when playing, love the sound we can make on our instruments (because that's why we all started playing the Euph)"

    Euph: Yamaha 642II Neo - 千歌音
    Mouthpiece: K&G 4D, Denis Wick 5AL

    https://soundcloud.com/ashsparkle_chika
    https://www.youtube.com/user/AshTSparkle/

  10. #20
    Happy to report that I was able to buy the Sterling and even worked out with my bank their double billing on the purchase. I'm a very happy camper. Now should I go with an Alliance DC4 mouthpiece for this horn or is there a better choice. I think I have a Yamaha equivalent of the Shilke 51D in my bass trombone as a backup mouthpiece but for the new-to-me Sterling, I'm thinking I need it to have its own perfect-for-it mouthpiece.


    Opinions?

    --Arnie
    Last edited by Arnbone Euph; 12-09-2022 at 07:16 PM.
    Arnold (Arnie) Williams
    Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium with Gold Brass bell (Capitol Pops Band, Capitol Pops Tuba Euphonium Quartet)
    Yamaha YBH-831S Neo Baritone Horn (Joyous Brass, First Baritone)
    Yamaha YBH-301M Marching Baritone (Ophir Prison Marching Kazoo Band and Temperance Society LMTD)
    Yamaha YEP-830 Xeno Bass Trombone (Sacramento Concert Band)
    Euphonium: DW Heritage 4AL (main); K&G 3D (Ophir Prison Band)
    Bass Trombone: Ferguson M Series Jeff Reynolds

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