Wessex Dolce Review

[DaveBj]

I've been saving up for a new euphonium, originally planning on the new Wessex duplex, but after having second thoughts, I was looking at the Dolce, if only I could get a chance to actually test-play one. That chance came at this summer's IET, when one of my friends showed up with a six-month-old silver Dolce. I was very impressed with how it played, especially the intonation, so when I got home I pulled the trigger and ordered one. Here is my review.

Customer service -- top-notch. Emails were answered promptly, and the horn was in my hands less than a week after I placed the order.

Shipping -- again, full points. The horn was shipped in its case, with a "hat" to protect the bell. The case was wrapped in plastic and snuggled in a very sturdy two-ply corrugated cardboard box with formed styrofoam padding at either end. I got the impression that the box could have been delivered by dropping it out of a USAF C-17 at 35,000 feet, and the horn would have survived the fall and landing. In reality, the delivery was made by Fedex Ground, signature required, and the box had barely a mark on it.

Appearance -- points deducted for very noticeable buff / swirl marks at some places. I was not happy with that, but I will accept it on a $1500 horn. Had it been a top-line horn, I would not have taken it out of the store. That said, from a short distance,it looks gorgeous -- silver with gold-plated valve caps (top and bottom), finger buttons, 4th-valve tab, and grime gutter. Yes, a gold-plated grime gutter -- is that the height of decadence, or what? As for the swirl marks, if anyone has any hints for getting rid of them without damaging the rest of the finish, I'm paying attention. The horn came with a "Wessex 4Y" mouthpiece. I know nothing about the original on which this piece may have been modeled, except that it doesn't feel much different from my Denis Wick 4ABL, except that the rim may be a little thicker. In any case, I replaced it with my 4ABL almost immediately.

Action -- full points. All slides move easily, even before the application of any lubrication; granted, my experience is limited, but I've never had a horn with such easy-working slides. The valves were also very smooth, with no hint of the "catchiness" that sometimes plagues new horns. After a month of frequent cleaning of valves and cylinders and reoiling of valves, they are even more buttery smooth, and I'm now getting very little black grime on my cleaning cloth.

Tone -- The Dolce is the same basic design as my 6-year-old "Schiller", about whose tone I have always received very favorable comments from the pro artists at the five IET Festivals that I have attended. I am the wrong person to ask about tone quality; I am a geezer, almost totally deaf in my right ear, and with a high-frequency deficit in my left. That said, I believe that the tone of the Dolce is just a tad brighter than that of the "Schiller". That's a Good Thing; in general, I prefer a brighter tone to a darker one, as long as it doesn't start sounding like a trombone. I played in a church homecoming music program a couple weeks ago, and one of my cousins, who has heard me play a number of times and who likes my playing, said that it was the best that I had ever sounded.

In order to break this up, I'm going to put the intonation information in the comments below.

[DaveBj]

Intonation -- The boast on the Wessex website is that the Dolce's intonation is so good that it doesn't need a trigger. The proof is in the tuner. I gave myself a month of almost daily playing to get used to the horn, and then I set up two tests, one with my own mouthpiece, and one with the supplied mouthpiece. Each time I played for about 30 minutes to get myself and the horn completely warmed up, and then I went to work. My procedure for something like this is to close my eyes, play the note with as neutral an embouchure as I know how to do, and them open my eyes to see where the needle is pointing.

First, with the 4ABL:
-- Tuning Bb is good with the main slide out 2 cm.
-- A is good with the 2nd valve slide all the way in.
-- Ab is good with the 1st valve slide out 12 mm; the remainder of the test was conducted with the slide at this extension.
-- G (12) is good.
-- G (3) is good with the 3rd valve slide out 8 mm.
-- Gb is 15 cents flat, but lippable to the correct intonation (unless I say differently, all out-of-tune notes can be assumed to be lippable).
-- F (open) is about 15 cents sharp.
-- F (4) is good with the 4th valve slide out 17 mm.
-- E (2) is good; with 2+4 it is 10 cents flat.
-- Eb is good.
-- D (12) is good.
-- D (3) is good.
-- Db is 15 cents sharp.
-- C (4) is good.
-- B (1+4) is 20 cents flat (that seems to run with the design; my "Schiller" is badly flat on this note).
-- Low Bb is 25 cents sharp, and it's hard to lip down.
-- 5th partial D is 10 cents sharp; played with 12 or 3 it's good.
-- Db (2) is good; played with 2+3 it's 15 cents sharp.
-- C (1) is 20 cents flat; played with 4, it's 15 cents flat.
-- B (1+2) is 25 cents flat; played with 3, it's 30 cents flat and difficult to tune by lipping.
-- 5th-partial F played open in 20 cents sharp and difficult to pull down. Played with 4, it's good.
-- E (2) is good.
-- Eb (1) is 5 cents flat.
-- Going up from the F, Gb is good.
-- G (1+2) is 5 cents flat; played with 3, it's 15 cents flat.
-- Ab (1) is 15 cents flat, but played with 2+3, it's only 5 cents flat.
-- A (2) is 5 cents flat.
-- High Bb open is 25 cents sharp, and lipping at this range is starting to get dangerous. Played with 1, it's good; with 2+3, it's 10 cents flat.

[DaveBj]

Here are the results with the supplied Wessex mouthpiece:

-- Tuning Bb required another centimeter out with the main slide
-- A is 5 cents flat, and with the slide all the way in, there's no way to correct except to lip it up.
-- Ab is good with the 1st valve slide out the same 12 mm.
-- G (1+2) is good; with 3 required that the slide be pushed all the way in.
-- Gb was good with the 3rd valve slide out 12 mm.
-- Open F was good; with the 4th valve, good with the slide out the same 17 mm as above.
-- E is good.
-- Eb is 10 cents flat.
-- D (1+2) is good; with 3, it's 5 cents flat.
-- Db is good.
-- C is good.
-- B is 30 cents flat.
-- Low Bb is 15 cents sharp.
-- 5th partial D is good open or with 1+2; with 3 it's 5 cents flat.
-- Db (2) is 5 cents flat; good with 2+3.
-- C (1) is 30 cents flat and barely lippable; not much better (25 cents flat) with the 4th valve.
-- B (1+2) is 40 cents flat and barely lippable; with 3 it's 45 cents flat and forget about it.
-- Sixth partial F open is 5 cents sharp; with the 4th valve it is 15 cents flat.
-- E and Eb are good.
-- Gb is 10 cents flat.
-- G (1+2) is 10 cents flat; with 3 it is 20 cents flat and barely lippable.
-- Ab (1) is 25 cents flat and barely lippable; with 2+3 it is 15 cents flat.
-- A is 15 cents flat whether played with 2 or with 1+2.
-- High Bb open is 15 cents sharp and not lippable; with 1 it is good, and with 2+3 it is 20 cents flat.

[RickF]

Congrats David! Thanks for taking the time to do such a well thought out review. Excellent!!

[John Morgan]

Congratulations on the new horn and solid review, David. I have had my Dolce about 6 months longer than my Adams E3, which is a little over 2 years. Don't play the Dolce too much, but sure did like it when it was my only horn for a while. I get it out and use it occasionally and am reminded each time how nice it is. I think you will enjoy yours.

[guidocorona]

Hello John, as you own and have experience with both Dolce and E3, could you comment on the relative merits and differences in intonation between the two euphs?

That is, attempting to compare apples to apples, I'd be especially interested in your comments about intonation differences between the two euphs when you do not apply trigger to E3.


Regards, Guido

[John Morgan]

Hello John, as you own and have experience with both Dolce and E3, could you comment on the relative merits and differences in intonation between the two euphs?

That is, attempting to compare apples to apples, I'd be especially interested in your comments about intonation differences between the two euphs when you do not apply trigger to E3.

Regards, Guido

Guido - I did quite a bit of testing and checking intonation on my Adams when I got it. My particular horn borders on being a tad flat in that I have to warm up in order to avoid having the main tuning slide all the way in. When I am fully warmed up, I have the main slide out about 1/2 inch. Checking the tuning on all the notes up and down the horn once warmed up results in a horn that is very well in tune. The concert pitched G in the bass clef staff is a little sharp with 1&2, but not much. I do usually use 3 with this note if I hold it for any length at all. The high Ab is a little flat. Playing low C with 1&3 results in sharpness, so I usually always use 4. I rarely use my trigger on the E3 and really probably don't even need it. But still glad I have it. The E above the staff and F play a tiny bit sharp, but not much.

I didn't do a ton of checking on the Wessex, just a little when I first got it. The plan was to have it for half a year awaiting the new Adams to be done. Then sell it off. I liked it so much, I decided to keep it and still have it. If you look at Dave's intonation charts ( http://www.dwerden.com/Intonation/ ) you can see his results on the Wessex, and on the Adams E3. That is probably a better synopsis of the differences in intonation between the two horns than my less than rigorous testing, especially with the Wessex. The Adams is better overall than the Wessex, but both horns are very playable without the trigger.

[DaveBj]

. . . but both horns are very playable without the trigger.

I can't speak to the intonation on the E3, but I think that the Dolce does need a trigger for the notes in the upper octave. I don't like having to use an alternate fingering to keep the high Bb (for example) in tune.

Different subject -- what's up with the terribly flat low B natural? Is that just me, or is it characteristic of the Chinese horns (my "Schiller" is also very flat on that note), or do other makes have the same problem? From an acoustic point of view, if the open horn is in tune, and the 2nd valve is in tune, and the 4th valve is in tune, I don't understand why the 2+4 low B should be so far flat.

[RickF]

The low B natural concert is flat on my Yamaha 641 too. I remember Dave Werden posting that it’s probably because they can’t make the compensating loop on the second valve any shorter. Makes sense. On my M5050 it’s a little low but lipable.

[John Morgan]

Low B natural is a little low on my Wessex but just about right on the Adams. I noticed the Adams 2nd valve compensating loop is smaller (shorter) than the Wessex 2nd valve compensating loop. Could be some of the difference.

As David Bjornstad remarked above about needing a trigger on the Wessex for the notes in the upper octave, I will agree that a trigger, if available, would be useful on the Wessex. More so than on the Adams, even though I like having one. I can lip the notes to a satisfactory tuning on either horn, but I would find a trigger especially handy on at least a couple notes on the Wessex - F above the staff, perhaps high Bb as well.

My Wessex seems to do a little better than Dave's intonation chart shows, so perhaps there is some difference in the horns being built. Mine is from about 2 1/2 years ago. Not sure what vintage the Wessex Dolce is that Dave used for his tests. Or if David Bjornstad's horn performs differently from mine intonation wise.