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I've been out of touch with the newer euphs that have come out over the past decade or so. Now that my military career as a euphonium player may be coming to an end, I would be in the market for a horn of my own to finish up school with. Does anyone have any recommendations or reviews out there for the new euphs in circulation? Spending over 8-9 thousand for a horn is out of the question for me at the moment so anyone suggestions would be appreciated

Hi-
MACK Brass 1150 Silver Compensating Euphonium...$995 plus shipping....

... or Wessex Dolce cantabile ... mine is an older version I bought used, it plays well, and pretty much in tune except for 4+2 which is a tad low on mine. Check Werdens tuning charts if you want to see his results which match my findings. There are better euphs in this world, but the Dolce is pretty much unbeaten (maybe except Mack Brass, I don't know these) in quality-price ratio.

Alternatively a good used instrument, of course. I have seen Besson Sovereign 3+1 used for around 3000,- to 3500,- $, but Denmark is always more expensive than US.

I like my Wessex Dolce.

I appreciate the feedback. Of those mentioned, what would be some of the negatives as compared to the more popular, expensive horns? Bigger intonation issues, back pressure, valve motion, etc.

Pm sent.

I just posted about a Besson New Standard that might be a very good choice for you. You can buy it outright for $1,400, which is a very nice price (this is not my instrument):

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthread ... mpensating

I just picked up a JP 274 that I am really happy with. Great horn and great price!

I recently picked up the John Packer Sterling BARITONE from bloke and it's a very nice horn (and I still need to write a decent post about it...). I imagine the euphonium equivalent is at the very least decent.

The Yamaha YEP-321 is always an old favorite, and you can find them used for ~$1000 on a regular basis. Ymmv on the 4th valve configuration but sound and playability are great.

New horn prices are crazy lately. A euphonium you could buy for $5000 10 years ago costs $8-9000 now.

bloke wrote:Yamaha style: Mack Brass from Tom
Besson style: John Packer (JP274) from me, or someone else

The JP is better than it should be for the price. I have the one with the tuning trigger for the little doubling I do. It's a solid instrument.

Old thread, but I was at Tuba Exchange yesterday and spent some time on the 374. I was very impressed. Enough to almost make me leave my Willson 2704 there for them to sell on consignment, but then I would not have a euphonium for a while. They did not have a 274 to compare. I think my local music store may be able to get one of those on a trial basis.

Another vote for the Wessex Festivo. Quiet valves, front action, 4 inline. Compensated. It is more ergonomic than other euphs because it keeps your arms low. To me it sounds great, and has a nice low range. I like the sound better than the Dolce, but of course the Festivo costs more, it's just under $2k.

Besson BE165. No intonation quirks. Large shank. Plastic coated springs and a water catcher. Designed after the Sovereign range by Besson. All horns are inspected by a former military euphonium player. You play a Besson at work don't you?