SOLD Late 80s British Sterling Pre-Virtuoso Euphonium
Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 10:10 am
From the web.... Paul Riggett originally founded Sterling Musical Instruments in 1987 having previously worked as production manager for Boosey & Hawkes.
With an intimate knowledge of production techniques and an expansive knowledge of brass instrument manufacture, Sterling Musical Instruments and a small team led by Paul quickly established themselves as a household name within the British brass band community.
Up for sale is a beautiful late 80s, maybe early 90s, British Sterling Pre-Virtuoso Euphonium. This is a pro-level horn with the same bore as a Sovereign, this one sporting an 11.5 inch bell. The serial number of 1065S-752903 places it to the early years of the Sterling Company and it has the characteristic hexagonal finger buttons on valves 1-3 as well as the acute bends on the tubing descending from valves 1 and 3 to the slides below. The valves are smooth, fast and quiet with their factory delrin or nylon guides shown in the pictures at the link below.
As I believe in full disclosure, the following notes are specific to this horn. There is a slight compression of the bell part of the bugle into the more proximal tapered part of the bugle where the connector is. You can see it clearly in one of the pictures. Also the silver plating on these early Sterling horns was known to be variable per the Euphonium forum. Although all shined up it gleams and presents itself nicely, on close inspection you will note that the silver plating is worn in specific areas and on larger areas of the main bugle, presumably by player contact. I had this horn serviced years back by Lee Stofer (and had a spit valve added to the first valve slide) and he schooled me on how brass is pre-plated prior to the silver plating for best adhesion. He suspected something along these lines could be the case. When shined up the horn presents itself beautifully as much of the wear is on the player side of the horn.
Dave Werden is said to have played his totally amazing 1993 rendition of Concerto per Flicorno Basso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IAt9rK6KKQ" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank on a Pre-Virtuoso like this (although his had a red brass bell) before he subsequently went to the Virtuoso as a Sterling performer. That speaks volumes regarding the capability of this horn in the right hands.
My asking price is $2200. Like my other euphonium up for sale currently on Tubenet, I will pay the packing and shipping to the lower 48 CONUS if the asking price is met. If there is no action in a few weeks I will entertain offers. Thanks very much for looking. Pictures can be found at
https://imgur.com/a/b2DJsRQ" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
With an intimate knowledge of production techniques and an expansive knowledge of brass instrument manufacture, Sterling Musical Instruments and a small team led by Paul quickly established themselves as a household name within the British brass band community.
Up for sale is a beautiful late 80s, maybe early 90s, British Sterling Pre-Virtuoso Euphonium. This is a pro-level horn with the same bore as a Sovereign, this one sporting an 11.5 inch bell. The serial number of 1065S-752903 places it to the early years of the Sterling Company and it has the characteristic hexagonal finger buttons on valves 1-3 as well as the acute bends on the tubing descending from valves 1 and 3 to the slides below. The valves are smooth, fast and quiet with their factory delrin or nylon guides shown in the pictures at the link below.
As I believe in full disclosure, the following notes are specific to this horn. There is a slight compression of the bell part of the bugle into the more proximal tapered part of the bugle where the connector is. You can see it clearly in one of the pictures. Also the silver plating on these early Sterling horns was known to be variable per the Euphonium forum. Although all shined up it gleams and presents itself nicely, on close inspection you will note that the silver plating is worn in specific areas and on larger areas of the main bugle, presumably by player contact. I had this horn serviced years back by Lee Stofer (and had a spit valve added to the first valve slide) and he schooled me on how brass is pre-plated prior to the silver plating for best adhesion. He suspected something along these lines could be the case. When shined up the horn presents itself beautifully as much of the wear is on the player side of the horn.
Dave Werden is said to have played his totally amazing 1993 rendition of Concerto per Flicorno Basso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IAt9rK6KKQ" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank on a Pre-Virtuoso like this (although his had a red brass bell) before he subsequently went to the Virtuoso as a Sterling performer. That speaks volumes regarding the capability of this horn in the right hands.
My asking price is $2200. Like my other euphonium up for sale currently on Tubenet, I will pay the packing and shipping to the lower 48 CONUS if the asking price is met. If there is no action in a few weeks I will entertain offers. Thanks very much for looking. Pictures can be found at
https://imgur.com/a/b2DJsRQ" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
I'm taking the price down to $2000. on this one with the same shipping offer CONUS. I used to have a presence years back on Dave Werden's forum when I was more euphonium centered, but haven't been there for quite some time and it feels awkward to just go back there to try and sell something. I'll keep it here for the time being as I know many euphonium forum members also check Tubenet from time to time. No rush in selling and I'm keeping them off eBay for the time being.