How sh**y is a India made euphonium ?

[oldbandnerd]

I recently wrote a post here about how someone creatively came up with a way to sell those India horns ( it's in the ebay section now ). In the post I mentioned I am the proud ( yeahhhh..right !!) owner of one of those horns . the elephant replyed and wanted to know what was wrong with the horn and why I was prepared to turn the horn into a honeydo project by making a water fountain out of it for the pond in my back yard . I thought others might be interested to know too so here is my reply to the elephant:

Here's the story of my horn :
If I remember correctly I paid $80 for the horn and $100 for the shipping . Total genius move on my part !! You'd think that fact alone would have been a giant red flag. But I fell for it hook,line and sinker .

It's very small. About the size of a true baritone and it sounds more like one too. Really doesn't sound like a euphonium at all. But it's very heavy for it's size. I don't really know why it's so heavy.It is a conical bore instrument which probably keeps it from sounding like a trombone.

The mouthpiece it came with is small too. Between the size of a 61/2 AL and baritone mouthpiece. I found a Olds 12C that would fit the shank and used it instead of the small one it came with. The shank is a bit smaller then a normal small shank reciever .

The worst thing about it is it's intonation. It sucks. That's all I can say about it. Maybe a better musician could deal with better than I can.

The horn is totally functional. All slide pull easy and valves move freely. I think the valves are raw brass as they need to be cleaned often. The crappy pads have all but disintegrated
and need to be replaced even though the horn has barley been played .There are no spit valves .

The finish is interesting. I believe it is all chrome and no silver.It's very bright and has never tarnished but cleans very easily .

The case is very odd. Moulded to the shape and sewn together.Probably made of cheap vinyl . Barely padded enough inside to protect it. You get the horn out by lossening the cheap vinyl latch/buckle on the lid. When you open the lid you are looking down into bell of the horn.

It gets really stuffy from F down to Bb. You can forget about going lower than the Bb in the staff . The horn is difficult to play any lower .

Your kids would like this because of the size. They will be able to handle it easier than a full size euphonium .

Here's a link to hear me playing it with Olds 12C :
http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=989119&t=4112

[Dan Schultz]

Some of the stuff from India is indeed cr*p. However, don't discount their manufacturing ability. There are some very good things happening in India ranging from the student lines of Besson euphs to some new stuff from Walter Nirschle. Basically, you get what you pay for. Don't expect much in the way of intonation/quality from ANY euphonium for $100. I have a cheap euph hanging in my shop that is plagued with manufacturing problems such as poor clearances and bad threaded parts.