Posted by Joseph on March 26, 2003 at 01:15:04:
In Reply to: Sterling Euphoniums posted by Rasheed Akande on March 21, 2003 at 22:06:16:
I like the Sterlings.. especially the non-perantuccied ones. They are capable of a much more brilliant singing soloistic sound than anything else on the market.. including Bessons. I think most euphists choose a horn primarily for ensemble purposes and as a result tend to favor darker sounding horns. I'm just a tubist that plays *at* euphonium and as such tend to pick euphoniums with much the same ear that lead me to purchase a german rotary F tuba. With a larger mouthpiece Sterlings can have that darker sound but what sets this horn apart in my eyes was the fact that it is also capable of such brilliance. To me that is something special and fills a very important niche in the market(a tuba player's Bydlo horn?) but I also acknowledge that I'm not a euphonium player nor do I own a euphonium so my opinion probably shouldn't carry a whole lot of weight.
In regards to intonation.. I wouldn't regard it as at all bad. I think they just chose to make different compromises from what has become standard practice among the other brands. I think they did so with some degree of forethought and reasoning and that the end product intonation wise is very valid. The 'problem' is that real euphonium players that have developed certain playing habits to compensate for the 'standard' tuning issues tend to end up fighting the horn when they encounter an instrument with a different(not better or worse) set of compromises.
My very humble opinion for what it's worth,
joseph