Posted by Charley Brighton on May 26, 2000 at 14:09:52:
Hi from England,
Great to see the pages back again, I really missed them.
I have just purchased a 5 valve B flat euphonium made by Josef Highams of
Manchester England in about 1911.
Its been converted to low pitch, overhauled and repaired by a master, Colin
Jeffreys of Sheffield, yet it only cost £200 !
Its very awkward to hold,valves 4 & 5 press upwards at an awkward angle, their
is some wrap around tubing that sits proud and presses into your chest whilst
playing !
As there is no compensating system the extra valve is used to get notes in
tune, and as the 5th.valve is last in line, it has a huge bore, giving quite
thunderous notes in the bottom octave.
Lastly, I had to have the Wick mouthpiece shank shaved down to fit the tiny bore.
I will be performing on this in my next concert and will put pictures up soon.
I would be grateful to hear of any other variants out there.
Best wishes, Charley.