WESSEX - The FUTURE of Affordable TUBAS and EUPHONIUMS?!?!? Part 2 of ITEC Review

[@Turt3752]

I have a Wessex Dolce, and when it works correctly, it’s great. The tone’s good, and while it DOES have a crappy finish (I’ve only had it since last July and the silver is blackened and the gold trim is flaking away), there’s no awful tuning issues or anything. The valves are scary, though. Completely unreliable. One moment, they’ll have me going through Sousa marches and stuff just fine, but then all of a sudden, all 3 of the top valves will have their moments when they just stick. I made it to Illinois All-State, through a district competition for high schoolers in the US, only for my second valve to stick in my All-State audition and get me 16th place out of 17 chosen to compete. -_- The horn played great during the All-State performance, though.

[@Jonathantuba]

I am sorry to hear of those problems you are having. Firstly any silver will blacken unless polished with silver polish, so that is not actually a fault with the finish. Gold is a very soft metal and that gold trim is real gold. It looks great when new, but will very easily chip with use, so we would always recommend all silver for durability. Do contact Wessex for replacement silver parts if you wish to exchange. Regarding the valves sticking, it is impossible without seeing what could be the issue. The valves on Wessex are usually very reliable - in fact more so than many expensive brands from experience. They usually only get better and better with use and will even work months without oiling. Will shown in video has just oiled the valves on his F tuba which he plays daily only once this year and they are slick and never stick!

[@Turt3752]

Wessex Tubas I’m not meaning to rag on the brand or anything. And really, I’m 18 and had only been playing euphonium for a year before buying my Dolce. I know that my right hand hold was off from a college professor, and I’ve held my hand better on the valves since February. I’m willing to put the valve malfunctions to my own mistake, although it does make my wallet hurt that something as small as a hand’s positioning could make such a difference when it didn’t on the school euphonium that I also played for a year. It’s the same with the finish. I don’t actually care much about how it looks and I’ve only ever had a brass trombone before so my silver care knowledge is nonexistent. The finish isn’t a big deal to me, but it seems odd that my high school’s mistreated Yamaha 321 has kept its silver shine for over 40 years while mine couldn’t make it a year where my hands have been. It could be due to me having some particularly awful chemicals in my skin oil I guess, but I played the Yamaha for a year too and noticed no changes. But all’s fair, and I don’t regret my purchase. Like I said, when it works, it works great. I’ve played a Sovereign, and while I probably will upgrade to a more expensive horn eventually (heard you all are making one?), I actually like the feel of the Dolce valves more than the Besson. This Dolce’s perfectly fine for my first few years of college, especially considering I got it for a thousand dollars less than an uncompensated 321. I get that cuts have to be made to get the price, and if they’re in durability, well, I just have to baby this thing for the next few years.

[@Turt3752]

Simon Phillips yeah. Well, I’m going into college now, and if this one proves to be too big of a trouble I’ll see if the college has better horns for me to rent. I wanna get a new and pro-level horn for myself as well but money is an issue.

[@mike_the_maker3996]

@@Turt3752 check out hornstash.com they tend to have nice used horns

[@Matonizz]

WESSEX - The FUTURE of Affordable TUBAS and EUPHONIUMS? Any thoughts or personal experiences with the brand??? Leave a comment down below and me know what you think!

[@mikesosa1146]

As per my comment below. I own a lot of Wessex instruments. I like the brand and look of the instruments. And being an amateur I like the sound of their bass trumpet, flugabone, slide trombone, valve trombone, marching baritone horn. What I like about sellers like Wessex and Mack Brass is that they define the specs for their instruments and manage quality control of the manufacturing in China. The negative is the lack of inventory and not top notch customer service. I deal with a lot of other sellers like WWBW, Sweetwater, Casio, Thomann, Carol Brass Netherlands, Kanstul, Gerzen, etc. Their customer service is top notch. I do like the sound and look of the Wessex brass instruments. But if you go to their web site a lot of "out of stock". They are a great bang for the buck. I noticed that with the bass trumpet (which is one handsome instrument with a nice design) I had to use the spit valve a lot. I do not know if it is the BT or me. I wish they would keep their stock replenished. As an amateur I would recommend Wessex. Hope this helps somewhat.

[@rorschach162]

@@mikesosa1146 Hi What do you like about the bass trumpet? Does the smaller bore affect your playing? Berkeley Winds has a BT with a .485 bore that is closer to the Bach 188 .

[@mikesosa1146]

Hi. I own a Berkeley and I felt I liked the sound and feel of the Wessex much more. I like the Berkely but I felt the sound of the Wessex was nicer. I cannot tell if it was due to the .460 bore vs the .845 bore. In general, I tend to categorize all my brass instruments into three categories in terms of sound, feel, etc.: high end (Getzen, Kanstul, Bach), medium (Wessex, Mack, Schiller, Sterling, O'Malley) and low end (Jinbao, Berkeley, MYW, Ideal). The Berkeleys tend to be lower end. I bought a Berkeley and though it was ok. I took it my BT class last year and the instructor asked me not to bring it to class again and to come back the following week with the Schiller, Mack or Wessex. At that time I did not own the Kanstul or Getzen. FWIW, all the brass instructors and prof musicians I have run into have told me that Bachs are overpriced. You are paying for the name. I just ordered a Bach B188 but I got 20% off. Forget to mention that other features I liked about the Wessex is the THREE spit valves and that the lacquer model is tr-color. The Mack Brass has even a smaller bore BUT great price!! Schiller also good price. May want to check them out. The thing about Wessex and Mack Brass is that their focus is Tubas. Other companies are not focus on one particular instrument. If you are a pro musician I would suggest go to Kanstul. All the pros I came across recommended Kanstul over other high end. Sorry for lengthy message.

[@rorschach162]

@@mikesosa1146 Is there much difference between Schiller and Wessex since they both are made at the Jinbao factory? Also, I've heard that bass trumpets have intonation problems and flugabones or marching trombones do not.

[@mikesosa1146]

Not much difference. Jinbao make instruments for themselves and for American and European companies. The difference is that UK-based Wessex and US-based Mack and Schiller give them specs to which they must design. They are more into the quality control then when Jinbao makes them instruments to retail directly. I know that the Wessex owner goes to China quite often during the year to manage quality control. Mack goes too but do not know how often. I have never discussed quality control with Schiller. Although I do know they provide the specs to Jinbao. My perception is that Wessex owner (out of UK) is the most involved in quality control. I had a project where my instructor and I were going to test, compare and contrast all my BTs but he left the school before we started the project. He was the one that told me not to bring the Jinbao or Berkeley Wind but was fine with the Wessex and Schiller. My previous instructor was fine with the Mack. Several told me that as I get more involved to move to Kanstul (American made but costlier). Insofar as intonation I am not good enough to tell on my own. I do know that the BT sounds slightly different than the flugabone and requires slighty more lung power. My instructors were able to guide me to adjust the intonation on the Schiller, Wessex and Mack but used to get frustrated with Berkeley and Jinbao. And we never were able to compare with flugabone, Valve trombone or Marching Baritone horn with the BT. Don't know if it would help but listen to Cy Touff play jazz with the BT in youtube. And also listen to Willie Colon (kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJ2shJefbsmFr5I). Cy discovered the BT and never looked back. Willie played Trumpet in HS but quickly moved to trombone and became famous in the 60s and 70s. In the late 70s he moved to BT (Getzen Eterna 994). Decades later, in concerts he started going between flugabone and tenor trombone. I used a tuner when I practice and the notes are spot-on with the BT. I am thinking on starting a FB page for BT players (piston valve or rotary valves) to have these kind of helpful discussions. What do you think? I have a lot to learn.

[@gianlucatarasconi2194]

I'm not an Euphonium player but seems a very prompt and responsive instrument. 👍

[@T-Slider]

What is the latest thoughts on the Festivo? I’m switching from trombone to euphonium because I can’t hold a trombone steady enough on whole notes anymore. I’m old, 75. I would really appreciate your thoughts on the ergonomics of the Festivo. Is it easier to hold than a Schiller Elite?

[@Matonizz]

Hi friend, i like the ergonomics better on festivo. It allows for instrument to stay closer to your body and arms hang lower due to where the valves are placed. It takes away a lot of strain from shoulders. :)

[@bjrnmikkelsen3790]

Wessex has nice shining instruments

[@rorschach162]

I think that the oval baritone is called a Kaiser baritone.

[@hatlabo]

It has a very bright tone. But I think it is not a thin instrument that has a very rich sound. It is interesting if the tone changes depending on the type of mouthpiece. Besides, it seems very reasonable.

[@paulroutledge4923]

How's the valve caps? I seem to recall reading Wessex was having problems with them cross threading.

[@Matonizz]

Valve guides are the same on this model like all the Yamahas. I'm not exactly sure if they used the same ones for their previous models but we actually talked about this. I have a feeling they will come up with something pretty awesome to solve the issue ;)

[@birdman4677]

It's the only complaint I have with my Wessex Festivo. It feels like the valve casing top threads are poorly machined making it very easy to cross thread the valve caps. You have to very careful and patient with multiple starts to get them on. The first valve on my horn is particularly troublesome.

[@brasschick4214]

When putting the valve caps on my Dolce I have to be very, very, very careful not to cross-thread them.

[@huntr561]

I've been using a Wessex euphonium for the past 2 years or so and I absolutely love the horn! It was very affordable, and it plays incredibly well! I plan to continue using this horn for the rest of my college career.

[@02jtrotman]

Are you using the Dolce? I've been looking at purchasing one but I've heard the finish and durability are less than stellar I've been kinda discouraged. How has it been for you?

[@ryanpugh9200]

Jackson Trotman I bought the dolce about a year ago and I’ve yet to have any issues with the finish. It is however very easy to dent.

[@huntr561]

Jackson Trotman yeah the finish isn't as good as say a Yamaha but it is definitely a decent pro model horn, and for the price it's listed at, it plays beautifully. And have had mine for nearly 3 years now and I can only find one small dent on it, so it has held up very well for me.

[@nicholasneyhart396]

When is the horn with the rose bell coming out?

[@semarcus1]

The EP600 prototype in this review is currently available to test-play by scheduling an appointment at the Chicago-area Wessex Showroom.

[@nicholasneyhart396]

Thank you for the information. Sadly I live too far away.

[@mr.starfish4965]

Vintagegamer | March 2020

[@juliadahn2335]

You made a comment about comparing this Wessex with Adam's. What are the pros and cons between them. Will you do another video when this is officially released? And then obviously, did Wessex say when they would release this specific model?

[@bob5510]

I'm very curious about their double bell euph

[@bob5510]

@@theKobus Interesting. I'm a downstreamer too but am trying to get it more centered since I'm similarly flat on one of my tubas. I'll have to try the double out someday

[@joshuafuentes5411]

Did you try out the shires euphonium?

[@ゆーりんち-f6o]

Great! Amazing!Euphonium respect as weapons.Please work hard from now on!

[@rorschach162]

The oval baritones are really comfortable.

[@mattewssolsol8455]

hey Matonizz, what you think about Might Gnome mini tuba of wessex? i realy fall in love for visual and mobility, but im not shur about the quality. please help me. im from brasil and i don have condictions to try this tuba personaly

[@abbyclaussen9092]

I went to the ArmyBand conference this year and now I’m sad I didn’t try more Wessex lol

[@andrewrodeghier5979]

Is there a way to tell if the Wessex ER120 and the Schiller Elite 4 valve rotary baritones are the same stencil horn the Wessex is $300 more than the Schiller and I don't want to pay extra if I don't need to

[@Big_Red_Dork]

The Wessex does have better quality control, and little touches that make for an overall improved horn, from what I've seen. I love my Wessex Dolce euph and Wessex Baritone. Planning on buying an Eb horn from them soon

[@RuzlB]

How did you feel about the EP600 / Sinfonico's valves. Were they responsive?

[@davidaubuchon7309]

Would love to know how the Sinfonico compares to your JP274.

[@euphoboi4251]

I would also love to see this, especially because ep600 has been released and is no longer a prototype

[@jarrodhandley1537]

At 7:04, what is the duet you are playing with James Gourley? I know I’ve heard it before, but I cannot remember it’s title!

[@johnmacdonald5400]

Sunrise Sunset Fiddler on the roof

[@sidewayslover1653]

Compensating cc tubas seem cool but should i learn cc if i already play bbb

[@user-db7yk4zp4g]

How does wessex compare to the schiller models?

[@rorschach162]

Wessex is highly recommended in many of the low brass forums.

[@angelrios6583]

In my opinion, Wessex plays better but Schiller looks better, I’m not sure about the new Wessex horn tho

[@Euphoniumplayer12]

Would you recommend

[@Matonizz]

Have not tried their instruments in years so hard to tell where they're at currently :)

[@kimztayyy]

Is the german style eupho compensated ?

[@mr.starfish4965]

I doubt it. VF Cerveny has a 5 valve German style euphonium(?). That may help compensate the lower notes being out of tune. Why do you ask about the Wessex Kaiser Baritone?

[@AbbyPaseos]

Could you review any of the REALLY cheap cut out euphoniums like Cecilio? I currently have a Mendini four valve euphonium bc it was all I could afford and there weren't a lot of used instruments in my area. I've never really had a chance to play on a quality instrument, so I wonder if it would be easier on my range. I feel like I have to work so hard for the higher notes, but I don't know if that's because I'm just continually sub-par on my end!

[@SamuelPlaysBrass]

I've found that the Mendini euphonium I tried to play had stuffy high and pedal registers and the intonation was quite bad on certain notes.

[@thedrangler599]

Abygail Mendini is the worst you can get. There’s cheap, and there’s Mendini. You almost can’t play on a Mendini, it’s complete garbage.

[@rorschach162]

Do the best you can with what you have. I have a Schiller Frankfurt Elite compact German style horn that plays great. Have you tried Ebay?

[@Invert_Scrub]

Haven't tried one yet, but I have played the Mendini trumpet. Yes, it is one of the cheapest/low quality options, BUT it still works adequately. It might not be the most durable, but there are still worse things. It will suffice, at least for a year or two if taken care of and maintained well. The real danger out there are the instruments coming out of India. I personally have experience with a student who had one of these and it was far worse than a Mendini. The parents were trying to find an eBay bargain, only to end up holding the student back, quite drastically.

[@XxPunkBOYxX]

actualization ?

[@dalegbaby26]

Is that a compensating F Tuba??

[@mr.starfish4965]

Yes. Has a pretty small bell though (13”).

[@WheelinWeenie]

what type of horn is the other guy have, the yellow one that looks slightly wider

[@mr.starfish4965]

Chef Boyardee | I believe it’s an Eb Tuba, but it could be a different type of tuba.

[@rorschach162]

Its called Elf. Its an Eb flat tuba

[@mr.starfish4965]

I said it was an Eb Tuba, but now I think about it the tuba might be the British F Tuba. That would make a bit more since, especially when you consider the fact that model is what Will Druitt plays for his F tuba requirements.

[@XxPunkBOYxX]

Wessex , JP , schiller??

[@chapstic593]

wessex for quality control. john packer if you like the tone . schiller if you want something cheap but will do just fine. jin bao if you know how ;)

[@DavidCruz-lw2eb]

Can you do a review on the MACK Brass Euphonium

[@mikesosa1146]

I am an amateur so I cannot speak as a pro musician. While I have not tried the Mack Brass Euphonium, my first Bass Trumpet was a Mack Brass. I liked it a lot!! The issue with Mack Brass, Wessex, Schiller, and all the medium sized vendors is that they focus more on the large sales at the expense of customer service for the individual buyer. Further, their (medium vendors) inventories leave a lot to be desired. If you can deal with customer service not like major on-line retailers (e.g. WWBW), these medium sized vendors are a very good deals. I own on bass trumpets, trombones, marching trombones (flugabones), valve trombones, marching Baritone horns from all these vendors. Great bang for the buck. My only Euphonium is a schiller marching euphonium and I like it. In all these medium vendors the instruments are nice sounding and nice looking. Recall I am an amateur. I was not thrilled with the Schiller Superbone. But it could be me. Hope this helps somewhat.

[@nathanblackman1063]

@@mikesosa1146 How would you say the bass trombone if you have one compares to say the 62hi, and I you don't have have a bass trombone, how do your trombones compare to a Conn 88h in a classical setting

[@mikesosa1146]

Hi Nathan. I do not have any of their bass trombones. The only bass trombones I own are Big Brass Music Hoss straight Bb trombones. Big Brass are wholesalers hence my HoSS bass trombones are second hand. I have no experience with the 62HI nor the 88HI so it would be unfair to comment. Further being an amateur my opinion would not be of much value. Finally, last time I played classical music was on a baritone horn in the mid-60s when I was in JrHS and HS. I am so sorry I can provide you with valid or intelligent input. My apologies. Good luck. There is several trombone FB sites that are very good at providing input. One of them has members that are trombone players from all over the world.

[@tadourm]

I have had a Mack brass euphonium for 5 years now. Play in my church orchestra. Haven't had any issues other than valve noice. I replaced the springs and pads with Yamaha ones. Made it so much better. The sound is very full. Finish isn't on par with Yamaha (not polished as smooth under the silver) but I have had no issues with it definitely recommend!

[@DavidCruz-lw2eb]

Timothy Dourm thanks

[@TubaChris]

Eastman