Posted by js on August 24, 2002 at 23:07:03:
In Reply to: Re: Besson Vs Meinl Weston EUPHS posted by John S. on August 24, 2002 at 21:41:34:
I've only sold a dozen or so Willson 2900 euphoniums over the years - most all to friends and I don't "hawk" them...Buy one from someone who has one in stock, if you're interested.
Yes, I'm a baritone "doubler" (as mentioned earlier) and as a tuba-playing baritone "outsider" I think the whole "compensating" thing is just a bit silly: all that bulk/piston mass, plumbing, and weight to "sort of" make some of the very low register pitches "in tune" (hmmm...) Personally, I would like to see professional NON-compensating 5-valve instruments, so that the pistons would have less bulk and less gadgetly slides for 99.9% of all playing.
That being said, the Willson 2900 (with the same "silly" -IMO - compensating system that rules today in the top models of all major brands) seems to have such a beautiful sound and to have such a close-to-right scale that the extra money (several hundred dollars higher than most other models - only paid by the purchaser "once", though) seems certainly worth it to me.
Again, as a doubler, I an instrument that I can simply pick up, play, and sound like a pro without having to "learn" the instrument. I would guess that quite a few primary instrument baritone players appreciate the same characteristics.