Posted by Scott Norberg on October 26, 2003 at 11:59:11:
In Reply to: Re: Euphonium for HS Freshman posted by Kenny Jay on October 25, 2003 at 23:25:07:
Five to twelve grand??? Where can you get a euphonium for 12 grand? Sheesh. You can get a Hirsbrunner for about $6000 at Custom, and I've _never_ seen anything priced higher than that. (At least, I've never seen anything reasonably priced higher than that.)
As for which euphonium, I would suggest that whatever you get, start with a used horn. That way, when your student has enough of an idea what they want out of an instrument to make the decision themselves, they can sell the instrument they have now without losing a lot of money. I would suggest starting with Yamahas, the 642 if they want to spend more money, the 321 if not. They tend to be easy to play from the top to bottom and is a good place to start with a euph player who doesn't know what they want. Willsons and Hirsbrunners are good too. They each have their advantages and disadvantages, but neither would be a bad idea if one had to buy a horn on reputation. I would beware of the Bessons, they can be great instruments, but their intontation can be a bit of a pain to deal with.
Scott