POLL: Willson 2900 euphonium finish

[bloke]

I bought this instrument - decades ago - in remarkably nice condition...missing a couple of small parts - for a stupid-low price (from a company that was buying school surplus, and selling it on eBay...I had bought something from them, and they sent me a list of everything they had. EVERYTHING else was overpriced, EXCEPT this euphonium, so...)

It featured a "checked" lacquer finish (not enough drying retarder in the lacquer...it dried very quickly, shrunk, and "crackled"), which I later stripped. Otherwise, the spaces between the lacquer (on such instruments) tend to end up as "ruts" in the metal.

EVERYONE who has played it, has remarked on how exceptionally well it plays - particularly the low range, and (overall) the intonation.

I have ABSOLUTELY NO PLANS to sell it.

As can be seen, I had someone put some cool engraving around the factory bell stamping.
(Actually, it's the old King/H. N. White era "Liberty" 2B trombone engraving pattern.)

My plans (decades ago) were to pimp it out (satin silver with bright silver accents...gold slides, gold caps/buttons, gold bell interior, bright silver engraving).

Tuba players claim to view this stuff as distasteful and garish...though - when such a tuba is made available to most players (particularly if a model they are already seeking) their eyes tend to saucer.

Euphonium players, on the other hand, find this style of finish to not only be acceptable, but "routine", and "completely appropriate for soloists".

The ORIGINAL idea was to make the instrument easy to sell, if I really needed some quick money...but I tend to USE the thing so often, that "selling it" has sort of become out of the question.

Here's the thing:
Over the years, it's really developed (in my view) a handsome patina (of which I've grown fond)...and (unlike with instruments that have suffered serious bell damage, and had the lacquer stripped - why...?? - by some repair shop) this instrument has never been damaged, and ALL the metal is there...

...so...SHOULD I go ahead and pimp it out, OR just leave it the way it is...??

...and this:
I'd really PREFER that ONLY EUPHONIUM PLAYERS participate in the poll.

[Mark]

I really like the look of satin silver; but I would not want to clean it.

[Ricardo]

I don’t play Euphonium, but hang around enough of them to know that a patina euphonium is not acceptable. Pimp it out. Keeping it as it is won’t make any difference to you now but when you sell it it’s value will be much higher.

[bloke]

I appreciate the comments and the participation, so far.\

I doubt that I'll EVER make it to the finish line...but a goal (that I chose for myself a decade ago) is to have/keep everything I own (that is worth anything) in ready-to-sell condition.

[bloke]

I really like the look of satin silver; but I would not want to clean it.

' discussed in another thread...(just fyi)

The liquid chemical silver cleaners are really the only thing to use on satin silver finishes.
Any abrasive silver cleaners are going to embed themselves in a satin finish, and can't be completely removed from being embedded without (ironically) using a chemical cleaner (or a petroleum product, such as gasoline - as it's about the cheapest one).

When I've owned satin finish silver plated instruments, it took less time to clean them with (watery liquid) chemical cleaners that it took to clean a bright silver finish tuba with a typical abrasive (paste or syrupy liquid) cleaner.

All of that having been said...
To get a recently-done satin silver finish to (within a few years) appear as if "vintage" (ie. appear as if applied several decades ago), the way to accomplish that is the same way that older satin finishes have come to look old: Use abrasive silver polish on them.

[cjk]

lacquer it.

[bort2.0]

Whatever you do, don't add engravings to the bell.

[Doc]

You like it as-is.
Money spent on pimping it out could be better spent elsewhere.
You aren't selling it.

So... If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But... this particular instrument would make an outstanding pimp/soloist/prima donna rig, especially with that engraving. And in the words of bloke, "it's nice to have a nice shiny instrument when possible, yes?" "It's helpful to have something to dazzle the patrons and catch their eye..." "...performances are often as much visual as musical..."

Doc (who merely operates a euphonium occasionally, so per request, refrained from voting)

[bloke]

Whatever you do, don't add engravings to the bell.

I could engrave "SFC" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and "THE UNITED STATES" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
...and let the next owner have their name and service branch added.

[djwpe]

Whatever you do, don't add engravings to the bell.

I could engrave "SFC" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and "THE UNITED STATES" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
...and let the next owner have their name and service branch added.

Given that Dr. Bowman has retired from UNT, I suspect that the next generation of paid euphonium players will not be playing Willsons.

[bort2.0]

...the next generation of paid euphonium players will not be playing Willsons.

I wonder what brand(s) both of them will choose...

[djwpe]

...the next generation of paid euphonium players will not be playing Willsons.

I wonder what brand(s) both of them will choose...

Besson (Childs, UNT)
Miraphone (Thurman, IU)

[bort2.0]

...the next generation of paid euphonium players will not be playing Willsons.

I wonder what brand(s) both of them will choose...

Besson (Childs, UNT)
Miraphone (Thurman, IU)

My comment was supposed to be a joke about the extreme scarcity of paid euphonium players. Good joke, bort...

[bloke]

All of the good-playing euphoniums have trade-offs, just as do tubas.

Some of the currently-popular makes seem to strongly ask for tuning slide triggers (well...those makes actually "asked for" main slide triggers long before manufacturers offered them...). One thing I really like about this particular instrument (in addition to the easy/strong/clear low range response) is that I can get by easily without one of those triggers.

As to size... I may have tin ears, but it’s also difficult for me to aurally embrace the benefits of twelve-inch bells…but again, the same trend exists in tuba design, these days. I could easily imagine that trend having waned, by the time I no longer am using this instrument. Many are not aware, but the early Boosey euphoniums were just about as big as today’s in most respects, except that their bell flare diameter was only 10 inches (now: pancaked out two inches wider).

Tuba and euphonium design trends lean very hard - these days - towards "turning the bass knob up all the way, and turning the treble knob down all the way" (though this topic is way off somewhere as a sidebar, in relation to this thread's topic, yes?) As someone who finds that type of bass-only resonance to be of limited use...though yes: useful - yet: again - limited), I find it interesting that the older-style Miraphone model 186 tubas (as well as the older-style B&S F tubas) are making such a comeback, as far as desirability is concerned. As it would probably define $2X,XXX areas of retail pricing, though, I doubt that we will ever see those makers reintroduce those instruments - made again as they were, decades ago.

[Rick Denney]

Since you aren’t going to sell it, and since no current professional would use it, you should simply give it to a worthy recipient who would appreciate the smaller bell and the brown brass.

Rick “like, say, me” Denney

[bloke]

Since you aren’t going to sell it, and since no current professional would use it, you should simply give it to a worthy recipient who would appreciate the smaller bell and the brown brass.

Rick “like, say, me” Denney

When I'm not needing it, I have been known to have loaned it out...but locally.
Now that I've *precision-aligned the slides, I might be slightly more particular - in regards to the eligibility of the loanees.
__________________________________
*Though a main slide trigger is not required, (as I've stated quite a few times) the "tuning notes" (A and B-flat, and though remarkably flexible) are the two flattest pitches on the instrument. It might (??) be fun to install a much simpler main slide trigger - which would pull the main slide IN about 1/4", rather than one of those heavy/bulky/wonky things that throws the main slide OUT (for - in particular - some makes' super-sharp 6th partial pitches).

[cjk]

are the slides brass?

I would think that silver plate + gold accent bits + raw brass slide tubes peeking out would look weird.

If the slides are nickel silver, I'd think it'd look better.

I'm not a fan of the silver and gold look.

[Three Valves]

...the next generation of paid euphonium players will not be playing Willsons.

I wonder what brand(s) both of them will choose...

[Three Valves]

I'd give it the Billy Joel treatment and love it just the way it is!!

[rodgeman]

Keep the patina or go satin lacquer. I had an older Besson which I had stripped for a satin finish. Sold it when I tried tuba again. I am back to a lacquer euphonium.