davewerden

Some euphoniums are equipped with triggers, either for the tuning slide or for the 1st or 3rd valve slides. It is important to keep these slides moving freely, but they must still seal properly. I have tried a few different slide greases, but they were too sluggish. The Sterling builder suggested that I try some trombone slide cream and I found that it works perfectly! It is much more more free and still seals nicely. And if condensation works its way through the instrument, it is very compatible ...

There are posts on YouTube showing a Dixie band called Cell Block Seven, and they feature a trio (and some solo work) with double-bell euphoniums:


Double-Bell Euphonium Trio - Strange Blues


Double-Bell Euphonium Trio (small bells featured) - Apex Blues


Mood Indigo


Buglers Holiday

Several years ago when I was at the Custom Music booth, a woman was looking at Sterling euphoniums. She asked why makers didn't pay more attention to people with smaller hands - the reach was rather long for her left hand from the 3rd valve tube to the 4th valve.


We talked about it with the Sterling manager and he took the idea back to England to work on it. Yesterday in looking at the Sterling Virtuoso I just received I noticed that the 3rd valve slide tube was considerably lower ...

Now that I have had the Virtuoso for a couple weeks I took time to actually plot out the intonation tendencies. My original post about the Virtuoso said that at first glance I thought the intonation was really fine; when I mapped it out on an electronic tuner it confirmed my impression. You can see the new graph and compare to some other euphoniums on the Interactive Euphonium Intonation Page. This will work best if you have Flash on your computer.

There is an audition coming up in March for principal tuba in the Ft. Collins, CO, Symphony Orchestra. This is a very part-time position, but if you are living in this area or planning on moving there, it's a good orchestra.


More details can be found in the Tuba Auditions Topic of our Tuba-Euphonium Forum.