This sale is for one of the earliest euphoniums in existence - a 5-valve Bb euphonium in silver finish.
The serial number dates manufacture to the early 1870s At this time Alexandre Le Forestier was working for Higham in Manchester. He apprenticed with Besson, worked for Courtois, Distin and was later a foreman for Pepper.)Ready to play, takes a standard tenor shank mpc
Made in Manchester, EnglandDespite the age, the sound is surprisingly good - rich harmonics, excellent resonance and power.
I can produce good tone with little effort through the entire range. Pedals are crisp and free blowing and high notes have beautiful overtones that just ring. The 5th valve quickly becomes second nature for compensating 4th valve combinations. Even if you don\'t use 4 & 5, there is good intonation on standard 3-valve fingerings. Features:
- Tri-bore (valves 4 & 5 have larger port diameters than 1, 2 & 3). Ports on valve 5 are larger than valve 4. Ports on piston #5 measure 17.3mm/0.68 \" in diameter (see pic12) - That\'s about the bore size of a King BBb tuba!
- Original silver plating is over a layer of copper for better adhesion.[link removed by ]
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Notes:
- Tuned in High Pitch (HP) - (it wasn\'t until 1936 that the US adopted A440).
(You could just hold down #5 to drop down to modern pitch. An extension loop in the main slide could be a later option.)
- Valve #3 casing has had a few sq cm area of threading removed (see pic 9); however, it still screws down tight (has never skipped). That said, I\'ve never had a problem with it after countless disassembly - but you do have to be careful to avoid cross threading when putting the cap back on (e.g., by starting the cap level with the threads).Condition:
- Valve action is good and all slides move freely
- visible repairs
- Original silver plating is mostly intact, with some wear spots and scratches (see pics)
- Several messy solder spots (easily cleaned up by any reputable shop)
- Evidence of bell smoothing.
- rim separation has been addressed by a local repair shop, although I\'m certain that a diligent brass tech could improve the looks with a little bit more effort.
