Hey folks,

I have ended up switching euphoniums, going from the '99 Besson Sovereign 967GS I have been using for about five months to a '04 Yamaha 642 Maestro. This was mainly due to the constant issues with the valves and slides, intonation and a few other things. Anyway, I have just given the Maestro a clean out and I decided to replace the factory standard Yamaha springs with my own set of Mead Springs (original). The main reason I did this was I found the Yamaha springs too light and sluggish for me as I like my springs to be a bit firm. However with the Mead Springs in, I find the valves are now very heavy and take a lot of force to work. This would become more of a concern in fast fingering passages as my fingers might get very tired quickly. So I am after a set of springs that will be somewhere in the middle in terms of response and toughness between the Yamaha and the original Mead Springs.

I came across 'light' versions of the Mead springs that Steven Mead sells on his website. I was wanting to know if this would be a good option that is in the middle between the two and if anyone here happens to use in particular the 'light' versions of the Mead Springs. I have always loved the Mead Springs and I prefer them to the factory Besson and Yamaha springs, but I find that Mead Springs are more specifically designed for Besson instruments in mind. If anyone has had any experience with the light springs variant, please feel free to leave a comment.