I would like to say a big thank you to members of this group. Some months ago I posted an ask about what kind of euphonium to pick up for an college euphonium major who is starting up again after 20 years of not playing.

The group's advice was great. A special thanks to Dave, John and Doug amongst others.

What I ended up doing was getting a Mack Brass euph as my practice horn, to see if the chops and wind were there and I had the discipline to rebuild them after a couple decades.

It's a decent horn, better in some regards than most Chinese made euphs, I like it better than the Schiller or Wessex.

After a number of months of daily practice and chop/air building, I'm happy to announce I think I've outgrown the horn. I've managed to obtain great deals on a used Besson Sovereign and a used Sterling Virtuoso. I'm going to play them side by side for a while and see which I prefer. Today was my first intro to them.

Before you ask, I prefer the British sound of these horns to Willsons or Adams, just my listening preference.

My initial reaction is that the Sterling plays rings around the Sovereign. Perhaps the Prestige is just a lot better than the Sovereign, I don't know. No one I knew was selling a Prestige for the ridiculous price I got the Sovereign for.

The Sterling is another step up wind wise though, the air just GOES through it. This particular Sterling has the trigger of course and a heavy valve cap on the 2nd valve. Not sure why. But I love the way it plays. I obtained it from the UK.

So, again, thanks to all of you with the sound and great advice. If were up to me I'd probably have not gone in this direction.

Loving playing again!

Jeff Stratton