Opinions on wessex horns

Elow · by **Elow** » 2020-05-19 4:18 a.m.

I’ve always been around people who despise chinese horns, which has kind of rubbed off on me. But i’ve heard some good things about wessex horns. I’m specifically looking at their festivo euphonium. I was thinking of either getting a wessex or a jupiter xo. I played an xo bass trombone at a convention and was impressed because i don’t have very high standards for jupiter, but i liked it a good bit. So if it’s worth the extra cost for the xo then i can do that but i’m really curious about a wessex.

Vegasbound · by **Vegasbound** » 2020-05-19 4:22 a.m.

Have you tried doing a search? As there are several threads about Wessex instruments some of our current and past members have been involved in development and design

And Wessex started as a tuba and euph producer

BGuttman · by **BGuttman** » 2020-05-19 5:54 a.m.

I should point out that there are several strata of Chinese instruments. Some can be quite good indeed. Eastman owns Shires (among other top end brands of instruments though not trombones) and tries to keep part of their line at a Professional level. Wessex and JP-Rath use a Chinese maker to build to their specs and make sure QC is done on eveything. At the other end of the scale we have the likes of Bestler where if it makes it to the end of the manufacturing line it ships so you can get a decent one or a lemon.

Jupiter is not made on the Chinese mainland. It's made in Taiwan. Regardless of what the government in Beijing says, Taiwan considers themselves NOT China. Jupiter was recognized for workmanlike student instruments. The XO line was intended to be a professional grade and there are some here who have given them good reviews.

WGWTR180 · by **WGWTR180** » 2020-05-19 7:20 a.m.

Is there NO search function on this site??? This subject has been thoroughly discussed.

BGuttman · by **BGuttman** » 2020-05-19 10:14 a.m.

A search on "Chinese Trombone" yielded lots of hits.

A searcxh on "Wessex" yielded lots of hits also, particularly this topic: <LINK_TEXT text="https://trombonechat.com/viewtopic.php? ... ex#p110766">https://trombonechat.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14600&p=110766&hilit=Wessex#p110766</LINK_TEXT>

bbocaner · by **bbocaner** » 2020-05-19 11:15 a.m.

wessex is really mixed, in my opinion. Some of them are extremely good and some of them are useless.

The Festivo is in the good column, I think. Front-action compensating euphoniums are kind of a specialty item, but if my primary use for the euphonium was in a symphonic brass ensemble or playing those few parts that exist in an orchestra, it'd be a good fit. For playing in a wind ensemble with other euphonium players you're going to be pointing the wrong direction. I like the Willson 2975 better, but the festivo is 90% as good for 20% of the price.

stewbones43 · by **stewbones43** » 2020-05-19 11:32 a.m.

Bruce mentioned the JP Rath range and said good things about them. I would just like to add that the JP Rath instruments are all trombones but the equivalent euphoniums are JP-Sterling models and are the JP 374 and JP 374T. These are models with some input from Paul Riggett who makes Sterling professional grade euphoniums, comparable to Besson Sovereigns, Yamaha Xenos and Willsons. The JP-Sterling line also includes British style tenor (alto) horns, baritone horns and tubas. Packers also do trumpets, cornets and flugel horns with input from Smith-Watkins and Andy Taylor.

All are excellent instruments and exceptional value.

Cheers

Stewbones

Elow · by **Elow** » 2020-05-19 3:56 p.m.

There’s a hirsbrunner on ebay but i e never heard of that brand. The seller says it’s on par with willson, which is skeptical to me because again, ive never seen of heard of this brand. It’s a bit cheaper then the xo but the xo was “like new”. I could care less about looks so if you guys have better experience with this brand. Please enlighten me

slipperyjoe · by **slipperyjoe** » 2020-05-19 4:20 p.m.

Hirsbrunner and Willson are both well-known Swiss manufacturers of euphoniums and tubas. If you are looking for a euphonium, you might benefit from a visit to former U.S. Coast Guard euphoniumist David Werden's web site and forum. The forum participants are a nice bunch.

http://www.dwerden.com

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/forum.php#.XsRAri-z0zU

The Werden forum also has a search function in case you'd like to prepare with a bit of research before asking specific questions.

Here's a search for 'Hirsbrunner:'

<LINK_TEXT text="http://www.dwerden.com/forum/search.php ... sRD5i-z0zU">http://www.dwerden.com/forum/search.php?searchid=2004501#.XsRD5i-z0zU</LINK_TEXT>

deanmccarty · by **deanmccarty** » 2020-05-19 5:50 p.m.

Hirsbrunner is a fantastic instrument right up there with Willson. I have tried the XO euphonium... I was impressed. My experience with the Chinese instruments... some are ok, most are garbage... XO stands behind their product... and there are a lot of repair techs who won’t touch the Chinese stuff. If it were me, I would get the XO... but... I also got a great deal on a like new Willson on this forum for less than a new XO... food for thought.

Vegasbound · by **Vegasbound** » 2020-05-20 4:07 a.m.

As others have said Hirsbrunner make fantastic instruments, always remember that ther eeuphs had very large valve tops competed to the sovereign and was considered a tenor tuba....but as I said fantastic quality

Mikebmiller · by **Mikebmiller** » 2020-05-20 9:45 a.m.

FWIW, based on recommendations on Tubenet and dwerden, I got a JP 274 a few months ago. It is a very nice horn. More expensive than the Festivo, but way cheaper than a Willson or Adams.

bbocaner · by **bbocaner** » 2020-05-20 12:11 p.m.

That hirsbrunner on ebay is pretty beat up. I never loved the hirsbrunner euphoniums because they were big and clunky, both physically and the way they played, but there are certainly players who love them and sound amazing with them. (this is a generalization because there are multiple hirsbrunner models and they made them for over thirty years) The Adams E3 model is pretty much the hirsbrunner design (adams acquired the tooling from hirsbrunner) but they managed to make it a little more agile to play while maintaining the big sound. Given equal condition, I'd rather have a hirsbrunner than an XO but, like I said, the one on ebay looks beat to heck.

euphoniums is one of the things wessex does really well. As I mentioned before, the festivo is kind of a specialty item but the dolce is a good euphonium. The Packer and Packer/Sterling models are a little more Besson-flavored where the wessex started off life as a yamaha copy, however it has morphed into it's own thing, so it's really a matter of taste, but the quality on both is pretty good and parts and consumables are available for both.

whitbey · by **whitbey** » 2020-05-25 8:21 a.m.

I have played a couple Hirsbrunner's including Earl Lauder's. All were absolutely incredible.

I would rebuild a Hirsbrunner before I bought a Chinese.

hyperbolica · by **hyperbolica** » 2020-05-25 9:52 p.m.

No one has brought up Mack Brass. Wessex tends to carry some off-beat sort of instruments and things that are maybe a bit more British.

Mack I think tends to carry (mainly tubas) that cater to a more American band and orchestral taste. Heavy on BBb and CC, some F, no Eb. They're lower priced, less specialized. They sell a lot to schools.

Wessex seems to be adding more custom designs with fancier features, and definitely more specialized instruments.

I just bought a Mack 220, which is a 3/4 BBb 4v front piston. For me, I think it's just about right. Has a big sound for its size, and it's configured just like my Wessex Festivo, which I like for ergonomics reasons.

I'm not a big fan of Chinese products in general, but I've bought several Wessex instruments, and 2 Macks. Both companies are good to deal with, and to some extent they focus on different segments of the market.

<LINK_TEXT text="http://www.mackbrass.com/Brass_instrume ... _band.html">http://www.mackbrass.com/Brass_instruments_for_band.html</LINK_TEXT>

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Opinions on wessex horns