Please help with Boosey and Hawkes Euphonium

[jmjeffrey]

Hi there,

Sorry to bother everyone with this, but I’ve recently helped my parents with a house move and stumbled across this old blast from the past, a Boosey and Hawkes euphonium.

I took up the euphonium at school in the late ‘80s and the euphonium was gifted to me by my music teacher when the school closed down (nice school - ahem). I didn’t practice for long and it was subsequently plonked in the loft shortly afterwards.

The serial number suggests it’s from 1981 and, aside from a few dents and requiring a good clean, it’s in pretty good working order as far as I can see.

Would anyone happen to know how much I might be able to sell this for? It also comes with a case, but it smells exactly as it should having been in the loft since the early ‘90s!

Many thanks, and sorry to bother you with this once again.

Joe

 

[Hsop]

Joe

As you mention this instrument was 'gifted' to you following a school closure, perhaps a good deed on your behalf would be to 'gift' it to someone looking to begin playing euphonium. The things we are given for free are often best passed on for free and recycled for someone else to make their start in music.

 

[jmjeffrey]

That wasn’t conducive in answering my question, nor do you know my circumstances.

 

[2nd tenor]

That wasn’t conducive in answering my question, nor do you know my circumstances.

Your response is true but HSOP’s comment is still valid - I can see why it might offend but he’s not the type of person that is intentionally rude. To get an idea of the value have a look at eBay listings, I’d be expecting short of £300 for it as a start point (Edit. Meaning that my first estimation of its sale price at the end of an eBay listing is near but below £300). Euphoniums aren’t cheap and ones in good condition are sought after, but it is a relatively small market and yours is but a three valve non-compensating instrument in visibly imperfect condition.

The Regent models were good ‘student grade’ rather than ‘professional’ instruments. I’ve played several instruments in the Regent range, own one and think that they’re perfectly fine for lots of folk. Certainly Regents are as much as you actually need in Community type bands, but some people can be un-necessarily sniffy about them. IMHO you have to play really well before you’re noticeably limited by a Regent and whilst I play a Sovereign (professional grade) at Band my own Regent is still much loved and used as a practice instrument that doesn’t hold me back at all

I don’t know what your circumstances are, but if you don’t need the money and have the time and health them why not play your Euphonium? Compared to its low monetary value playing it instead could give you a much much better return (via many years of pleasure) and members here would be able to identify bands for you to join and re-learn with.

 

[Tom-King]

I’d be expecting short of £300 for it as a start point.

Sounds about right to me.

Euphoniums aren’t cheap and ones in good condition are sought after, but it is a relatively small market and yours is but a three valve non-compensating instrument in visibly imperfect condition.

Yep, and people don't really want three valve uncompensated - okay for beginners just learning to produce notes and play together...
....Beyond that: a handicap.

I’ve played several instruments in the Regent range, own one and think that they’re perfectly fine for lots of folk. Certainly Regents are as much as you actually need in Community type bands, but some people can be un-necessarily sniffy about them. IMHO you have to play really well before you’re noticeably limited by a Regent and whilst I play a Sovereign (professional grade) at Band my own Regent is still much loved and used as a practice instrument that doesn’t hold me back at all

Ooof you were doing so well!

I guess it depends on your definition of "really well" but anything that requires added effort to play properly (especially with intonation, which is the whole point of compensation) is a handicap...
So where possible, it's better avoided unless the price differential is significant enough to swing it on a very first instrument - and we come full circle to why the value is relatively low: three valve, uncompensated low brass ain't that desirable and with the cost of noticeably better student instruments coming down (and becoming available used now, even), the next rung down is guaranteed to get cheaper.


Ps.
For what it's worth, I think Hsop's pay-it-forward suggestion is great if you can manage it - but we're not all in a position to do things like that.
All the best, whatever you do

 

[2nd tenor]

Point of clarification here to explain the divergence of views between Tom and I. Tom plays a Soprano Cornet for possibly the second best Brass Band in the South West contesting region - so playing to an exceedingly high standard. I play in Community Bands who’s members have very varying skill levels, some have played in ‘Higher Section’ contesting bands and some others struggle to play simple music correctly, for those that aren’t the best in my Band compensation is of purely academic value: even when compensated a wrong note is still wrong.

Compensation on a four value Euphonium only happens when the fourth valve is engaged. So, compensation only happens for a comparatively small percentage of the notes played and it’s only notes below the stave: D, C#, G, F# to ‘peddle’ C# of which the first three are used in normal play and the rest aren’t. I find compensation most useful for getting C# in tune (a not too uncommon note) and it’s handy for the D and the G too.

‘Horses for courses’ as they say, but I hope that the OP is now better informed rather than confused. Anyway the Regent’s a three valve non-compensating Euphonium and rightly or wrongly they aren’t particularly valued.

 

[Tom-King]

2T - that's not how compensating systems work.. you can have 4 valves and not be compensating (every 4v flugel and 4v picc trumpet I'm aware of), and you can have 3valve compensating instruments (look up compensating cornets!).

It's all about adding extra length when using valves in combination - when used together, you need a bit extra or it'll be sharp (even on cornets, hence the obsession with triggers for 1+3 and 1+2+3 combo's)

 

[2nd tenor]

Ah, yes, there are some four valve instruments that aren’t compensating so Tom you are correct there. However I very rarely see a four (piston) value instrument that doesn’t have compensating valves and hence my error. Three valve compensating valve sets work differently to four valve sets (the air pathway is different) but that’s all finer points of detail, etc., and perhaps for a different thread .

 

[David Broad]

At the end of the day the Regent 3 valve Euph was a bargain basement school band instrument, We have one and its horrible, Ok for a raw beginner as they usually give a good D and G on 1 and 3 and are sharp on C# and flat on Eb 123 /23 valves. Also it will probably struggle to get up to A =440 as 1970s Regents seem to have been made to tune to A = 440 at 20 degrees C with all the slides right in. You can hacksaw off a bit of tuning slide or pay £20 to have it done properly but to be honest its not worth the hassle and if someone offers more than £75 I would bite their hand off. The case is probably worth more than the instrument. I would stick it on eBay £150 start and consider offers over £75