Giving me the Horn

Yamaha Eb Tenor Horn
Model: YAH- 602S Professional

Of all the instruments in the brass band, the tenor horn is the one that seems to have been left alone the most in terms of development and change.

Just look at a photograph of a brass band as far back as the turn of the 20th century, and you'll find three men holding a bit of silverware that bears a remarkable likeness to the three that can be found in the hands of the players in your band practice on a Friday night.

No added tubing, no extra valves and pretty much the same basic clean design. It could be the fact that nobody has really had the time or the inclination to give it a good going over, or, it could well be that it's because it's a damn near perfect bit of design and workmanship it doesn't need any tinkering to make it better. If it ain't broke etc...

The market place is dominated by two main makes (Besson and Yamaha) and in general terms the players haven't had a lot to complain about. Perhaps it's because the instrument has such female overtones (and as any bloke knows, any precious instrument in the hands of a woman means that the mind and the body are in their control) but in recent years the tenor horn has gone a bit "laddish" and seems to be able to hold its own more in the male dominated banding world. So throw out the Laura Ashley printed frock image of the dainty quietly spoken Eb horn and welcome to the world of Lara Croft and her amazing horny hooters. The tenor horn now has attitude, can drink 6 pints of Stella and fart like a trouper with the best a band can offer.

We've had our hands on the Yamaha Professional horn for a while now and so we've been able to see if the new breed of big, bold and brassy horn players have an instrument they can do the business on.

The usual 4BR Roadtest categories apply – Build Quality, Intonation, Ease of Blowing and Tonal Quality and Value for Money. 25 marks for each and a final score out of 100. This is what we thought of the Japanese horn then.

Build Quality:

Yamaha instruments did have a reputation a few years ago for being a bit dodgy on the build quality front, but over the past few years they seem to have worked hard on getting things right and the instrument we tested was well put together and a sturdy bit of workmanship.

The valves were slick and robust and the valve tops and hand lapped valves looked and felt the biz. The valve action was as smooth as Des Lynam dipped in Swarfega and all the twiddly bits (water keys, lyre socket, felts etc) seemed to been put together with a bit of care and attention. The lacquer finish had less spots than a teenager's chin and the sheen was clear and deep. No blobs or solder marks around the nooks and crannies was a plus and the slides snugly fitted their housings.

The instrument was well balanced and the lead pipe was well positioned and felt secure. The valves were well placed and the instrument had the feel of being nicely put together. A good case as well.

Not bad at all. 21 points.

Intonation:

The bug bear of many a tenor horn, and although we had one or two areas of concern we felt the Yamaha was well centred in pitch and pretty good in intonation throughout the range. We don't know why there isn't a trigger on the first valve (would there be a real need for it?) but for the most part the horn had no real problems.

First valve tuning below the stave on Bb and first space F was a little wonky but it only needed a bit of thought and flexibility on the lip to get it spot on, whilst up above top G and onto A, Bb, B and C it seemed fine enough. It tended to go a bit sharp when the volume was turned up, but to be fair this could just as well been the player rather than the instrument itself.

Having three horns the same in a section is seen as a must for the most conductors not only to make sure the tonal quality is combined but also to try and keep the intonation in check. The two other horn players had a different makes but it didn't cause a problem as such and this was a plus point for the Yamaha.

Pretty good again. 21 points.

Ease of Blowing/Tonal Quality:

One of the biggest changes in the role of the tenor horn over the past twenty years or more has been the need for the player to make a bigger, bolder sound. Loud playing is one thing – good loud playing is another.

The Yamaha has a bore of .469" so it's big enough to cope with even someone with a pair (lungs that is) like Lara Croft rather than Robert Croft and it's an instrument that felt more at home when blown at full steam rather than just at half bore. Right from top to bottom it didn't feel restricted in anyway and this was a plus point. At the quieter dynamic level it had a tendency to sound a bit airy and the player will have to concentrate on keeping a constant stream of air through the instrument, but it rewarded good technique and didn't make a player put on the surgical truss after a rehearsal.

The tonal quality was something we had to get used at first, as it was noticeably darker in tone than it's rivals, but it was something we liked. When blown to full stroke it had almost a tenor trombone quality to its timbre that blended well, whilst it never became strident and hard in tonality even when giving it the full monty. The quieter dynamics needed a player to work hard to maintain the sound quality but even when getting to the sucking stage the instrument had a clean dark sound.

Again pretty good. 22 points.

Overall Performance/ Value for Money:

Well done Yamaha. It seems they have cornered the market by producing a well built instrument that has good qualities of tone and build quality that rewards the accomplished player and encourages the up and coming stars of the future.

There may be a need for them to look at the intonation on the first valve and possibly explore the need for a trigger, but overall the instrument fits well into any existing section, even if the other players are not playing the same make.

We liked the way in which they had obviously taken time to address problems that had afflicted them in the past (build quality for instance) and it comes as no surprise that more and more players have chosen the Yamaha. It's difficult to make a comparison with their main rival (we have to get our hands on a new Besson to do that first) but our guinea pig grunted the right noises about the instrument and was a bit disappointed that it had to go back before Xmas.

Perhaps there will come a time when some bright spark will have a great new idea and we'll see some sort of radical design for the 21st century, but at the moment the old girls of the band have just had a few nip and tucks to the flabby bits and an inch or two of silicone implant work to make them a little more attractive to the boys. We can't really complain with that can we?

Nice and tasty then. 22 points.

Overall Score: 86 points.

General Specifications:

Hand lapped valves and pistons
Pressure formed tubing
Laser fused pluzuma welded bell
Bore: 0469"
Bell: 8" upright yellow brass bell
Lacquer or Silver plate finish
Monel pistons: Nickel and copper alloy. Bottom sprung
Gold brass leadpipe

The Verdict:

For further information contact:

For further information about the Yamaha Eb horn please contact www.yamaha-music.co.uk or ring 01908 369238

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