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Articles -
Personal Essays
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Written by Todd Cranson
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Friday, 29 July 2005 09:52 |
by R. Todd Cranson
In the spring of 2005, TubaNews.com traveled to Frankfurt, Germany for the International Musikmesse. Among the many people we met in Frankfurt was Paul Riggettt, maker of Sterling Euphoniums. Paul is a very kind, knowledgeable man, and he invited us to visit him back home in the UK to learn more about his special approach to designing and building Sterling Euphoniums.
The more we travel, the more we learn how small the tuba world actually is. As further proof, we are very happy to be friends with Sterling Euphonium Artist, Cyrille Bonnard. Cyrille is a Frenchman living in the UK. We recently had the opportunity to travel with Cyrille to the workshop where Paul Riggett builds his instruments.
In addition to our purposes at TubaNews.com, Cyrille made the trip to Bedford to have Paul try out a new trigger device he is experimenting with for the tuning slides on new Sterling Euphoniums. This was a great opportunity for us to see Paul in action and speak with him about his work and instruments.
Paul Riggett has worked as an instrument maker for many years. With a long history at Besson, he was one of the founding owners of Sterling in 1987. He purchased sole ownership in 1991 and now hand crafts Sterling Euphoniums and Cornet's from his small workshop. In speaking with him, we discussed the individual attention he gives each instrument that leaves his workshop. While it is faster to have a staff working with him, at this point in his career he is happy to work alone. In addition to enjoying the freedom of working alone, the absolute control he has on quality makes him very proud of the instruments he makes.
Though he has the ability to manufacture instruments truly from scratch in his small workshop, he explained to us that he now purchases valve sets, bells and hydraulically manufactured conical tubes from expert shops in Europe. The rest of the parts are made there in his workshop. This system allows Sterling to turn out instruments at a quicker pace, approximately three to four euphoniums a month, and Paul is very happy with the quality of the parts he purchases. With his skills and vast knowledge of instrument making he ensures that the various parts are of the highest quality, and he is able to tweak every part to perfection. | |  |
Sterling Euphoniums are highly customizable instruments, and we learned a great deal in speaking with Paul about the effect of various design manipulations. With a kind smile on his face and a chuckle, he told us that many design options that are available today make more difference in peoples minds than in the physical world. He did point out, though, that this does not necessarily discredit these designs, as they can be important to people, but he has determined a number of specific designs that make noticeable differences on his euphoniums.
top: the latest euphonium about to leave the workshop
bottom: Cyrille's euphonium
Two design options that I remember very clearly speaking with Paul about, pictured above, are Sterling's optional heavy valve caps and the placement of the brace between the upper bow and the bell. Paul explained that both these options, particularly the placement of the brace, have an impact on the tone the instrument produces. The lower position of the brace, as pictured on Cyrille's euphonium, produces a brighter, clearer tone. Placing the brace higher helps players create a darker tone. When combined with the heavy valve cap, the instrument is set up to create a dark, powerful tone that many players look for in brass band and large ensemble settings.
There are many other options available on Sterling Euphoniums, and my descriptions here are brief and limited to text. Hearing the differences makes these design options much clearer. For a more complete list of design options, including bell weight, material and size, visit www.sterlingbrass.co.uk .
 | | While at the Sterling workshop, we were also very happy to meet Trevor Groom. Trevor belongs to an early generation of British euphonium players, and he is considered by many to be one of the Greats! An early teacher of Steven Mead, Trevor has many stories from his long career, and we enjoyed our day sitting outside in the beautiful weather listening.
We all had a laugh as he told us a short story about his youngest son who gave up the tuba in favor of electric bass in a rock and roll band. He said to us, with a straight face, "I doubt you've heard of them, though, Iron Maiden!" We couldn't believe it, and all got a good laugh.
It was a wonderful experience to hear Trevor's unique sound as he played for us on his vintage Boosey Euphonium and to hear the differences between his sound and Cyrille as they played both Trevor's old Boosey and the two Sterling Euphoniums pictured above. There came a point when Paul had to get to work on Cyrille's instrument and we all stepped out of the workshop. Trevor, who is obviously a dedicated educator, was extremely free with his knowledge and worked with Cyrille for some time right there in the back yard. It was great to listen to these two fine musicians work together and compare ideas from different generations and different countries. |
All in all, this trip was an unbelievable learning experience for us. We learned much about euphonium sound, design and much more, and Paul Riggett was a wonderful host. Not only did he share with us his vast knowledge, we also owe him thanks for nice sandwiches that afternoon for lunch. He seems to me a man who loves his work and who is a world class artist / craftsman. The individual attention he gives every instrument that leaves his workshop is a special thing in today's world of assembly lines and factories. I encourage all you euph players out there to think about this if you find yourself considering Sterling Euphoniums.
Right: Paul Riggett laughs as he gives us a quick tour of his polishing shed and buffs up a spot on this very old, dusty tuba bugle. | |  |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 November 2008 19:43 )
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