Selman Nickel Plated Euphonium #2431N

the instrument is extremely well constructed. the soldering, bothsoft and hard are clean as a whistle, with no blemishes any where on the horn. the valve action is silky-smooth. The horn slots very will and is intune with itself. The tone quality is amazing for a horn in this price range. It compares and stands up well against Euphoniums at twice the price. I would definately recommend the Selman Nickel Plated horn to anyone looking for a well constructed horn that plays at an affordible price' TWO THUMBS UP!!

As a repair tech I see the Selman Nickel Plated Euphonium #2431N all too often and although they are in a decent price range for beginners to play on, they are difficult and costly when it comes to repairing any problems that may arise. Which unfortunately, in my experience, arise far too often in the hands of young beginners. Instruments are just that... whether it be mechanical or musical, if you buy a cheap product, you are going to be able to notice and will eventually be paying the money saved somewhere else. With Selman you may as well buy two or three at the same time, as, in my experience Selman does not make parts available. If the repair Tech you take it to has the patience, he/she will have to fabricate parts (expensive), mix match parts from other horns, or be creative (also expensive). I would recommend saving your money for an extra month and getting a decent used horn or step up to a better horn. After all, they may be beautiful, but what is the use of being beautiful if you sound like an infant shouting through a soda can, or worse have no instrument due to no repair person wanting to deal with the thing.

For close to $270, this isn't a bad horn. I'm an education major at Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music and I recently purchased a Selman to play in the Wind Ensemble. It's a beautiful horn with excellent response. The tone quality is not of a Besson or King but then again, this horn is less than 1/4 of the name brands. It feels like a pro-model horn in my hands. The large bore definitely gives it that "big boy" feel. The nickel finish gives the tone a bright sound. The case is one hell of a coffin. A better sale would be to add a nice gig bag or soft case instead of that huge box (that will break any second now). Overall, this is a great horn in a rubbish case.

2008 Selman Euphonium: (laquered Brass). It is very nice looking and came with an attractive case (not bullet proof but should do OK for me). The tone is good but the tuning slide is out about as far as it can go. I don't understand why it is built so sharp unless it is to compensate for India's hot weather. It came with a mouthpiece which seems adequate but the receiver tube is slightly too large for my standard mouthpieces. A thin tape shim allows them to fit. The rotary valves are the German type (no strings) and work well. There was no instruction manual and I am not sure how to service them other than putting oil down the tuning slides and on the bearing surfaces. I checked the matching valves for tone variation (13=4--12=3) and the tone matches to my ear.

Overall I am pleased. It seems to play better than the old Holton I have been using. Of course that could be excitement over a new toy.

As I said, I wasn't sure howv my Selman Nickel Plated Euphonium purchase would turn out, reading some comments I've seen. I think this company has come a long way, though, and is now making a very nice instrument. From what I can tell, a lot of the people that speak badly about these have never even tried one. I also read some reports of these Selman instruments having a lot of manufacturing crud inside and needing to be flushed out before use (or valve scoring would occur). That was completely not the case. I checked it carefully before I played it, and the inside of the instrument was clean as a whistle. The valves and slides were nicely lubricated from the factory. Also, from everything I can tell, I believe this Selman 2341L is the same euphonium as the Schiller 400 that's being sold by some retailers for more than three times the cost of the Selman. For the money I paid for this instrument, I'm more than satisfied.

This instrument is no comparison to a Besson Prestige euphonium, but the build comes extremely close to that of a Yamaha YEP-321. I use both horns, and the only difference is they both have slightly different sounds. I would definitely recommend this horn, rather than a crummy Tristar instrument, espically since they are around the same price of $300. Only other problem is that it is hard to play A flat, just below middle C, but with proper buzzing, no one could tell the difference.