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Hi everyone,

I ordered a John Packer 274 compensating Euphonium from Joe Sellmansberger @ Mid-South Music and it is VERY impressive!

It sounds great. Very pleasant tone, and very easy to steer. Pitch is very good. A couple light drops of oil and the valves felt great out of the box. Slides move well. The case is a high quality hard case. I thought the mouthpiece would be a 6.5AL clone, bit it looks and feels very Wick 4AL -esque (huge plus for me) and works well with the horn.

The overall price is great, better than any other dealers advertised prices I found. If you are in the market, call or email Joe and Debbie, they are awesome!

Yes… They are equipped with “real“ euphonium mouthpieces.

They’ve promised me that the amazing model JP333 Rath-licensed bass trombone is soon to be equipped with a “real“ bass trombone mouthpiece. (When I sell this amazing model of bass trombone, I’ve been swapping out the mouthpieces, and now have quite a collection of - well… – spare euphonium mouthpieces, which I have pulled from JP333 bass trombone cases…)

… but I digress, and thank you so much for the complementary words.

I'm on the record about 100 different times praising the 274.

It's the most in tune compensating euph I've ever played.

last year, at TMEA, I played my packer and an adams back to back for 30 minutes, with the full blessing from my wife that if I wanted to upgrade, I should do it. If was a straight up trade, I might have, but of course I would have had to fork out another $6000 to make the swap. Not even close to worth it

I have tried a dozen or so mouthpieces with mine, and the one I keep going back to? The one that it was shipped with. I don't know what it is modeled after, I think it's close to a 51D. I've had this one for a few years, I'm not sure what it's being shipped with now. Mine looks a little like a bach megatone with no writing on it at all.

With the supply chain thing, a ton are arriving at the warehouse (between hand-wringing waits) and most of them end up being pre-sold, and a reasonable share are to my customers.

bloke wrote: ↑Fri Dec 03, 2021 12:47 pm Yes… They are equipped with “real“ euphonium mouthpieces.

They’ve promised me that the amazing model JP333 Rath-licensed bass trombone is soon to be equipped with a “real“ bass trombone mouthpiece. (When I sell this amazing model of bass trombone, I’ve been swapping out the mouthpieces, and now have quite a collection of - well… – spare euphonium mouthpieces, which I have pulled from JP333 bass trombone cases…)

… but I digress, and thank you so much for the complementary words.

Yes. The mouthpiece that came with the JPR333 I had was quite a bit smaller than my normal Euph mouthpiece, much less a bass trombone mouthpiece. But no big deal, as it’s a great horn (not just for the price).

Don

That’s being addressed, I’m told.
I don’t know if I said this in a previous post, because I can’t remember, and because it’s hard to scroll back on my phone without the app, but JP mailed me a box of those Wick copy bass trombone mouthpieces that they sell, and I swap those into the cases, when 333’s arrive here, but I can’t do that when I drop-ship 333’s to customers that live far away.

I love the 274. There isn't a snowball's chance in Hades that I would buy something more expensive when it plays so well. I just wish I had a chance to play it more.

Great deals on JP274 horns to be had currently via a Madison-based (WI) reseller on eBay:

Currently accepting $1250 offers on the lacquer finish (free shipping):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175424707616

Currently accepting $1525 offers on the silver-plate finish (free shipping):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175456218390

(I picked up one in lacquer finish for $1250...arrived today. Great horn!)

Glad to hear that Packers are being delivered. Patiently waiting…

ronr wrote: ↑Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:50 pm Glad to hear that Packers are being delivered. Patiently waiting…

Capital Music Gear in Madison, WI (the eBay seller referenced above) seems to have about half a dozen JP274 horns (in both lacquer and silver-plate).

iMav wrote: ↑Tue Dec 06, 2022 7:21 am Capital Music Gear in Madison, WI (the eBay seller referenced above) seems to have about half a dozen JP274 horns (in both lacquer and silver-plate).

Actually, looks like they just drop ship them. They haven’t seemed to run out yet! (I picked up a JP274 for $1250 and a JP374 (w/ trigger) for $2635.

I DO like the 374…but definitely not worth twice what the 274 cost!

I bought a JP 274 a few years ago from Joe. Worth every penny. The thing almost steers itself.

Tubaryan12 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 9:40 pm I bought a JP 274 a few years ago from Joe. Worth every penny. The thing almost steers itself.

Agreed, I couldn't ask for a better horn for my situation (tubist who doubles). It is wayyyy better than my old King 2280 (tone, pitch, etc). If I was doing normal euph work, the supplied MP was great, but I order a Doug Elliot to supplement for a mini bass style mouthpiece.

What is the 274 based on?

One of the Bessons, but in my experience, the intonation is better than any Besson I've ever played

Am I correct in assuming this takes a large shank?

Yep

Bummer. If there was a euro shank available I'd definitely try it.

I've owned (probably) a dozen compensating Bessons and Yamahas over the last couple decades. Every Besson has had a terrific sound (but terrible pitch), and every Yamaha I've owned has had great pitch (but the sound is so dull). I tried out the Willson 2900 last year and will never look back. So much more efficient, which makes it a lot of fun to play. I don't feel like I'm fighting the horn to get what I want out of it.

I have a few old Besson intermediate shanks in a drawer, and just gave one to someone. (They paid me to shine it up, silver plate it and mail it to them.)

I don't have an unlimited quantity of these, and I'm not looking to give them away willy-nilly.
Further, you can order an intermediate receiver from Kurath through Getzen and install it on most any euphonium.

Also, it's really easy to purchase a Yamaha 201/321 standard small shank receiver (as these are set up to accept a generous bore mouthpipe), chuck it in a lathe, and ream it out to intermediate with a Jarno #4 reamer.

ParLawGod wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 11:57 pm Bummer. If there was a euro shank available I'd definitely try it.

I've owned (probably) a dozen compensating Bessons and Yamahas over the last couple decades. Every Besson has had a terrific sound (but terrible pitch), and every Yamaha I've owned has had great pitch (but the sound is so dull). I tried out the Willson 2900 last year and will never look back. So much more efficient, which makes it a lot of fun to play. I don't feel like I'm fighting the horn to get what I want out of it.