Playing brass instruments for almost 40 years, I’ve seen a wide range of horns come and go, from crap to snap. One thing I’ve learned is that you cannot always generalize an instrument just because it came from a certain country. China, for example, reproduces a lot of musical instruments. Some are not so good, and some rival the best in the world. Cecillio is made in China and makes some nice stuff these days because of good quality control in the manufacturing process. Cecillio also makes Mendini instruments, which is a little less expensive line.

I got one of these 4-valve, EP-280N Euphs in Nickel plate just to try it out because I had heard some good things about it. Having an outstanding Cecillio cello, as well, I did not doubt the reports. I was not surprised with what I received: Nice hard case; average size, silver-plated mouthpiece; tuner; cotton gloves; polishing cloth; and some valve oil, all neatly and safely packaged. Inside the plush, moulded case, the euphonium was enveloped in a soft, protective draw-string cloth bag. It was gorgeous, so the first thing I did was take it out of the bag and disassemble it. I found a smooth conical bore; nice brass, rose bass lead pipe; perfect slides and valves; solid welds; good parts, and good quality plating. I then oiled and greased it up, put it back together, popped in my Bach 5g mouthpiece and took it through some paces. This euphonium was very responsive, and, I’m surprised to say, sounded to me just almost as nice as horns I’ve played costing ten times as much. I can tell you that it is put together quite well.

This horn is smart buy, especially for a beginner who does not want to invest a lot of money yet. Some think that a good horn has to have a familiar name or be really pricey to be "good", and that’s not always true. When I was a kid, I once took my King student trumpet to a Bill Chase seminar. Afterwards, I told Bill, "Maybe I can be half as good a player as you are one day when I can afford a more expensive trumpet." He said, "Really? Let me see your horn.", and proceeded to make that little King sound like a million bucks. So, if the craftsmanship is reasonably good on an instrument, any accomplished player can make it sing and that’s where you come in. This euphonium can probably keep up with you for a while.

For the price, this instrument is a good value. It has a lovely, deep tone that blends well in our quintet. I recommend it highly for ensemble or band.

Well, they say you cant polish a turd, but apparently you can nickel plate one. I bought this thing when it was priced at 2 dollars. I wasnt expecting much and thats exactly what i got. Thats cheap for a euphonium, but rather expensive for an umbrella holder. SOME of the notes sound really nice on this horn, others sound like someone stuffed a rolled up pair of socks in the bell when you werent looking. Intonation is so bad that you have to use alternate fingerings just to get it to play reasonably in tune. Might be good for an absolute beginner to learn playing thier scales on or something, but if you pay the 0 dollars that this thing costs now, you will be getting completely ripped off. There are much better chinese copies of real horns for similar prices. This thing isnt even a copy of a real horn. Don’t waste your money.