The New Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium - My First Thoughts!
- 2 hours ago
- 11 min read
This is a blog post I have been very excited about writing. From testing the new Sterling Virtuoso euphonium back in September 2025, I have been dying to get my hands on one and that moment became a reality last week, in March 2026. Since getting it, I've been blown away, it is better than I even remember from the first tests!
The first batch of euphoniums and baritones arrived in the UK having pretty much all sold out in advance. That is an impressive feat and one which makes a very bold statement to the seriousness and quality of the new Sterling Musical Instruments venture.
JP374ST Euphonium
For the past few months I have been using a brilliant JP374ST (JP Sterling) euphonium and it has stood up to everything that I have thrown at it. I have used it for weekly teaching, masterclasses, small ensemble work, guest soloist performances and concerts and contests with The Grimethorpe Colliery Band.
This is amazing when you take a look at the price tag of the JP Sterling! Have a read about my experience at the Yorkshire Area Contest 2026 HERE, where my band qualified for the National Finals!
So Many Questions About The Virtuoso
A concern which seemed to be coming to light from speaking to people about the new Sterling's and from receiving many messages asking questions about them, was how different would the Sterling Virtuoso be to the JP Sterling and is it really worth the extra money?
I wrote a past blog discussing this, read it HERE. Even though I had a lot of information, I still didn't know how the Virtuoso would perform in a top band or just in day to day practice. I liked the JP Sterling a lot because it was lighter than my old Sterling and has a sweetness to the sound but it did take some time to get used to it.
Upon receiving my new Virtuoso, I have have loved it, there are similarities to the JP Sterling for sure which have helped me to transition quicker onto the new one and I will share all my honest opinions in this blog.
Amazing Value For Money
To answer the earlier question, absolutely yes, the Virtuoso is worth every penny and is a considerable upgrade to the JP Sterling. Bare in mind, for the price, you are getting a seriously brilliant instrument.
If you are only looking at pictures or even looking on a trade stand, you will not notice many differences, but the second you pick it up and play it, it is impossible not to feel the difference in build, quality and sound.
It is amazing to see the three Sterling's next to each other. I have the old Sterling (middle), the JP Sterling (right) and the new Sterling Virtuoso (left) in the picture. Two of these hold amazing memories for me and hopefully the new one is about to start building even more!
The new Sterling weighs around the same as my old Sterling, I would actually prefer it to be a bit lighter, but it is far more resonant than anything I have played before and packs some real power. Even just from removing the slides on the new Sterling you can see and feel how the material quality is better than the standard JP Sterling model.
Blind Test
In a blind test with all three instruments (thanks to my wife), the feedback suggested that the new Virtuoso was best in almost all areas, especially loud dynamic range and sound quality but at lot of the time, the three different instruments sounded very similar. The legacy created by Paul Riggett with the original Sterling line has clearly been put into these new instruments and all the best features from the old versions are present in them.
All instruments were played using my K&G 4D mouthpiece. Of which I am soon getting a brand new version!
Sterling Virtuoso First Concert
After having the new euphonium only 3 days, I decided to just go for it and use it in a concert with Grimethorpe. It felt great in the rehearsal before, so why not. The concert was an evening sell out concert in the magnificent Selby Abbey. It was a full band programme plus I was a featured soloist, playing the solo 'Travelling Along' by Chris Mallet. Please do get in touch if you were there and let me know how my euphonium sounded.
I also took the opportunity to get some photos taken, in concert dress, with the new instrument while it is still so shiny! Here is one of them.
Sterling Virtuoso Price
I know people who have recently purchased top of the range euphoniums, spending around £8000 and are unhappy with them, as I have said before, surely this new line of euphonium is just going to help balance the market place and maybe even force other manufacturers to lower their far too over priced price tags.
The price of the new euphonium is unbelievably reasonable. You can check prices and order one directly from Sterling or Band Supplies in the UK and DF Music in the USA. It is very early days for Sterling and it will take time for them to be able to meet the demand so please be patient if you are not able to get one very quickly.
As I have mentioned before, I endorse this brand but don't receive any commission for selling them. Perhaps Sterling will help me with some costs in projects I am involved in. My advice is always to test any instruments before buying and see what suits you best. Think about what you need to achieve and seek advice from a teacher or someone you trust.
Don't just take the advice of some amateur player who hardly plays their instrument, don't buy based on social media comments written by someone you do not know or a professional who gets commission for each sale. Advice sometimes suggests to find an old euphonium from the times when they were better made, read my thoughts on that HERE. Always do you own due diligence.
Brand New Instrument Science
Playing on a brand new brass instrument is quite an interesting experience, I don't really understand the science behind it but surely, blowing through fresh, clean metal tubes for the first few times is a totally different experience to playing an instrument where the air has been travelling through it for some time.
I always know when to give my instrument a clean because the pedal notes (with all valves down) just get more difficult to play, once it's had a bath, those same notes come out easily. I use this Aqua Nozzle product. You have to learn to listen to your instrument and be at one with it.
I do feel a bit that you can hear or feel the air going through the tubes on a brand new instrument, it is too clinical and lacks finesse. I've heard very good euphonium players swear that cleaning their instrument makes it worse. If you only play your instrument once a week, you probably wouldn't notice but for me it is like having something tweaked on a formula one car and only the driver can notice the subtle difference.
I find that a new instrument often plays a bit flat but over time this will lift. I generally find that playing on the edge of being flat can help you keep a bigger sound, but I would rather be a bit sharp than a bit flat. I wrote a blog post about tuning, you can read it HERE.
Sterling 'Blowing-In' Time
It is interesting how air travels through brass instruments and I find how the condensation/water gathers inside is a big indicator as to how 'blown-in' an instrument is. You sometimes hear people say that an instrument needs to be 'blown-in' and it isn't something I have thought about much until now but after playing the new JP Sterling, I truly noticed a 'blowing-in' period where tuning wasn't settled, the response was a bit too quick and the extreme upper register wasn't as easy as I would like.
I have also heard people say that their instrument has been 'blown-in' by someone else or that they let a good player use it for a while 'to put all the high notes in it'. While this sounds a bit silly as an idea, it does hold some truth but unless you blow the air in the same way, you will not notice any differences and of course, we all have different lips, tongues, teeth and faces so no two players can ever be the same.
I haven't noticed these things so much with the new Sterling (the upper register feels great straight away) but I will sum up a few things that you might find happens with your new Sterling (or any new brass instrument) and it might help you to better understand what is going on before you consider that something might be wrong.
1) Lapping Compound. The new Sterling's / JP Sterling's (and probably most other brands) are delivered with a lapping compound on the valves and slides, and basically throughout the instrument. This stuff is a very fine paste containing very fine particles (invisible to the eye) mixed with an oil, designed to help achieve a polished flat surface. It also helps protect it, which is good if instruments are left in storage in brand new condition.
Due to this, I recommend oiling the valves when you start playing every time. You might also wish to give the valves a wash with water but I have found that leaving this compound on will help maintain the valves better. I have had no issues with the valves so far, and genuinely don't expect there to be any issues going forwards.
If you don't oil them or worse, don't use your instrument for long periods, then they might become sluggish. You will notice that over time, the solution starts working its way out of the instrument, so be careful with those nice white band shirts because once you get the solution on it, it doesn't wash out. Likewise watch for letting water out on light coloured carpet. Once the water coming out is clear, I think this is a good turning point for the 'blowing-in' process.
2) Condensation. Continuing from the above, I think you can tell a lot about an instrument based on how the water gathers inside it. Call me a nerd, it is fine, after all, I spend half my life attached to my euphonium so I am bound to notice these small things.
To start with, on a new instrument, if you are using good breath, warm air and a full sound then you will notice a lot of water needs releasing from all the slides, but especially the main tuning slide. The inner metal tunes are completely smooth and free so water flows quickly.
Very little water will travel through the valves and drain from the valve bottoms to start. I also notice that for a while you might notice water getting trapped in places like the 4th valve chamber or coming out of the bell or the leadpipe (when it is turned) but after the 'blowing-in' period then the water drainage becomes far more predictable.
You also want to watch out for water-logging of valve chambers, no water at all coming out the main slide water key or excessive water on the valves felts, this can indicate an issue with how air and water are moving through the instrument. Likely these are problems you will encounter with the cheaper Chinese brands.
I have been using this valve oil on my Sterling so far and it seems to work well.
Tuning on the Sterling Virtuoso
I find that new instruments are very easy to manipulate pitch wise or maybe it is just that it is unfamiliar, so is tricky to play in tune to start. On my Virtuoso, I have all of the tuning slides all the way in at the moment and I expect that over time (especially as the weather warms up) I will need to pull them out a bit. I would rather be sharp as I learn the instrument and I can always adjust using the main tuning slide trigger.
Remember that your instrument will evolve and react to the environment. Don't expect your instrument to be perfectly in tune, none ever are, and consider all the factors at play before saying the instrument is out of tune.
Any notes with the 2nd valve tend to be a bit flat, even on the old ones, but I use a tuner all the time and with monitoring of my own tuning, I know that these notes will start to settle. I use the 4th valve for high B's (concert A) and the 3rd valve generally for middle A's (concert G).
Something I find as well is that I can play perfectly in tune with the tuner at home by myself but as soon as I go to band, I feel out of it. Remember that in a brass band, others need to adjust to your new instrument just as much as you need to adjust to them. Just having a different tone colour or sound can impact tuning and balance with your section. Lots to think about!
In the extreme upper register, there are notes that don't sit well on their expected valves (same for all brands) but with some experimenting there is always a different combination where the note is better, for example a super F# (concert E) is very easy (he says 🤣) to play with just the 3rd valve rather than 2nd.
Anything I Don't Like?
I have to say, that I prefer the old trigger lever and the one from the JP Sterling over this new rectangle shape. It does feel a bit heavy, especially if the thumb is pushing from a lower point, but it will free up the more it is played I am sure. The screw adjustment for the main tuning slide works fine, exactly the same as the original Sterling's and you can move it so the trigger lever doesn't stick out too far.
The instrument comes with a small belly guard which again, I am not a fan of but I don't use it anyway. There is no need as the slide moves freely for me when sitting or standing.
I have put the valve buttons from my old Sterling onto my new one because they are smaller and lighter, I just like them better. The valve caps don't always screw on smoothly but perhaps they will start to do this after more use.
I cannot figure out how to attach the straps to the case but I am actually using my own leather gig bag so this doesn't matter. The case it comes with is very good quality though and you also get a mouthpiece and accessories.
Finally, the false piece (where the right hand goes) is a little bit high but already I have started to get used to this. So there really isn't very much that I do not like. It is certainly inconsequential compared to all the good stuff.
Final Thoughts and What's Coming Up?
Overall, I am very impressed and I will try and do some videos in the coming weeks for my YouTube channel. I have a bit of time in the lead up to Easter, so if you wanted me to visit your band with the three Sterling's to test, just get in touch.
If you have purchased one of the new euphoniums or baritones I would love to know your thoughts!
During Easter, I am away in Singapore and looking forward to working again with the musicians of the Singapore Armed Forced Band.
I am also looking out for a band to play with at this years Whit Friday Marches, so if you need a euphonium player, give me a shout.
I am also excited to soon share details for my next guest soloist concert, this will be with The Castleton Brass Band in Suffolk, in June 2026. If you wanted a soloist or teacher in the UK or worldwide, just get in touch.
Thanks for reading! ❤
Mark Glover
16/3/26
Grimethorpe Colliery Band:
Sterling Musical Instruments:
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I think I'm in the market for that instrument, Mark. I have to persuade Alison to agree. I'll see yours when I have a lesson in your studio in June.