Curious

ufoneum · Post by **ufoneum** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:50 am

There is absolutely nothing wrong with older horns. The older B/H horns are great. While some will whine about intonation problems, the New Standard B/H blows just as well as newer horns. These are gems that can be picked up for quite cheap.

You might have to do some work to the horn to get it up to peak performance. One thing that you might notice is that on the older B/H horns, they have metal valve guides. After a bit of time on the horn, you might want to replace these with the plastic ones. They can get a bit noisy. Hope you find something that you like!

humphrey · Post by **humphrey** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:41 am

Have to agree with ufonium here. I have an old Besson New Standard EEb from 1937 that is used constantly despite having seen some serious abuse via the school instrument use it has been subjected to. Just a month ago I purchased an old Boosey & co cavalry tuba (EEb) from 1919! It has had a 19" bell fitted at some time & three valves replaced, but the rest of the instrument is original. It sounds awesome!! Almost like a contra. Great low range.

In short, definitely worth thinking about. These things are built to last & should you be thinking of trying EEb you should absolutely be considering an old B&H/Boosey & co Imperial or Besson New Standard.

Best of luck

Russ

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:22 pm

From your handle, I wonder if you were talking about old euphoniums rather than tubas ("horn" is a very nebulous term).

I really like the sound of the older 60-70's era Besson New Standard euphoniums much more than the modern Sovereign or Prestige. It seems to have a much sweeter, more refined sound.

A friend used to play one of these and gave in to the urge to buy a Willson 2900. His sound on the 2900 is less well defined to my ears and no more in tune.

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 2:55 pm

Likewise, I prefer my 1971 Besson 3-valve comp to any new horn. The intonation is just nearly perfect.

4-valve comps overtook 3-valve comps when composers wanted lower notes and players wanted more alternate fingerings for intonation, fast passages, etc.

Newer does not always mean better. Sometimes the opposite. The newer Besson 4-valves have significant intonation issues.