york prescience tuba

[peter birch]

http://www.york-brass.com/englisch/inst ... b377_e.htm

here is an interesting little tuba, there is no picture on the webpage but its dimensions are there. It is smaller than the old Besson Regent, but with a standard size mouthpiece receiver.
It feels almost like an Eb euphonium, but sounds quite nice and is quite easy to blow.

[Dan Schultz]

http://www.york-brass.com/englisch/inst ... b377_e.htm

here is an interesting little tuba, there is no picture on the webpage but its dimensions are there. It is smaller than the old Besson Regent, but with a standard size mouthpiece receiver.
It feels almost like an Eb euphonium, but sounds quite nice and is quite easy to blow.

Very little is known about the new 'York' music instruments... at least not on the West side of 'the pond', anyway. I've had some communications with reliable sources that indicates that some of the tooling being used to make these horns are actually old Besson tools from the London factory liquidation. I've been in touch with them recently about parts for an old Besson. Here's who they are:
Schreiber & Keilwerth
Musikinstrumenten GmbH
Industriestrasse 17
64569 Nauheim
Germany

Kurt.... Klaus.... care to tell anything?

[Ferguson]

Schreiber made the parts for Besson instruments for many years, which were then shipped to the UK for assembly. The last time Buffet/Besson reorganized, they decided to have their instruments built at JA Musik, and asked Schreiber for their tooling back. Schreiber claimed that they themselves owned the tooling, and decided to to keep it and create their own brand, called York. The York name harks back to the old J.W, York Co. in Michigan, USA, and also to Yorkshire, UK, a popular region for brass bands, yes?

I had also heard the Herr Nirschl consulted, and some assembers were hired who previously worked at Amati/Cerveny. So, these York horns are the old Besson tooling, but with some improvements to consistency and assembly.

The Prescience instruments, including the tuba mentioned by the OP, are not German, but are made in China. I have a couple of these euphoniums in the shop, and they seem very nice. They look to be a step up from a Weril, similar to a W. Nirschl, and would be a less expensive alternative to a YEP321.

York Brass have been distributed in the US by Powell/Sonare, but they are ending that agreement. So, if they've got anything left in their warehouse, it's at closeout prices. I don't know who the new distributor will be.

Much of the above is gossip, so if anyone can add to it, I'd be interested to hear.

Best,

Ferguson