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Well, I finally bought my own instrument. I bought it off Craigslist and it will do what I want it to, with some modification. It is an old satin silver Besson New Standard Comp 3 valve and it is in decent playing condition. I want to ask opinions about the ridiculously high mouthpipe and playing position. I need to decide whether to buy a small shank like a wick 1 or 2, or maybe replace the pipe with a regular shank receiver. I will probably lower the pipe in any event as I would have to use a stand or something to reach it as it is. Am I doing something wrong in my postioning that the horn feels too tall? I like the sound and intonation, though. Any advice about any of this would be very helpful.

Thanks for the encouragement. I would, I guess, be better served spending money on a new mouth pipe than on small shank mouthpieces?

Congrats- there has been alot of discussions about the Besson New Standard and its " high set " reciever. It plays well the Dennis Wick 1 , and sets up very nicely for marching, so if you should ever be so inclined, you may want to leave the location of the reciever alone. OTOH , have the ball on the bottom bough removed and if you still find it high, use a stand ...or of course, the aforementioned option of having it relocated to a more comfortable height...maybe someone can comment of the impact of having the reciever and lead pipe size changed before you go ahead with that ...good luck , jamsav

Yes, that is the kind of info I need. The Besson people knew what they were doing when they designed it and I want opinions on what may change if I monkey with the setup. How could a normal sized person march with this horn? It is a tank! By the way, the person who had this before me took off the ball - useless that!

Can you post a picture of that horn? I'd like to see it . Or, maybe put up the link to the ebay auction that already has pictures of it .

I also have one. The ball has been removed. I don't sit it on my lap. Instead, I use a standard orchestra chair or equivalent, turn it 45 degrees so the tuba rests on the corner of the chair and my right elbow can rest on the back of the chair as necessary. I am only @ 5' 10" tall, but by doing this it is comfortable. I even had to angle the receiver up a few degrees for my slight overbite.

Yes, the Wick 1 will get the best tone out of these tubas. The only reason to change the receiver is if you just simply cannot get along with a Wick 1 and have to use something else. The only other mouthpiece I ever use with mine is a Kelly 18 if it is really cold when I play for an SA kettle @ Christmas. Yes, it only goes in a tad, but being lexan, it doesn't matter.

If these tubas are set up correctly, they should be very well in tune with themselves. Because of the comp loops taking care of the multi-valve pitches, so you don't have to pull 3 long for 2+3 and 1+3 to be in tune, 3 alone is usually set and used for G and D instead of 1+2, and midline D, Db and C should be very close to in tune with basic fingerings. If not, tap the primary knuckle between the 1st and 2nd valve casings ever so slightly, not enough to dent it, but a slight "ding." This functions like "the dent" on some F tubas that help low C speak better.

Because of the comp block and the singular taper of the bell, "false pedals" can be problematic, if not impossible on these tubas. My first "false pedal" open wants to resonate more towards D rather than Eb. But as you have posted, 99%+ of community band music never goes below 1+3 lowest F, so it's a non-issue.

Oh, yeah: the reason for the ball is that it fit in the bottom of a purpose-built sling for marching or calvary usage, so the entire tuba is cradled about the body.

A Yamaha 321 tuba receiver will fit perfectly, is shaped the same, and will allow the player to use a standard-shank mouthpiece. As for the shape of the instrument, these were designed to be layed in concert by people 6' tall and taller. I would reccomend a stand.

Do you recommended a stand RATHER than the horn being modified for my stature? Here are some pictures of the beast - good shape, really, and a good buy for $600. One rather ugly patch on one of the compensating loops. Someone requested pics. Thanks for all your input - still accepting opinions. Steve

The short leadpipe being formed to the bell throat radius makes it difficult to raise or lower it, as compared, for example, to a lot of rotary tubas where the leadpipe is long enough to put in or take out a little bit of "S" curve to raise or lower it an inch or so. It can be done, but it has to be done in the full treatment of taking it off, filling it with pitch or the other tubing bend compound, heat, curve, reheat to anneal, etc., to custom fit it.

Do try the corner of the chair before you invest in a stand.