Besson New Standard

[Chuck(G)]

Lars, the "New Standard" was the forerunner of the modern Sovereign (the Sovereign has a wider bell) and was the standard instrument in British-style brass bands.

1975 isn't all that old with these instruments. Assuming that the instrument's in excellent shape and doesn't require much shop attention, a fair price would be about $2500-3000 for the 4-valve model.

Unfortuantely, variations do exist between samples of the same model and vintage, so playing one is about the only way to make the final decision to buy.

Barry's right on about the DW 2 being a good mouthpiece for one of these. You might also be able to find the old Besson 24W that was supplied with these horns.

You can have the receiver changed to accept a larger shank mouthpiece, but I'm not entirely convinced that this constitutes much of an improvement.

[WorldofBrass.com]

The biggest gripe with these instruments (B&H Imperial / Besson New Standard) was that they were made 'in pitch' with the mouthpieces that were supplied, often a Kosikup. As soon as a decent mouthpiece was used, say a Denis 2 or 3, then the pitch fell through the floor.
The only way to sort this was to have the back bow shortened. 76mm was the recommended amount although I know some had more than this taken out.

[corbasse]

Hi Lars,did you play with the eikhanger musiklag at that time?
Greetings

BTW, do you know any decent brass shops in the Den Haag area? I am going to the North Sea Jazz festival this week and have some "spare time" to look for mouth pieces and stuff.

Best regards,
Lars

Hi Lars,
I'm not sjra, but I am originally from The Hague
The "best" (or even the only) brass shop in town itself is Pfeiffer(Dutch only site).
It's a small shop and they usually do a good job, allthough when I lived around the corner I used to take my pro (french) horn to someone else (150 miles further...)
If you're after trying out instruments, you'll have to travel a bit further into Brabant or Limburg for a good selection of instruments.

[Chuck(G)]

Chuck, I managed to aquire the Besson (3 valve model, though) for less than 1000$. I think it is a bargain since it is flawless and very well kept. Nevertheless, I can recall giving my previous tubas a real bath, putting the disassembled instrument into the tub filled with not too hot water. Is this still recommendable?

Even for a 3-valve New Standard, that's a very good price if it's in good condition. The only issue that I can see is that you'll be limited to a low A, as I don't believe that the false tones on this model are very good.

Yes, cleaning the instrument out with a "bath" is a good idea, particularly if it hasn't been played in a long time. Use a trombone "snake" to clean out the leadpipe and tuning slides.

On the Eb, I'm not sure what's meant by the "back bow", unless it's the lower bow where the tubing makes its second turn (looking from the bell). But first play the horn before you think about modifying it...

[tofu]

I have a 1971 New Standard, but the BBb version. I had a Schilke 67 turned down by Schilke himself to fit the horn. I also use a Dennis Wick #2 the small shank version. If you are used to the Schilke 66 you may want to have the shank turned down to fit the smaller receiver. Based on my experience I think you will find the DW 2 to be more than a little bit larger than your 66. With my horn I find the bigger mouthpieces give a much better darker sound and much bigger volume. I bought the horn used in 1981, but the seller supplied the original Besson mouthpiece which is incredibly small and bright sounding.

The advice to to think about removing the ball on the bottom is worth considering. I had this done when I had the horn rebuilt and am very glad I did. These days when I play this horn I pretty much use the DW #2 as it provides both the sound and volume I need from the instrument. My experience with the DW #2 has been that the horn plays very well in tune with it and other folks who've played it have found the same. Again, this is my experience with the BBb and the Eb may behave differently.

Welcome back to playing and good luck with your new horn.

[imperialbari]

Hvorfor benytter Du dig ikke af Norsk Tubaforum

http://norsktubaforum.1go.dk/phpBB2/index.php

som besidder den fordel ikke at være styret af en redaktør, der har ladet sig korrumpere af sponsorer og af sit ønske om at tjene penge på tangatrusser med påtrykt logo.

Svaret på dit spørgsmål er ganske enkelt:

Hvis den pågældende Es tuba er værd at bygge en fremtid på (tætte og ikke-korroderede ventiler) så køb den. Men glem alt om at dreje stilken ned på dine mundstykker.

I stedet skal Du skaffe dig blæserøret fra en 981 Sovereign Es tuba og få det monteret af en kvalificeret reparatør. Det vil give dig frit valg på alle hylder med hensyn til mundstykker. Samtidig vil Du få en meget vel reagerende tuba, der ganske vist ikke vil have den enorme klang som en 981'er, men som vil have en meget kompakt og præcis klang.

Klaus