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I own and like my Tuba Exchange 2052SG euphonium. I bought it to downsize from a M-W 751s after retiring. I was wondering if anyone has had the opportunity to compare the TE 2052sg to its "parent" Besson 2052 Prestige?

I own a Prestige and one of my private students has a TE2052.

The Tuba Exchange is one of the better Chinese horns I've played, but that's really not saying much. Has a pretty nice depth of sound and okay intonation, but I find it hard to push the horn to its extremes (in both range and flexibility) with it responding strangely. The trigger, even when properly lubed up still doesn't work particularly well. My student's horn plays concert pitch C3 and B2 incredibly flat with the fourth valve (even with the valve slide pushed all the way in) so 1-3 and 1-2-3 are necessary for those notes. There are similar quirks elsewhere throughout the horn.

Though some have come close I like the Prestige more than any other euphonium I've tried thus far. It was some wonky natural intonation but nearly all of that is very fixable with the tuning trigger, which is definitely the most responsive trigger design on any horn I've tried. It has the classic pillow-y "Besson" sound but can get nice and bright with the right mouthpiece. It has a very powerful low range and can of course sing up high as well. I find it very easy to respond at all dynamics and has a huge presence of sound.