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New Besson 2051 Prestige
To my fellow members of Dave Werden's forum:
An update after nearly 6 months with my almost new Besson 2051-2 Prestige (formerly Arnie Williams horn)....
One of the reasons I love my horn is that it comes with Steven Mead behind it!
1. Since I received the horn in August of 2007, Mr. Mead has been gracious enough to answer a number of email questions personally. EVERY one of these email questions regarding the new Prestige has been answered within 1-2 days of when I sent the email. I found out that the horn was built on January 21, 2007 and tested by him on January 26, 2007. Thit puts the horn in the 3rd batch built by the new Besson.
2.My horn shipped without the "water reservoir" since Besson did not have them in production yet. I sent a note to Mr. Mead about this and he told me that Besson had problems with the first batch of reservoirs so they shipped horns without them. I do not have a direct relationship with Dillon Music (from whom the horn was originally purchased) which made following up on this more difficult. Besson had supplied Mr. Mead with an extra stash of the little boogers just to help those like me. Today, two of the water reservoirs (grime buckets) that attach under the valves arrived in the mail with a personal note from Steve Mead. Since I only need one, he asked me to get hold of anyone else in similar straits (John Jones...check your PM)!
3. I was having some problems with centering high B (above Bb) and high D (concert pitch). John Jones had reported a similar problem with his 967S. Steve Mead siggested some alternate fingerings. I have since found that high B centers pretty well using 3rd valve and high D works using 2nd valve. (John Jones...let me know you feedback).
I just finished playing my annual holiday concerts, so some more feedback is in order:
4. In my local group, the Nashoba Valley Community Band, I played mostly bassoon parts (which we lack) and found the extended low range of the new Prestige to be fabulous. I had no problem getting a robust, warm sound in the range below low-F down to pedal Bb, even at very low volume levels to balance with the woodwind section.
5. In my small group, the Middlesex Brass Quintet, I was able to play with enough finesse and a focused enough sound that the horn did not overwhelm the rest of the group the way my older Sovereign 967 had. Instead of being forced to play trombone exclusively, I was able to switch between trombone and euphonium easily, using the euphonium for most parts, including the wonderful lead lines in Jack Gale's arrangement of Maria from West Side Story.
6. In my professional group, the New England Wind Ensemble, my fellow professional players commented on the beauty and richness of the sound. I had been concerned that the smaller 2051 model would not be able to sing above the ensemble during solo parts. I need not have worried. The horn sounded great and intonation and balance were achieved with MUCH less effort on my part due to the responsiveness throughout the range.
That is it for now, but sign me off as a very happy owner of a Besson Prestige!
Doug Ruby
P.S.I want to add a special thanks to Arnie Williams for selling me the horn. New Prestige's are VERY hard to come by!
To my fellow members of Dave Werden's forum:
An update after nearly 6 months with my almost new Besson 2051-2 Prestige (formerly Arnie Williams horn)....
One of the reasons I love my horn is that it comes with Steven Mead behind it!
1. Since I received the horn in August of 2007, Mr. Mead has been gracious enough to answer a number of email questions personally. EVERY one of these email questions regarding the new Prestige has been answered within 1-2 days of when I sent the email. I found out that the horn was built on January 21, 2007 and tested by him on January 26, 2007. Thit puts the horn in the 3rd batch built by the new Besson.
2.My horn shipped without the "water reservoir" since Besson did not have them in production yet. I sent a note to Mr. Mead about this and he told me that Besson had problems with the first batch of reservoirs so they shipped horns without them. I do not have a direct relationship with Dillon Music (from whom the horn was originally purchased) which made following up on this more difficult. Besson had supplied Mr. Mead with an extra stash of the little boogers just to help those like me. Today, two of the water reservoirs (grime buckets) that attach under the valves arrived in the mail with a personal note from Steve Mead. Since I only need one, he asked me to get hold of anyone else in similar straits (John Jones...check your PM)!
3. I was having some problems with centering high B (above Bb) and high D (concert pitch). John Jones had reported a similar problem with his 967S. Steve Mead siggested some alternate fingerings. I have since found that high B centers pretty well using 3rd valve and high D works using 2nd valve. (John Jones...let me know you feedback).
I just finished playing my annual holiday concerts, so some more feedback is in order:
4. In my local group, the Nashoba Valley Community Band, I played mostly bassoon parts (which we lack) and found the extended low range of the new Prestige to be fabulous. I had no problem getting a robust, warm sound in the range below low-F down to pedal Bb, even at very low volume levels to balance with the woodwind section.
5. In my small group, the Middlesex Brass Quintet, I was able to play with enough finesse and a focused enough sound that the horn did not overwhelm the rest of the group the way my older Sovereign 967 had. Instead of being forced to play trombone exclusively, I was able to switch between trombone and euphonium easily, using the euphonium for most parts, including the wonderful lead lines in Jack Gale's arrangement of Maria from West Side Story.
6. In my professional group, the New England Wind Ensemble, my fellow professional players commented on the beauty and richness of the sound. I had been concerned that the smaller 2051 model would not be able to sing above the ensemble during solo parts. I need not have worried. The horn sounded great and intonation and balance were achieved with MUCH less effort on my part due to the responsiveness throughout the range.
That is it for now, but sign me off as a very happy owner of a Besson Prestige!
Doug Ruby
P.S.I want to add a special thanks to Arnie Williams for selling me the horn. New Prestige's are VERY hard to come by!
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