I've found a used silver Besson 3+1 comp euph for sale that I'm seriously thinking about buying. The owner isn't sure of the model because it's been in storage for a few years. I haven't had a chance to see or play it yet because it's about a six hours (one way) away, so I want to be fairly certain of what it is before I decide whether or not it's worth the trip to check out.
In talking to the owner by phone, he mentioned that it had trapezoidal finger buttons, so I assumed it was a New Standard, but then said he bought it new in 1995 (!), and that, originally, it came with a second set of regular (straight sided) finger buttons that did not have the onyx tops, though he no longer has them. (I didn't think to ask whether or not the valve caps were scalloped.)
My understanding is that the Sovereign replaced the New Standard in the late '70s/early '80s (?), which I assumed meant that the New Standard was discontinued at that time. I would be inclined to think the horn is a Sovereign owing to the 1995 purchase date, but because of the New Standard-style finger buttons, I'm not sure what to think.
Does anyone recall when the New Standard line was discontinued, and whether either the Sovereign or New Standard came with an extra set of finger buttons from the other model? I seem to recall reading somewhere that the B&H Imperial and "Class B" New Standards had the regular finger buttons, so if it's a New Standard, I could see the US importer or retailer including a set of Imperial-style buttons for cosmetic purposes.)
Also, I've run across several posts here and on Tubenet discussing the quality control problems Besson ran into prior to being placed in receivership, but haven't found anything noting when those problems started to be noticed. Given the 1995 purchase date, how much of a concern are those quality control issues likely to be for this horn?
Anyone care to take a whack at identifying this instrument? TIA.