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Thread: New Forum Member with 3-Valve Compensating Besson

  1. New Forum Member with 3-Valve Compensating Besson

    Greetings from a new forum member! As you might guess from my login, I'm a trombonist who doubles on euphonium. I started doubling in high school, put the euphonium down for more years than I care to admit, and picked it up again 2-1/2 years ago when the orchestra in which I play trombone cut its season back. I joined a local community band, quickly discovered that the euph parts were more fun than the bone parts, and became a regular with the group.

    The iinstrument I used in band was a Conn 14-I American euphonium. It's a student model, built in Elkhart in 1963, with 3 front-action valves and a fixed front bell, and it's a very responsive horn with a big sound. Two months ago I visited a school district auction where they happened to have five euphoniums to sell (all of them labeled as French horns, amusingly). Three of them were Olds Studios made in Fullerton. One was a very beat-up Holton Collegiate. And one was a Besson 3-valve compensator, bell front. I bid on the Besson and the least beat-up of the Olds horns and ended up buying the Besson for $50.

    I took the horn to Custom Music International for some sorely-needed dent work and to have the stuck first valve slide freed up. The horn came back from the shop today, and I must say that I'm very impressed with the way it plays. It's the most in-tune euph I've ever laid my hands on, blows responsively, and has a very pretty sound.

    I have a few questions about it, which I hope some other forum-ites can answer. First is a question on the model number. The serial number, 404xxx, dates the horn to the late 1960s, and it has the European shank receiver on the leadpipe which is correct for this era. It looks like a picture I found of the Model 175 from 1958. Was that model number still used around 1967?

    Second is a mouthpiece question. I have a tenor-to-European shank adapter on order from The Woodwind and Brasswind so I can try my small-shank mouthpieces with the Besson. On trombone I use a Wick 6BL with a Conn 88H symphony-bore tenor, so I'll probably start my experimentation with the small-shank version of the Wick (6BS). What other mouthpieces might I consider that have a rim close in size to the Wicks or the Bach 6-1/2AL?

    Third is a question of market value. I'm not planning to sell this horn, but I'd like some idea of what it's worth so I can add it to my homeowners insurance. The case is original (and held together with copious quantities of duct tape), the lacquer is maybe 40%, and there are some witness marks and a few hard-to-reach dents left over from its previous life as a school horn. The valves move freely and have good compression, and all four slides pull easily.

    Thanks in advance for your help and advice!


  2. New Forum Member with 3-Valve Compensating Besson

    Mouthpieces: if you play a Wick 6 on your much freer-blowing trombone, you should have no trouble playing a 5-range deep-cup mouthpiece on a euphonium, and you will be rewarded tonally for doing so.

    You will be getting a lot of advice from a host of experienced posters, so look at my contribution as just an introduction! Ideally, you should get ahold of a MEDIUM-SHANK (a.k.a. 'European' shank) mouthpiece, so you can dispense with the adapter.

    Any of the following 5-range pieces you can find in medium shank (you might have to special-order and wait a spell) would be good candidates: Bach 5G, Schilke 51D, and the numerous Wick 5's ...

    I know this post will be followed by messages from members who can quote the mouthpiece catalogs chapter-and-verse.

    Welcome to the forum!

  3. New Forum Member with 3-Valve Compensating Besson

    Thanks for the mouthpiece recommendation -- I'll definitely give the Bach 5G and Schilke 51D a try once I'm more accustomed to the Besson euph.

    My mouthpiece adapter arrived from Brasswind on Monday, so I took the horn to band rehearsal last night. The first thing I noticed is that it slots better with the adapter than it did when I wrapped the shank of my Wick 6BS mouthpiece with tape to get it to fit. That didn't surprise me. What did surprise me is how responsive this instrument is. It takes more air than my Conn 14-I does, but it blows very easily and naturally over the whole range of musical dynamics. The sixth partial, which I'm told can be quite sharp on some Bessons, doesn't seem any higher than it is on the Conn. The compensating system makes it easy to tune the 2-3, 1-3 and 1-2-3 valve combinations without the compromises that are needed on a non-compensating 3-valve horn. The horn slots and centers cleanly from the pedal range to at least the ninth partial and has a beautiful tone quality. This euph is definitely a long-term keeper.

    On the minus side, it's heavier to hold than the Conn, and I found it awkward to hold at first because of the top-action vs. front-action valves. The valves aren't quite as quick as the much smaller pistons on the Conn, and they drip a bit of water from the bottom caps. I'll probably bring a small lap pillow to the next rehearsal to help me hold the horn at the right height. I'm open to suggestions on the valve drip problem; do most Besson players just put up with this condition, or do they mount some kind of drip-catcher on the bottom of the valve cluster?


  4. #4

    New Forum Member with 3-Valve Compensating Besson

    If the bottom valve caps of your Besson have nipples, you can attach a water catcher, aka grime gutter, to collect and manage drips. Assuming there are nipples on the bottom valve caps of your Besson, a water catcher from Besson, Willson, or Yamaha should fit your horn.

    Also, check out the thread on water catchers for alternatives.

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