Besson 2052 hand guards

[YOOF]

I play on a Besson 2052 euph, and I, like many tuba/euph players, have very acitic hands. I have had the horn for a little less than a year, and I am already starting to notice that the finish on the places on the instrument my hands go, are getting a little cloudy. I would like to protect the finish on the horn to keep the value of the horn up, so I would like to find some way to cover the spots that my hands go.

I really dont want to start wearing gloves (mostly because it looks super dorky) and I have looked online, and havnt been able to find anything.

Do any of you folks know of a place I can buy grips or leather straps for my instrument?

[RickF]

Besson 2052 hand guards

Hi Yoof,

Leather Specialties (in Atlanta) do a good job. Their system is made of three layers... outside layer leather, the second layer plastic (to block moisture), and a soft inner layer that comes in contact with your horn (like velour).

Here' a link:
LESCO

You'll need to search around for appropriate models.
sent from iPad

[YOOF]

Besson 2052 hand guards

It doesn't look like they have guards for besson 2052s, I searched prestige, besson 2052, and just looked through all of the euphonium stuff, none of it was for a 2052 :/

[RickF]

Besson 2052 hand guards

If you're looking for the 'right hand' hand protection to cover the handle, I would think a Besson Sovereign would work. They do make custom fitting ones... or at least they used to. They may charge a bit more for this as it's a bit more work. They made a guard for my left hand grip below the 4th valve. I made a pattern with pen and paper and faxed it to them. Here's an image of that pattern (scaled smaller):



I had them re-make this protector since the 3 1/2" length wasn't big enough. I told them to make one 4 1/2 long keeping the taper the same. Of course I paid for a second guard.

The guard on my 641 looks like the attachment below (the horn on right):

The owner of LSCO, Larry, used to play trumpet with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It's a family run business where his wife and son also work there.

Hope this helps.

[ExArmyEupher]

Besson 2052 hand guards

I decided to take Rick's advice and I followed up with the Leather Specialties Company website. I called the phone number listed and spoke with Larry Black. He said that they do indeed have a set of hand guards for the Besson BE2052S Prestige Euphonium, but that they will not be posted to their website until later this summer. However, he said anyone wanting to inquire about them can email him at larry@lscoguard.com. There are four pieces, one that wraps around the valve cylinders ($13.18), one that wraps around the hand rest bar ($13.18), one that wraps around the third cylinder tuning slide ($21.98), and one that wraps around the portion of the bell tube below the fourth valve ($33.98).

Best Regards,

Don Brown

-------------------------

Besson BE2052S Prestige

Working on mouthpiece:

SM4AL and Schilke 51D, 57 for now; Planning on trying SM3U or SM2U, possibly PS-SOLO...Lot of money to try them side by side, though.

Besson 10-10 F Attachment 'bone (1968), SM4AL, Schilke 57, 59.

Conn 50H Director F Attachment Tenor 'bone (1970), SM4BS.

[ExArmyEupher]

Besson 2052 hand guards

Hi Yoof,

As I mentioned in my last post, I followed up with Leather Specialties. Larry Black was kind enough to forward me pictures to show all five guards for the BE2052S Prestige. Enjoy!

[Markmc611]

Besson 2052 hand guards

Don and Rick,



Would those guards possibly work on an early 1980's era Hirsbrunner? If not, what would?



Best,



Mark

[RickF]

Besson 2052 hand guards

Hi Mark,

Not sure if these would fit your horn. I would think not as the bracing is probably different. As you can see in the pictures I shared above (Yamaha 642 & 641) the bracing near the 4th valve is different... and these two horns are close cousins. I'd suggest you call the company (or email them) and ask. They can make custom guards of course.

sent from iPad

[Bandsman61]

Since I am the son of an inventor / mad scientist, I had to try to build my own leather guards.

I didn’t do this to save money. I just wanted to try it AND I didn’t see exactly what I wanted anywhere. My goal was to have a padded cover for the bell tube, beside the handle.

As i thought about it, and googled words like “Handguard" or “cover” “padding” etc. I stumbled upon car steering wheel covers. Some of them were leather and some where neoprene.

This made me go to the auto parts store. There I discovered that they had leather wheel covers in several sizes.

I can back home and measured the bell tube to discover that the 3 5/8 inch wheel would be just about perfect. So I went back and paid $20 and bought it.

The cool thing about sew up wheel covers is that they come with the needle and thread AND the holes are already punched. (See photo.)

I then tried to cut pieces to fit. Note: If you don’t use paper or card stock to make a pattern first, you are wasting leather. I also took the advice found here and lined the leather by cutting squares from an old, thick, black sock. I figured that black would look the best, sticking out a little. I placed the glued up pieces on my work bench with a heavy weight on each.

That was yesterday.

Today I trimmed the fabric (sock) and seared the edges. Then I sewed the pieces on to my euphonium. I started with the vertical bell tube. That went OK, but I could have done better. After that I covered the handle. This went very well, although I had to trim the leather and punch new holes in one side. Even though the stitching looks nice, I turned it toward the valves.

I think that this was OK for an experiment and a first try. Of course I learned some things I would do differently next time.

[RickF]

That's a very nice looking job. Thanks for taking the time to share pictures.

[Bandsman61]

I am not trying to hijack this topic, so please direct me to the correct thread, if possible.

I see that both of the euphoniums shown in the photo have the brass gutters on the bottom of the valves.
Where can I purchase one for a YEP 642? (actually a Mack Brass Euph.)
Thanks.

[RickF]

I don't think the valve trough for Yamaha's 642 is available anymore - or if it would fit the Mack Brass uuphonium. The P/N for the valve trough that fits the 642 is: YAC 1671P

I believe Wessex offers valve troughs for their horn. Maybe you could order one of those.

[howrdhodge]

Wessex does sell it separately, and through their online store.

http://www.wessex-tubas.com/shop/acc.../water-gutter/