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Thread: Older Besson 700 series or JP374 Sterling?

  1. #1

    Older Besson 700 series or JP374 Sterling?

    Hello guys,

    I deal with such a smaller dilemma.

    I currently own an older Besson 700 Euphonium made in year 1987 (I think). So I suppose it is the instrument of the time when Besson made ​​quality products in the UK. Personally, I like this instrument and I am quite happy with it. But a little more problematic is the tuning. It would be not disastrous, but a few notes in the higher position just are not in tune.

    So now I try to find a new instrument at an affordable price. I do not need instrument with an compensating system, I do not play in the lower position very often. I'm thinking about Sterling JP374. Do you think that'll help? It will be a better choice?

    Thank you very much for your comments and opinions. :-] And sorry for my bad english, I am from Czech republic.


    Regards


    Jan Vundr

  2. #2
    Jan,

    Welcome to the forum. I have a couple of comments for you.

    The Sterling JP is a nice middle-level euphonium. But I don't know if you will find a lot of improvement in the upper range intonation. I have not had a chance to compare intonation on the Besson 700 or JP Sterlings. The JP's I have tried are sharp in the 6th partial, which covers the notes (concert pitch) of E-flat, E, and F above the bass clef staff. But even the Besson Prestige is sharp on those notes, so most players need to use the Prestige's trigger to keep them in tune. I don't think the JP has a trigger, so you would still have to deal with sharp notes. They MAY not be as sharp as your 700.

    Have you tried alternate fingerings for those notes? When I played a Besson New Standard and later a Besson Sovereign, I used the following fingerings for the notes mentioned above:

    E-flat: 13
    E: 24
    F: 4

    It takes a while to get used to doing that, but it made the notes easier to tune.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
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  3. Thanks Dave

    JP374S with trigger version has been launched for a while, I did see you checked with their Facebook. Just wonder whether you will try this one soon ? As you are the live-dictionary, it is a good reference for us.

    As I checked with your intonation comparison, I found it quiet close to the prestige. Now the JP sterling has the trigger version, whether it can improve the sharp notes?

    Let me have your thoughts, thanks

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