Early 90s Besson 968 potential purchase

[jaronjsu90]

Hello all!

I am currently looking to upgrade and buy a new compensating horn. I've played on the same non-compensating horn for the past 9 years. I have been to a couple of horn expos, two at SERTEC regional conferences in Jacksonville, Florida and in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and one at ITEC in Bloomington, Indiana this past May. I have played the Besson 968 Sovereign at all three expos, finding it to be a fantastic horn all around. I have recently come across someone selling a 968 Sovereign from 1993 at an extremely decent price. The horn looks to be in fantastic condition as well. The problem is- the guy is a little too far away for me to make a trip just to play the horn myself.

My question is this- Has the 968 model changed in the 22-ish years since this 1993 model was made? I'm seriously considering buying this horn and I want to make sure that there haven't been any major upgrades made to the horn since then, as I have only played the most recently made 968 models.

Thanks guys!

[davewerden]

The 1993 horn was made in England. While there was some quality control issues here and there, those horns had the "magic Besson sound" that I and others found attractive. Later, Besson went out of business and the brand is now owned by Buffet. Horns since then have been made in Germany and are not the same. That's not to say they are not still attractive, but they are different. I think the response has improved and the sound has lost a little of its magic, but that may just be me. The main point is that the horns you tested are German; the 1993 is British.

Many people really like the British 968's, and I suspect you would too. Just be aware it's not quite the same.

[Pat]

I've got an early 80s 968 and love everything about it.

[Snorlax]

Biggest mistake I ever made was getting rid of my British 968. ;-(

[tampaworth]

I love my British 967 but for my playing purposes a 968 would probably have been ideal. Regarding bell size I've learned that bigger is not always better, depends on the most often intended application.