Mr. Werden - Thank you for creating this website and forum. It is nice to know that others face the same challenges and questions that I do as a horn player.
I'm at best a mediocre player in two community bands, ... but its a lot of fun. Along with a marching baritone, I have two Euphoniums, a Besson 968GS (~1995) and a Yamaha YEP642S (~2004). I bought the Yamaha new (Chuck Levins) and have babied like it was my child (half cover, never in the soft case, etc. - my band director's wife gave me an old baby diaper as a joke because I am so protective of the horn). The Besson I bought used and its turned out to be a nice horn, after changing the springs, valve guides, felts, etc. The Besson came with two substantial dents in the bottom bow (3"x1", ~1/4' deep) and first branch "bb gun almost-hole" (1/4" circle, ~1/8" deep). A local brass repair guy said they are probably not worth the trouble of taking out. I think he said they would have to de-weld/de-sodder the joints at the ferrules to get to the spots and it could change the sound of the horn.

They're probably NOT worth taking out... but I know they are there.
This bothers me.

I like and appreciate the sound differences in the two horns, but my Besson has always been more sharp (in general) then the Yamaha, requiring the main tuning slide to come out about an inch more than the Yamaha. Could this be partially due to the dents and their locations?
I live part-time in the San Francisco Bay Area and have contemplated taking the horn with me on my next trip and finding a reputable repair shop there, hopefully one that might be able to do the repair with out de-soddering.
Questions:
1) Do you think its worth the trouble to take the dents out?
2) Can anyone suggest a good brass shop in the Bay Area?

Thanks. Your forum is a big help to all of us.
Nani