Besson Prestige (Gold Lacquer) review/experience

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello Mike,

I was a little sad to see that you have had to return this instrument did Thomann give any other verdict in regards to this instrument?

I am a huge fan of my Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium and I honestly have never played a more reliable or consistent instrument. I have had my new instrument since October 2020 and I would recommend them to anyone.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[miketeachesclass]

Thomann did not have another, so it had to simply be returned rather than replaced. There were 2 in stock at the Buffet Crampon warehouse in the USA, so I worked with Matt Walters at Dillon and Declan Lynch at Buffet to secure one of those horns and have Declan thoroughly look it over before it was sent to me.

Obviously the valves will need to break in. The horn plays very well so far.

The whole experience makes me wary of Besson’s quality control. I know every manufacturer has their issues, but this one is pretty rough. There is positively no way the person responsible for honing the valve cluster and the pistons didn’t see the issue. I doubt very much that Steve Mead would be happy to see a horn with such an obvious defect get out the door with his name on it.

Hello Mike,

I was a little sad to see that you have had to return this instrument did Thomann give any other verdict in regards to this instrument?

I am a huge fan of my Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium and I honestly have never played a more reliable or consistent instrument. I have had my new instrument since October 2020 and I would recommend them to anyone.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[Magikarp]

Besson are the Jaguar Land Rover of the euphonium world. If you get a good one it excels all others, otherwise you’ll end up with something that’s charming and luxurious but you’ll never quite know when it will go wrong, or how catastrophically.

(I can’t comment about the newest ones but my experience of new Besson Prestiges circa 2008-12 wasn’t good and led to me abandoning new hooters and going back to old ones, which is a stance I’ve not changed yet, although I am considering a new gold lacquer Prestige).

Anyway sorry to hear you’ve had such an issue.

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello Mike,

It was a real shame to read this news. I was wondering what you were planning on doing next in regards to getting your hands on a new Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium?

I hope that we will be able to catch up soon.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[miketeachesclass]

Hi Micah,

I have a new horn in my possession. I worked with matt Walters at dillon and Declan Lynch at Buffet to get a good horn in my hands.

Hello Mike,

It was a real shame to read this news. I was wondering what you were planning on doing next in regards to getting your hands on a new Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium?

I hope that we will be able to catch up soon.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[MichaelSchott]

Hi Micah,

I have a new horn in my possession. I worked with matt Walters at dillon and Declan Lynch at Buffet to get a good horn in my hands.

Good news. Can't wait to hear your impressions. I've dealt with Matt (and Jim) at Dillon and they do a great job.

[miketeachesclass]

The horn drop shipped from buffet, and arrived well packed.

It plays more or less identically to the one I initially had from Thomann. The serial number seems to place it as the 1386th besson started in 2020.

Thanks he valves are still breaking in, but this horn doesn’t have the horrible first valve problem that was a result of poor machining on the other.

Thomann received the initial horn back from me last week, so I’m eagerly waiting for the refund!

Mike

Good news. Can't wait to hear your impressions. I've dealt with Matt (and Jim) at Dillon and they do a great job.

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello Mike,

This is absolutely wonderful news. I was wondering if you would give us a full breakdown and review of your new Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium for us? I really hope to hear you playing your new Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium in the very near future.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[JakeGuilbo]

Micah - your comparison videos on YouTube you posted last year has been extremely helpful at hearing the differences between the two Prestige's, the Sovereign, the Willson 2960 and Yamaha 842. Thank you so much for doing this when you were choosing a horn! Link for everyone else:
Selecting A New Euphonium - YouTube

Hello Mike,

This is absolutely wonderful news. I was wondering if you would give us a full breakdown and review of your new Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium for us? I really hope to hear you playing your new Gold Lacquer Besson Prestige 2052-2 Euphonium in the very near future.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[Micah.Dominic.Parsons-OFFLINE]

Hello Jake,

Thank you so much for your kind comment. I would love to do a similar video like this in the future but I would change a few aspects to make for an even more detailed comparison video for example, I would change the room for a better acoustic and I would also use an enhanced recording device which would really show the subtle differences between each instrument.

Best Wishes,

Micah Dominic Parsons

[bdawley81]

Thanks for the review! Many have been waiting to hear about how this new model plays. Obviously Steven Mead loves his and I have two friends who took the plunge and are thrilled. It’s a bit disappointing to me that the typical Besson sharp notes are still there but then again it’s basically a 2052 with the gold lacquer and the floating lead pipe which are worthwhile upgrades.

I have one coming in a couple weeks, and I’m excited. Steve Mead is personally ensuring that I get a really good one. He assured me that it would be one that he would want to take home as his own. I’ve had the hardest time finding one in the States, so I went right to Steve.

[Woltz]

Interestingly, the horn came with mead springs installed stock. I'm not sure whether they're the "light" springs or the regular ones. Does anyone know?

I don't believe anyone answered this. I asked Steven and he said they come with the original mead springs.

[miketeachesclass]

I don't believe anyone answered this. I asked Steven and he said they come with the original mead springs.

Buffet ended up telling me they were the light springs.

I put in the new medium springs 2 weeks ago, and they’re heavier than the ones the horn shipped with, so I’d say they were definitely the light springs.

I do know the horns USED to ship with the regular ones.

[Woltz]

Buffet ended up telling me they were the light springs.

I put in the new medium springs 2 weeks ago, and they’re heavier than the ones the horn shipped with, so I’d say they were definitely the light springs.

I do know the horns USED to ship with the regular ones.

That's very interesting. Maybe I'll get a set of Medium or Original springs to compare. Did you prefer the Medium to the Light?

[miketeachesclass]

That's very interesting. Maybe I'll get a set of Medium or Original springs to compare. Did you prefer the Medium to the Light?

Yes. I am leaving the medium springs in this horn.

Mike