Posted by Art H on February 13, 2003 at 00:06:32:
In Reply to: Besson 993 BBb posted by Steven on February 12, 2003 at 23:06:31:
Is that the new front-action compensating BBb Besson? I played on one at the Army tuba conference. Intonation seemed ok, response was good except in the very low register, where it was a bit stuffy for my taste. (And that's where the compensating system kicks in!) It's a very heavy tuba, rather tall and awkward to hold. In my opinion the compensating system works well on the Eb model (the 983) but isn't worth the trouble on the BBb version. I would rather play a big Jupiter or a VMI. If I had lots of $ and lived on a planet with weaker gravity I would choose a big Willson BBb. I did not see a 994 there to compare it with.