Posted by Bjorn Halvorsen on October 31, 2002 at 16:58:38:
In Reply to: Brass band tubas posted by Drew on October 30, 2002 at 13:29:15:
I have played compensating 4 valve Bessons for many years. At first a New Standard from the late seventies. Built like a tank, and took a ton of air to get singing. A really heavy beast, but once mastered you could play very loud and broadly. Later on I laid my hands on a Sovereign 992, probably late eighties. Great instrument and the physically most pleasing (leadpipe placement in particular). 1996 I bought one of the first 994 GS (Grand Sovereign) that came to Norway. It was a big improvement, relatively free blowing compared to the older ones, but not as big a difference as the hype told. But it sure is a very fine BBb tuba. Just be careful as Besson's quality control has gone down the drain in later years... Sloppy solder joints and bad plating etc. Horrible.
For me though, this 994 became a tad too cumbersome. A weekend was enough to kill my back. Now I play on a B&S 3105 BBb five valve rotary (aka PT-1). Very free blowing, don't take that much air and can do whatever the band needs. It feels like a CC, and the build quality is nothing short of superb. Almost like a fine piece of jevelry!