TromboneChat

Is anyone familiar with Besson's (former) numbering system? Older Bessons have model numbers like 2-20, 10-10, 8-10, etc. Huh? Other brass instruments used some of the same numbers. For example, I own a 1960s (70s?) Besson 2-20 tuba. (What a nice little horn!)

We tend to know little about Bessons here in the US. Maybe one of you UK players can help us!

There was a thread about this on the old forum including a link to a very useful catalogue from Stewbones43:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/10gl6dk11bhz5 ... 8.pdf?dl=0

https://www.trombonechat.com/viewtopic.php?t=1782

Thanks for sharing that—what I found interesting is that there is a distinction (size?) between a “bass” and a “tuba.” I had just assumed that “bass” was the common term in the UK for anything we would call a bass (F/E-flat) or contrabass (CC/BB-flat) tuba in the USA.

In British brass bands I was involved in from the mid-90s onwards I mainly heard the terms E—Flat bass (EEb) and B-Flat bass (BBb). In orchestral circles, mainly tuba.

It seems that the tubas in that brochure are a bit smaller than the equivalent upright basses.

What I find interesting in the brochure are the recording bell (bell front) basses. I’ve never seen one of those in the flesh in the UK.

By the way, I remember that a lot of orchestral tuba players in the late 90s and early 00s in the UK were playing upright E-Flat basses. I was playing BBb bass in a half-decent brass band when I joined a youth symphony orchestra with a reasonably knowledgable conductor who was like, what on earth is that? Not sure he’d seen or heard one before!

In European orchestras, a Bass Tuba was the F tuba and a Contrabass Tuba was the C. This would translate to Eb as the Bass Tuba and BBb as the Contrabass.

In the US, it seems most tuba players gravitate to the BBb or CC. Only weirdos like me play the F or Eb.

Bruce, having played BBb and EEb tuba in amateur orchestras and bands, I’d say anyone choosing a smaller size of EEb or F is totally sane and in no way a weirdo!

I started from an enormous BBb Besson Sovereign 3+1 and came to the EEb later. The smaller tuba was just so much more efficient and had more than enough sound and range for anything I’ve ever seen in the orchestral repertoire.

I love the sound of two EEb and two BBb in the section of a British brass band though, four EEb for example would just not be the same.

BGuttman wrote: ↑Sun Mar 06, 2022 6:04 amIn the US, it seems most tuba players gravitate to the BBb or CC. Only weirdos like me play the F or Eb.

Guess I'm a weirdo too, on Eb. More manageable for a bass trombonist than BBb, and I don't feel like relearning fingerings for CC.

spencercarran wrote: ↑Sun Mar 06, 2022 1:35 pm

BGuttman wrote: ↑Sun Mar 06, 2022 6:04 amIn the US, it seems most tuba players gravitate to the BBb or CC. Only weirdos like me play the F or Eb.

Guess I'm a weirdo too, on Eb. More manageable for a bass trombonist than BBb, and I don't feel like relearning fingerings for CC.

My feeling exactly. I did manage to play a small bore BBb (a Sansone) but most BBb's and even CC's feel way too big for me to control.

I once played in a band in an Italian festival where the tuba player was playing a King Eb Sousa with the 4th valve taped down as a BBb. Talk about intonation problems!