Posted by eupher on March 17, 2002 at 09:49:25:
In Reply to: Any thoughts on the Besson Prestige euph posted by H on March 17, 2002 at 02:33:44:
I don't own one, but I recently had the opportunity to try four Prestiges as well as several other horns of various brands at a well known music store. Two musician friends were there lending their ears. Three of the four Prestiges seemed stuffy to me (one was an out and out bad horn in pitch and evenness of sound...does S. Mead really play test every one? Something was WRONG with this one!). Also, if you hold the horn anywhere near your body, the main tuning slide lever doesn't work well. A Besson 968 in lacquer was the hands down winner by FAR that day, both in my opinion, and that of my friends. Very open low register, good pitch above the staff, and a really vibrant, ear-catching sound. The next time I visited the store, that Besson was sold. Somebody got a GREAT horn. The lesson here...play test as many horns as you can, and have some friends (who aren't impressed by the gold plating) listen as well. You may save yourself some money.