I've spent a lot of time with the Besson 983, Willson 3400FA-5, Eastman EBE853, and the 3400 Capet. All of them are really nice tubas and there are more good examples then bad in my experience. The Besson, Willson, and Eastman are all pretty good "do-it-all" horns. As in, if I had to own just one ...