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I was very lucky to find a nice, mid-1970s Besson New Standard euph several months ago. Raw brass, large-shank receiver, put in a closet for several years and not played, valve plating in very good shape, etc. "Closet queen," sure. Sweet horn, love it, despite the tuning quirks. It came with a heavy aftermarket DEG case that I could do without.

Randomly, a few weeks ago, I was happy to find on Reverb a junk Besson New Standard body (that I am going to use as a donor horn) complete with the original alligator skin case. Besson carcass goes into the parts pile, my Besson goes into the original case, and the DEG case goes to a lucky TubaForum member who needs it.

Is it actual Alligator?

Was that the standard case or was that an additional charge option for the upgraded case from Besson?

I’d imagine that covering (if actual alligator) wears a lot better than the stuff on the black cases. Did they offer alligator covered cases for tubas as well?

I’ve got a 1970 New Standard Comp Besson tuba with the original black covered case. I’ve never seen one for a tuba in an alligator covered case. Bet you couldn’t sell those new these days without causing an uproar from the activists & government.

It's probably not actual alligator, but I love the retro look and the original Besson brass plate! I'll get it on Saturday.

You know me...
Were we closer to each other, I'd be over checking out that case...

It's probably too short for my fancier/larger euphonium.

I put my euphonia in plain cases...
ie. "That can't be a very fancy horn; check out that blah case." (etc.)

Come to think of it, that case is too fancy.

Results:

- faux alligator/crocodile

- school name scrawled on top of case (not visible in listing photos) in metallic permanent marker

- "lip" of case is likely cardboard and is fraying in spots

However,

- really nice plush interior

- cool Besson nameplate

- body of Besson euph that came with this might be a little nicer than my current one. I'll see if I can swap the valves and such and see which one plays better. Mine is a mid-70s model with large shank, and this one is a mid-60s model with the medium Euro shank.

That Army sticker was in use from about 1978 through 1988 (or thereabouts)...

My mom had one on her car's bumper while I was on active duty. (85-88)

I grew up not far from the school referenced on the case, and with the same phone exchange (894) in an adjacent school territory. I found spring concert programs from 1974 and 1975 and the listed owner isn't in the programs. I'll bet that case pre-dates 1974 but the school didn't open until the 1966.

Rubbing alcohol is getting the metallic permanent marker off the top of the case.

Not sure I want to keep the Potomac Royals sticker on, but I'm worried I'll damage the leather.

arpthark wrote: ↑Wed Oct 23, 2024 9:57 am Rubbing alcohol is getting the metallic permanent marker off the top of the case.

Not sure I want to keep the Potomac Royals sticker on, but I'm worried I'll damage the leather.

I’ve had incredibly good luck getting odd things off of surfaces with Clorox wipes. Sounds weird, but it works. Information gathered during the recent pandemic!

A bit (okay, a lot) of alcohol and (per the non-fancy tools thread) a drink coaster used as a makeshift scraper and I got all the stickers off this thing.

Now to find just a little bit of faux croc and some glue to get the frayed spots down.