TubaForum.net

Are the outer branches the same between the recording bell and non-recording bell old Bessons? I'm mostly talking about the 3v (comp and non-comp) ones.

My belief is "yes"...The lower bell part might (??) be a bit distorted (for obvious reasons) on the recording version.

information you did not request nor need:
With the (rare) recording E-flat compensating (ok...or not compensating) Bessons, the lower bell part is heavily distorted in taper (as the E-flat and B-flat recording bell instruments us the SAME pair of bell connection parts). Additionally (E-flat) to allow for the extra length required for the 70-something degrees recording bell elbow, Besson substituted the (obsolete) "high-pitch" upper bow for the (A=440) standard E-flat upper bow, which removed enough inches from the bugle to allow for the length-adding recording bell elbow.
With my own recording E-flat Besson, my substitute (straight) bell is pretty similar (yet not...actually, mine is a cut "Sterling" BB-flat bell) to the old-style King detachable 19-inch bells, and (due to the RECORDING E-flat bell being considerably longer than WOULD HAVE BEEN a regular "solid" upright E-flat non-detachable bell) the RECORDING version of the E-flat compensating Besson (when a proper-length UPRIGHT bell is fitted to one of them) is considerably TALLER THAN a typical Besson E-flat tuba...just about as tall - actually - as an "old-style" King BB-flat tuba.

...If you've noticed, the recording version of the Besson BB-flat tubas featured a bell connection positioned quite LOW on the instrument, which was how they coped with the same issue (ie. a recording bell being long) on the BB-flat. This tack explains why the BB-flat recording versions sport a somewhat odd appearance.

Great info, thanks!

I contend that the Besson recording bell BBb is the ugliest tuba ever made. But I like 'em.

arpthark wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2025 12:02 pm Great info, thanks!

I contend that the Besson recording bell BBb is the ugliest tuba ever made. But I like 'em.

Eventually, I'll end up with a 3+1 recording (UK valveset in a box with really nice-fitting pistons and no knuckle dents)...but it's currently a 3-valve comp with worn/plated pistons. The 3-valve comp valveset features the NICKEL-brass slides (being originally lacquered), so I'll probably transfer those slide assemblies over to the 3+1 valveset. I also have an early Yamaha YBB-321 bell (17"...NOT 19") which I bought for a song (as part of what needed to be chopped off the bottom end was already artlessly cut off anyway), and it features a genuine Besson (not King) male collar. A 19" (detachable upright) bell will NOT fit on the recording version, as the wider geometry of a 19" bell (such as the one that I use on my Besson E-flat) would mash against the upper bow.

I use that instrument for outdoor orchestra (or hired-as-a-ringer or there-as-a-favor) outdoor band concerts. A fine full-time professional (yeah...not "adjunct" nor "per-service") tuba player happened to walk past when I was playing one of those types of gigs, a couple of years ago. Of course, they and I knew each other. They smiled really big, and hung around until the end of the march. I assumed (re: smile) that they were going to make some smart-ass comment, but no...All they stayed there to do was to say "hi" and to remark that the tuba sounded fantastic...and yes, it does.

Having played both at one point somewhere along the line of decades, for the BBb tubas, I concur: the outer branches are the same, with one caveat: there may be differences where the collar and tenon are in order to accommodate the forward detachable recording bell.

The first contrabass tuba I ever owned was one of these big, ol’ bell front, satin silver, 3 valve, compensating Bessons. I traded it in on something I don’t even remember, but I still remember that Besson. I guess I just couldn’t keep them all!

obligatory money-where-mouth-is pic:





The upright detachable bell is cut from an EARLY DESIGN (17" diameter - as as vintage Besson upright bell diameter) Yamaha YBB-201/321 bell.
again...Anything wider (as this is likely precisely the same taper as those vintage Besson bells' taper) would end up mashing against the upper bow.


....Next to it (seen on this site plenty of times before) is my (rare - c. 1958) Besson 3+1 compensating 22" recording bell compensating E-flat bass...Candidly, it sees more gig-time than the BB-flat.