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eBay: cheap old Besson
Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:08 am
by arpthark
Re: eBay: cheap old Besson
Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:21 pm
by arpthark
I see where Yamaha got their design cues for the YBB-102:
Re: eBay: cheap old Besson
Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:34 pm
by bloke
102's are pretty wretched, but if I find a cheap one that doesn't have a rotted off mouthpipe or 60% smashed in bottom bow, I probably buy it, because band directors are such Yamazombies.
Re: eBay: cheap old Besson
Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2023 6:43 am
by 2nd tenor
When I was a teenager the other Bass player played a very similar UK made compact BBb. He sounded fine to both me and others then, but maybe that’s no particular recommendation.
The Japanese as famous for copying designs from other countries and then making them work well (physically and commercially) via higher manufacturing standards - standards which other countries and suppliers should have had in place themselves ... Lower prices helped too but that’s all gone and decades in the past.
With regard to the original post I wonder what pitch (eg. A=440) that old Besson was made to play in and whether it has been well converted to play in modern pitch? It doesn’t come with a mouthpiece and will need one with a small shank. The corks in the valve caps will need replacing, I’ve never seen replacements (in loose material form) and wonder how that functional replacement is achieved.