Posted by K on December 05, 2003 at 14:06:00:
In Reply to: Besson 981 posted by vince on December 05, 2003 at 10:35:34:
Be sure, that I agree with you that the Eb tuba is a relevant tuba-pitch. And that I find 981 as well as the 983 good instruments.
However I wonder a bit, that you are hunting both of these models, as I find them very different. Only one of them should be your favourite.
When I hunted for a 4P Eb comper, the YEB631 disqualified itself at once. The next in line to try out was the Besson 983.
I liked it very much, the full range was well playable, and in contrast to the common wisdom I did not find it mouthpiece sensitive. It was supposed to work and be in pitch with nothing larger than the DW3L, which was too small for me. So even with the DW1L I had to pull the main tuning slide to stay at 440Hz. OK, according to the owner of that brass house I was the first player not being flat with a medium large mouthpiece.
However I had to try out the 981 before closing a deal. That could only happen in another house, where the salesman in the most incompetent way had pre-pulled the slides "to improve the intonation". Sorry but that was and is totally BS, non-sense, or whatever derogative that may pass the decorum of this board.
I pushed in all valve slides and gave the 981 a ride using the DW1L. Immediate and lasting mutual love from the first attack. The initial 4 octaves soon increased in number and the DW1L was exchanged for the even more relevant PT-50.
Of course the purpose of this posting is not to let a personal tuba love history run wild, but to point out that I find it hard to believe, that any tuba player will find both the 981 and the 983 being equally relevant for his/hers musical purposes.
I am not trying to lure you away from the 983. And I will even reveal the weak points of the 981:
If used in a quintet, the other player should not be sissies soundwise.
But on the other hand it can not deliver the weighty sound of a real contrabass tuba.
For me the 983 was somewhat leaner and more adequate for the bassline jobs I used to do on bassbone and euph.
I can only urge you to make an informed choice on the basis of comparative tests of these two fine tubas.
Klaus