The Project Begins


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Posted by Rick Denney on January 04, 2001 at 13:50:40:

As you have figured out, my ebay-special Besson "Imperial" walked in the door yesterday.

Yes, I enclose "Imperial" in quotes, because that name appears nowhere on the horn. But it matches the specifications for a 70's model Imperial #767 (not to be confused with the current 700-series uncompensated horns). The only reason I'm sure it's an Imperial and not a Sovereign is that it has an 11-inch bell (Sovereigns are 12").

I was surprised by the receiver. I was expecting an old Besson receiver, and had ordered a Wick 4AM from Dillon's, which has not arrived. I'll try to trade it for a 4AL or a SM3 or 4, because the horn has the newer bassbone receiver. (The Wick 1 tuba mouthpiece that I play on the York fits perfectly. Now there's an "unusual" sound!) For now, I'm playing a Bach 3G. With that mouthpiece, the horn has the dark, rich sound that I'm accustomed to hearing from good euphoniums, though I could not check the low register with the fourth valve out of action.

The condition, as expected, is rough. The bell has been crunched, apparently straightened with pliers, and crunched again. The stem on the fourth valve was not broken off--it was sawn off, and quitely neatly. At least there's enough stem left so that it is removable.

Except for a small dent in the first valve, which seems to have no effect on usability, the valves are fine. They are monel, with a bit of wear, but when oiled seem to hold some compression. The brass guides (another hint that it is an Imperial) are fine. Most of the knuckles and valve crooks have at least one small ding, but none are really seriously dented. Compression is hard to check--there are leaky joints in three of the four valve's tubing.

The bottom bow was a mess--crunched flat. The guard was half peeled off the horn, and I'm making no attempt to salvaged it.

I spent the evening working on it. My goal is to remain within my abilities (or lack thereof), and just return the horn to good playability, so's I can play it. I'm not trying to do anything with the myriad little dings that cover the horn. I removed the bell and bottom bow, and ironed out the bell as best I could. Because it has been attacked with pliers, it will never be pretty. There are just too many deep scratches, pits, and creases. But at least it is approximately the right shape, and should be acoustically sound and will probably look okay from a distance (a large distance).

The bottom bow is not so easy. My skills are limited, and when I'd restored the bow to the approximately correct shape, it had spread so that it was a half-inch too wide. Two tuning slides on the Besson are split between the two sides of the outer branches, so the width of the bottom bow has to be just right. However it is that the artists make this happen is beyond me. I had two choice: Round and too wide, or oval and the correct width. Oh well, a little oval never hurt anyone. At least I hope not. But there will be many small dents remaining that are beyond my ability to iron out completely. Again, it should not make a sonic difference.

Not bad for $430. Tomorrow, a little buffing and reassembly. Then I'll be able to find out how bad the intonation really is.

Rick "web page to come" Denney


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