Besson Prestige Tenor Horn

Tredegar Town Band Solo Horn, Hannah Drage, test-drives the new Besson Prestige tenor horn and gives it her ‘Gold’ seal of approval.

Besson Artist, Owen Farr, recently developed the Besson Prestige Tenor Horn with a gold brass bell after becoming intrigued by the fact that many trombones are made from this material.

The set-up of the instrument is
the same as the silver-plated Besson Prestige I play - comfortable to hold, with an obvious hand position and the gold brass horn is considerably lighter than the silver one.

This horn has a much richer tone than any I’ve played before. Even when played extremely loudly, there was no edge to the sound. I had more control and never worried about overblowing or sounding harsh, features that help project over the band, as well as with blending when playing with piano. Most horns project well in the upper register, but this one projects with ease throughout the middle and lower registers, making it ideal for soloists and also great for tutti section players too.

The intonation of the Prestige Tenor is excellent, especially with
the introduction of the trigger. I was expecting the tuning to be almost identical to my current instrument, but was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t need to have the main, first and third valve tuning slides out as far. The trigger works efficiently and is only really needed when playing middle Cs in band, which tended to be a little sharp.

The Besson Prestige is the obvious choice for most tenor horn players. It’s excellently made and plays so well. The new gold brass bell edition will be marketed at the same price as the lacquered and silver-plated Prestige, which makes the instrument even more appealing!

THE SPEC

• Bore: 0.466” (11.84 mm) 

• Hand-made bell in rose brass 

• Bell diameter: 8” (203 mm) 

• Weight: 4lb, 10oz (2100 g) 

• Three monel valves with a top sprung action 

• Main tuning slide trigger 

• Gold-plated finger buttons, caps and water-keys 

• Optional heavyweight finger buttons and bottom caps 

• Lyre holder 

• Reference: BE2050G; price: From your local Besson dealer 


 
PHOTO: Hannah Drage with Prestige Tenor Horn