Besson Boosey and Hawkes Besson 700

I agree with David Thornton, one of the best -- 10/10!!

Have played for years, always a boosey!

A well rounded tunefull mellow sound, the craft of the instrument gives excellent tone. I am a grade 7 Boosey and Hawkes B-flat player, having played with the The British Police Symphony Orchestra and north Birmingham Orchestra, and would say the Boosey and Hawkes is a great value for money instrument. The best option by far, unless you want to part with several thousand for a Miraphone; see the Miraphone M5050 Ambassodor Compensating Euphonium, so compared up to the one thousand pounds for a Boosey you get excelent tone stability and tuning.

The Boosey and Hawkes Euphonium (I would recomend the Imperial first or Sovereign) is the ideal instrument for the serious non professional and gives the best tune of all the amature brass instruments. I have had the pleasure of playing on several Boosey and Hawkes over the years and have always been impressed by their tunefull sound and note holding. Plus they are one of the industry leaders in the brass world.

Thanks for reading.

I played one for six years. Besson Boosey and Hawkes Besson is a great instrument.

Sounds great, every note played is perfection. A great instrument for all ages whether a beginner or a intermediate.

I first received this euphonium from my school several years ago, when i was 9 and in my sixth year of schooling. I started out with a Yamaha YEP-321 and since I wasn't very experienced in playing i took my instructors word on it that this Besson 700 was indeed a far better instrument. I have now managed to re-aquire the exact same Yamaha that i first played on and i noticed a Considerable difference. The Yamaha is first of all smaller than the Besson, and the tone is brighter than the besson. Anybody who knows anything about a euphonium will know that the euphonium was designed to have a dark and soft tone. And the Besson, upon efficient playing, does indeed succeed a satisfactory quality of sound. More than would be expected from a student Model of any kind.Having played this instrument for so many years I have become accustomed to the "Besson sound" and i would be surprised if I stayed away from these beautiful instruments for long.The instrument comes with a hard case and can be in Laquer or Silver Plated. Personally, i would always go for silver plated - it looks nicer, and doesn't wear as much as laquer does.The Valves produce smooth action which are perfect for all those scales a young learner would be playing.I am going to be sad when i have to hand this instrument back to the school in a couple of months time, as I have built my tone and my technique up on this instrument.A besson requires you to be firm and to blow lots of air through it's tubing. If you do this, you will be delighted with what it produces. Brilliant Euphonium. Brilliant Experience. Best Education9/10

All-in-all the Besson Boosey and Hawkes Besson 700 is a very satisfying instrument, apart from it being prone to damage (especially when sat next to clumsy 2nd horn players!).