besson prestige - is it worth it ?

Farmer Giles

Farmer Giles

Member
hi all

i am contemplating getting a besson prestige (when my finances improve a bit!).

so, for the BIG question............

are they worth it ?

are there any better large bore cornets out there ?

many thanks

FG
 
Dave Euph

Dave Euph

Member
Not a cornet-knowledgable person - but in the case of euphoniums, I know people who play them and they say their good instruments - but compared to the sovereigns not worth the extra money.

I suppose it's down to opinion and how heavy your wallet is! ;)
 
sugarandspice

sugarandspice

Active Member
Dave Euph said:
Not a cornet-knowledgable person - but in the case of euphoniums, I know people who play them and they say their good instruments - but compared to the sovereigns not worth the extra money.

I suppose it's down to opinion and how heavy your wallet is! ;)
Click to expand...

I have a Prestige euphonium, i know that it's not the same as a cornet (Duh!) but i think they are great instruments!! :D prefer it to sovereign anyway!
never really had any problems with it, apart from the trigger came apart once, wasnt hard to fix tho!
i find the only draw back is the prestige case seems "stupidly" heavy-(well at least heavier than any other euph ive tried not to carry!) maybe its just cos im a 'weaklin' !!

but anyway, i say-go for the prestige (but dont let anyone else touch it!!)
and if nothing else-it has a pretty picture engraved in it!! :D :D :D
 
Railybobs

Railybobs

Member
Do you not know of anyone who has one who will let you borrow it for a practice.

It's a huge investment for something that may in your eyes let you down.
 
C

CaharleyFarley

Member
Yes the Prestige is over priced, as are ALL instruments. The mark up that the retailer takes is amazing........that's why you get such good deals on trade ins and things.

But.......the Prestige IMO is far better than the Maestro and Sov. It's a beautiful instrument, plays so well.......you will be proud to own and play one.

Watch out though, there are some "dogs" about - make sure you get a good un.
 
G

GB

New Member
The sound of the Prestige is indeed much better than anything else available, the valves are pretty good and the main tuning slide trigger is a godsend.

However, the Prestige is only the 2nd best cornet I've played - my favourite cornet (which I still have) is my trusty old 1980's Boosey & Hawkes Sovereign 921 - it took me years to find the perfect cornet, and this is it (until bits started breaking and the valves stopped working) - the Prestige is the closest thing to the 921 I have found - and I've tried Smith Watkins, Sovey 927, Maestro and B & S Challenger.

They are a bit pricey, but they are only a few hundred pounds dearer than a sovereign and are so much better - quality is pretty good too.

(Duplicate posting deleted, PB, Mod)
 
A

Australian Euphonium

New Member
You guys think prestige's are expensive huh...

Try living here when the RRP on a prestige eupho is $16 500 AUD

That translates to 6 500 pounds!!

The smart thing to do is to get on a plane, try out then buy your eupho in europe, catch a few top notch band concerts, then whizz back down under to laugh at all the people who went and paid through the nose to support local business - crazy!!
 
Okiedokie of Oz

Okiedokie of Oz

Active Member
Judging by the rumours I've heard, the Prestige cornet is a far cry from the Besson, or even a Sovereign, but that isn't saying much. But then again a lot of people swear by the Besson cornets.....

so I say go and experiment.
 
sugarandspice

sugarandspice

Active Member
Australian Euphonium said:
You guys think prestige's are expensive huh...

Try living here when the RRP on a prestige eupho is $16 500 AUD

That translates to 6 500 pounds!!
Click to expand...

I didnt pay that much!-or at least i dont think i did :?



CaharleyFarley - i agree completely!!
 
A

Australian Euphonium

New Member
Okiedokie of Oz said:
Judging by the rumours I've heard, the Prestige cornet is a far cry from the Besson, or even a Sovereign, but that isn't saying much. But then again a lot of people swear by the Besson cornets.....

so I say go and experiment.
Click to expand...

I dare say the prestige is a close cry to the besson, as indeed it is a besson and a closer cry to the sovereign as the sovereign too is a besson, in fact the best besson before besson brought out the prestige besson cornet. Also people who swear by the besson cornet would also swear by the sovreign and prestige cornets as they are also besson cornets.

There, all bessoned out
 
S

Sparky

Member
I played on Sovs for a good few years, then the band came into some money and allowed some of us to get new cornets. As principal it was my call and, after shopping around, asked Richard Smith (Smith Watkins) if he could come and see us. He travelled all the way from London to Northumberland to allow us to try his cornets and after trying most of the 27 possible combinations available we bought 3 cornets from him (also a Sop (which our sop player reckons is loads better than a Schilke) and a flugel (which our flugel player reckons is loads better than the Bach Strad she used to have). I can honestly say that the SW is the best cornet I have ever played, the leadpipe/bore combination suits me perfectly and the service you get from SW is superb (you also get an almost indestructible case as well). I'm sure Richard would let you try his instruments andyou'll find the perfect combination for you.
 
Farmer Giles

Farmer Giles

Member
Thanks for the above comments folks.

Now for another question………….

If I said I could get a laquer prestige for about £900, would you be tempted ??

:D

FG
 
Cornet_player

Cornet_player

Member
I tried loads of different cornets before I bought mine. I liked the Besson Soverign but preffered the Prestige!! I didnt get on with any of the Yamaha cornets- strange cus I really like their trumpets. for me the Besson Prestige was the only cornet worth spending thousands on.

I had to have my cornet re-plated as the plating was coming off but its OK now. Valves work well and I havent had any problems with them. I prefer the look of silver plate so thats what I got also I spent some time playing in a Silver Band :lol: :lol: thats just personnal opinion!
 
Keppler

Keppler

Moderator
Staff member
Cornet_player said:
I had to have my cornet re-plated as the plating was coming off but its OK now.
Click to expand...

I'm having this problem too - along the inside length of the leadpipe, of all places. Did it take long to get the spot replating done?
 
S

Steve

Active Member
Something a conductor said at a rehearsal I wen to recently.......

You buy a CD and put it in the CD player, you press play and it plays absolutely fine. You get a graphic equaliser, play the CD and spend the entire CD playing with little buttons and still arent happy when you finish. He was aiming it at some Euph players with prestiges that were concentrating so hard on using the trigger they spent thousands on that it was actually detracting from their performance. I dont see the need personally (obviously having a slide helps :wink: )(and being completely tone deaf is a godsend :wink: :wink: )
 
Dave Euph

Dave Euph

Member
I certainly don't see the trigger as essential also, but Steven Mead seems to worship it, and it's difficult to argue with him.
 
M

Majoresteve

Member
Keppler said:
Cornet_player said:
I had to have my cornet re-plated as the plating was coming off but its OK now.
Click to expand...

I'm having this problem too - along the inside length of the leadpipe, of all places. Did it take long to get the spot replating done?
Click to expand...

Me too! there seems to be some difections in the silver plait, but other than that my prestige is perfect!!
 
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