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FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba - $5800 - Sold

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2023 4:28 pm
by kingrob76
For your dining and dancing pleasure, allow us to introduce this lovely little Eb tuba:

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I purchased this instrument in February at the Army Workshop, picking from all the Eb tubas there (including several less expensive Eastmans). For me the sound felt richer and playing experience was more enjoyable. Since then, in addition to relatively light usage, it has been cleaned ultrasonically, had the valves aligned and quieted, had a few dents removed, and had some lacquer re-applied. The serial number of the horn (878xxx) indicates the horn was built in 2000 in Britain. In case your wondering, this instrument was also owned briefly by owned by our very own @bort2.0. I believe this horn was played professionally at West Point for most of its life. This is a used instrument, but, for its age is in very good condition. The main tuning slide has been modified to be slightly shorter and possibly not leak (a chronic issue on this model according to what Bob Tucci told me).

Included with this instrument is a Besson-branded Jakob Winter hard case (which I LOVE) in excellent condition, and a black cordura Cronkhite bag - which has been used ONCE so I'm calling it new. You'll also get 2 extra sets of springs (including the newer Besson Steve Mead springs, which are valve specific for some reason) and some other pieces-parts (valve dampeners, felts, etc).

Price is $5,800. Instrument and cases are located in Reston, VA. I will drive up to 3 hours to meet you, otherwise shipping is at your expense (and never cheap). No trades - this is a for sale item. Payment will need to be Paypal or Venmo (and if you prefer to NOT use the Friends & Family option, I'll need you to cover the fees as well).

PM me with questions - thanks!


Rob

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2023 8:56 pm
by bort2.0
Great tuba.

I sold it to Chuck Daellenbach. Not sure if he sold it to Dillon or if it changed hands another time before Rob got it. I put Sellmansberger fingerbuttons on it, so someone down the line kept those.

Great tuba

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2023 10:17 pm
by kingrob76
I think Chuck just did consignment through Dillon from what I could gather...

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2023 10:40 am
by bort2.0
I do think usually comment on other peoples pricing, but....

If anyone looks up my old listing, yes, I had it priced for less, but that was:

* without the new Cronkhite bag (OMG show a photo, I bet the tuba looks gorgeous in it)
* without the cleaning, etc
* before then-to-now inflation
* before the added kingrob76 provenance :tuba:

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2023 11:20 am
by jtm
bort2.0 wrote: Sun Aug 27, 2023 10:40 am ...
* before the added kingrob76 provenance :tuba:
worked for me, when I bought a different tuba. maybe not the provenance so much, but at least great confidence that the tuba would be delivered well.

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2023 3:45 pm
by kingrob76
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this is the horn when @bort2.0 first posted about it. You can see where I had the lacquer "cleaned up". There were some small but interesting dents that are gone as well. This was 100% cosmetic work, fairly light and simple in nature.

Here's an archived photo from the Dillon site

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Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2023 5:19 pm
by kingrob76
+ additional photos

.

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2023 11:40 am
by Dents Be Gone!
I agree, guys. This is the way to go.

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2023 4:27 pm
by kingrob76
Dents Be Gone! wrote: Mon Aug 28, 2023 11:40 am She sure did clean up nice! Looks terrific. I’ve owned 3 of these. Such a great and very versatile tuba. They’ve gotten to be pretty rare in the market, too.
Thanks. With Besson not making these anymore (perhaps the best FA Eb made in the last 50 years) they are becoming rarer and rarer all the time. It's an *excellent* example of the model (and I've played 6 of them for extended periods).

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba - $5800

Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2023 9:20 am
by kingrob76
Pre-Holiday weekend bump and - for TubaForum users only - a price reduction. I have a couple of sniffers floating around, but nothing definitive yet. If you want the lowered price, you have to PM me here to start the process. I don't anticipate any other price reductions, so if you're waiting for this to hit the clearance rack... this is it.

Re: FS: Besson 983 Eb tuba - $5800 - On Hold

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2023 9:48 pm
by kingrob76
on hold.