French Besson International (Kanstul)

[Oceans11]

I recently bought my daughter, which is in her 4th year playing, a used Fr. Besson International trumpet, USA made by Kanstul, as a step up horn. I had heard that this was a great horn that plays like a pro one. Have to say that the horn does play fantastic! After a bit of inspection I was a bit surprised on some of the marking on the horn. for one, on the 2nd valve, it has 462 stamped just above the "made in USA", which signifies a large bore. It also has an A stamped on the bell tail, and a star under the Besson name on the Bell. The horn also has the amado water keys vs. the conventional ones. These marking usually are in line with the Marvin Stamm Besson Models, I would've thought that an intermediate trumpet would come in a large bore, or have the bell type showing. I myself in my arsenal do have a Fr. Besson 92BA, and by comparing the two horns They do look and play identical to one another. wondering if anyone can shed some light on this. Where the Internationals customized by Kanstul? I think I might have actually bought another 92BA, but was advertised as an International.
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1947 Olds Super trumpet
Burbank Benge 3X MLP
L.A. Benge 3X
L.A. Benge pocket trumpet
Kanstul CCF 925 flugelhorn
1968 Olds Ambassador cornet
1947 Olds Super cornet
1954 Olds Super trombone
1957Olds 0-20 valve trombone

[trumpet.trader]

Maybe it was part of old stock or close outs that Kanstul used and stenciled "International" on the horn. But in fact it might be an old Stamm model Besson?

With the stamping you described, and the .462 bore that would be my bet. Zig was not one known for wasting anything.

[AJCarter]

That is odd. I have an International as well. The bell reads this:
F. BESSON
International Series
USA

other than that, the only other marking is a serial number. I know its a Kanstul horn and not a boosey one, like the 1000 series (still a good horn!) This is a .460 bore though. Perhaps this is an earlier iteration of the international series?
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(List horns here)

[Oceans11]

Thank you. That last post by AJCARTER pretty much confirms that I Have a 92BA and not the International! The bell on this horn has the Kanstul stamp followed by"FRENCH BESSON" and the star underneath that. I'm guessing sinse the seller didn't have the extra accessories that normaly would have come with the 92BA, and not being familiar with the model they really had, they assumed it was an International. My personal 92BA has a 4 digit s.n. while my daughter's has the 5 digit. To be honest, when we first received the horn and gave it a whirl, I was thinking that we must have really gotten one of the better ones. It really plays really fine, all's well that ends well!
_________________
1947 Olds Super trumpet
Burbank Benge 3X MLP
L.A. Benge 3X
L.A. Benge pocket trumpet
Kanstul CCF 925 flugelhorn
1968 Olds Ambassador cornet
1947 Olds Super cornet
1954 Olds Super trombone
1957Olds 0-20 valve trombone

[rlk]

[Oceans11]

You're right, it is a B in script...... What I stated in my post was that the bell reads "FRENCH BESSON" and not 'INTERNATIONAL". but was sold as (and I thought I was buying) an International. So I really got a bonus buy!
_________________
1947 Olds Super trumpet
Burbank Benge 3X MLP
L.A. Benge 3X
L.A. Benge pocket trumpet
Kanstul CCF 925 flugelhorn
1968 Olds Ambassador cornet
1947 Olds Super cornet
1954 Olds Super trombone
1957Olds 0-20 valve trombone

[trumpet.trader]

I remember trying those years ago, didn't one have an "A" bell and the other option was a "B" bell? One was more focused and tighter than the other as I recall.

[Oceans11]

Yep. Mine has the A bell.
_________________
1947 Olds Super trumpet
Burbank Benge 3X MLP
L.A. Benge 3X
L.A. Benge pocket trumpet
Kanstul CCF 925 flugelhorn
1968 Olds Ambassador cornet
1947 Olds Super cornet
1954 Olds Super trombone
1957Olds 0-20 valve trombone

[AJCarter]