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Besson (Kanstul-made) Mehas and Brevetes



 
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Arpeggio
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:46 pm    Post subject: Besson (Kanstul-made) Mehas and Brevetes Reply with quote

Any of you have recommendations/observations about the Kanstul-made Besson Mehas and the 0.460 Brevetes? A player friend has asked me:
(a) are either one of these good for lead work?
(b) are either good for all-around work?
(c) are either of these a "wise" choice for an all-around horn these days?
(d) what would be a reasonable price to pay for these horns?

I have no experience with these horns myself. Thanks for any ideas!
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laura C tpt
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought my Kanstul-made Besson MEHA C for $550 here on TH, and traded in at Rayburn's for the same price. I think you were talking about Bbs, though. My horn was nice, but a little tight in the higher registers.
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Chameleon
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I own a Bb Kanstul made MEHA and C as well. Both at 3 digit serial #s so they were the earliest examples. I bought my C for $575 (I think) in the marketplace here. Just a small ding and odd wrinkle in the bell crook that I didn't even notice for several months. Otherwise in very good shape. I really like the sound I get on it, but not for orchestral use. It's great for church, chamber and solo work in my opinion, which is what I use it for.

My Bb is a different story however. I got it for under $400 on ebay. It was poorly listed and came to my house in pretty bad shape. I spent about $80 to get most of the dents removed and get it chem cleaned. It still has a wrong bottom valve cap and no 3rd slide stop (but I don't particularly care. The slides all work well and as long as I keep it clean regularly the valves are fine. Granted, they're certainly not as smooth as the Getzen valves I've played, but they're fine. Comparable to my old Strad. The main problem with this horn and the reason the seller gave me a partial refund is that the leadpipe will eventually need to be replaced. It has red rot so bad that it has worn through the silver plating. But the thing is that I've played on it for over a year without replacing the pipe and the sucker is still holding up.

Anyway, I have the .460 bore as opposed to the .470. It still have an open feel with a nice centered sound. It slots much better than my 72* strad and Getzen Severinsen did. Intonation is about standard. I feel like it's a good all around horn, but I played on a 72* for about a decade and felt like that was good all around for me. You be the judge.

I have heard that both the MEHA and Brevete are popular in jazz, but I don't know anyone else around here who plays one, and I've never tried the Brevete for myself. Most folks around here play Bach, Yamaha, Blackburn or Lawler (since the latter two are only about an hour drive away from me). I am the odd man out.

Anyway, in decent shape I'd expect to pay at least $500 for a Bb, on up to maybe $800 if it's well taken care of and has the original case. I personally wouldn't pay more than that.
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ALaschiver
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:12 am    Post subject: Kanstul Besson Reply with quote

These horns are fine for all the thing you listed. They are a wonderful
horns and normally underpriced. The Meha was made is three different bore sizes. A Benge is a copy of this horn design..so you really have a Benge like horn. Can't really be beat. For a young player a large bore horn would not be the horn for lead, unless you have Gozzos air. You could play it with a tight backbore mouthpiece and survive. See Joe Marcinkiewicz for the proper matching mouthpiece. E mail me directly if you purchase or are about to purchase a horn and I will identify the bore size for you. BryanEquipment@aol.com
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Watkins
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Joined: 06 Nov 2005
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Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would recomend the large bore Meha as a lead horn. I have owned both the medium and large bore, and the 470 bore Meha is incredible.
Steve
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Dan O'Donnell
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In 1985, I purchased my new Besson Brevete by Kanstul for $595.

It has a .464 bore...the playability and intonation is GREAT!

For my taste (and the music I play in church), I found it to have too bright of a sound. (I think I used to scare some of the old ladies as I peeled the paint off the back of the wall of the church!)

Having exhausted my chops, breath control, MP search, weighted valve caps etc. etc. etc. for "that" sound, I finally decided to have Jason Harrelson modify it with hih 909 modification.

After playing the horn for approx. (1 years (off and on) when I sent it to Jason, the silver was 100% with ZERO wear just some minor surface scratches with ZERO dents or even dings!

I had Jason removed all of the silver making it a raw brass horn.

I'll never forget when I talked with Jason and he said..."Dan...I am in the process of removing the silver plating from your horn. I can't believe how thick the plating is. Kanstul really put a good thickness of silver when they plated this."

I thought I would share that with you since it takes the removal of the silver plating to truly understand its thickness which is something you might want to consider as a good thing while you are investigating the horn.

Anyway, the horn now has a darker / warmer tone I was looking for.

The intonation is just as good yet the playability has been much improved...I give the horn LESS and it gives me MORE!

My testimony and sound byte of me playing "Tenderly" on it is on Jason's web-site www.harrelsontrumpets.com in his "Testimony" area.

In general, I think it is a great horn and I agree with the others regarding price.

I have seen them sell for anywhere between $500 and $800.

After rambling all of this, let me try to answer your questions...

A.) The Brevete is so good for lead work that Wayne Bergeron played on the exact make and model horn when playing lead for Maynard!
This is indeed factual since I studied with him during that time. When I recently saw him at Playboy Jazz Festival he asked me if I was still playing my Brevete. When I told him "Yes", he said "I really wish I never sold mine"!

B.) As for all-around work...when I played it in bands and orchestras it blended very well with the other Trumpets.

C.) Personally, I believe they are a great horn for the money and I don't see why they are not just as good today as they were back then. Obviously, new horns have been introduced since 1985, however, I think the Brevete can hold it's own.

D.) IMHO...$500 for decent shape...$800 perfect shape

Hope this helps...Have fun!
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Dan O'Donnell
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1 should have read...eighteen.
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Bill
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello, Dan

I have a mid-eighties purchased Kanstul Brevete .464 also - serial #3954. I have used it for everything from church to chamber to quintet to shows to concert band to lead work and everything in between.

It is bright sounding, but very mouthpiece sensitive so you can color your tone as necessary. Intonation's quite good and the valves have gotten better with age.

Had a PVA by the Brassbow in 1998 - probably due for another soon. What's your horn's serial number? I am guessing they were made very close to each other.

Funny side story - I had a need for a C trumpet a few years ago and found a Kanstul Besson C on eBay with interchangeable leadpipes. Serial number was 3912...made probably within a month of my Bb.

For the original poster - I can't say anything about the .460 Brevete but mine is about as good as an all-around horn can get, and they are normally underpriced for their quality.
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Dan O'Donnell
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bill,

The serial number on my horn is #4425...this makes it a younger Brother of your horn!

If you didn't alrwady know, it is most likely that our horns were manufactured in Kanstul's original Fullerton California manufacturing facility.

After purchasing mine, I took a tour of the facility and was extremely impressed with the attention to detail all of the experts put into the horns.

I have also taken several tours of Kanstul's manufacturing facility that is now in Anaheim California.

Each and every time I visited, Zig was either working on a horn or supervising work that was being performed on a horn.

Today is no different than yester-year when it comes to the attention the experts gave to each and every horn they were producing.

As for the MPs...you are right!

I switched from a Bach 5C to a Kanstul "Woody" 3C (wooden cup with a larger backbore and tone intensifier) and it darkend the sound considerably.

Adding to the fact that the horn is typically bright...and I tend to add to this brightness by creating stress / tension in the MP as I climb to my weak end of my scale...so...I need all of the help I can get!

In January, (at the N.A.M.M. show), I purchased a Getzen Genesis and now I can finally hear the "Flumpet" sound I really enjoy...however, I continue to play my Besson Brevete with Jason's 909 Mod. when the piece calls for the "real" sound of a Trumpet!!
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"Praise Him with the sound of the Trumpet:..."
Psalms 150:3
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