Old french Besson flugelhorn? Should I get it fixed?

Marianne · New Member Joined: 29 Sep 2018 Posts: 2

Hello,
I'm new here and write from France (so please forgive me for my poor english).

I've been learning Trumpet for 3 years now, and the more time I spend with it, the more curious I get about other brass instruments. That's why last month, I bought a cheap (50 €), old flugelhorn from a French second hand website.

It's got many dents, erased silver, corn is changing to dust, but it 's still playing, and I love its sound. The bell is labeled Besson, and it's numbered 10777, so it must be quite old and fragile.

That's why I balance: does it worth taking it to get fixed? For such an old instrument is it not too risky to try to remove the dents in a classic repair shop ?
I would really like to have some advices, if you can help me.

jondrowjf@gmail.com · Heavyweight Member Joined: 15 Jul 2016 Posts: 667

Could any of your friends recommend a good repair shop?
Decide on what you want repaired. Get some detailed estimates on what needs to be repaired. Decide on what you feels needs to be fixed immediately and what can wait.

If the cost is not to much, get it fixed.
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starkadder · Heavyweight Member Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 542

You may be surprised how easy and inexpensive it is to have dents removed and corks replaced. Take it to a brass technician and tell your story. He or she will give you good advice.

yourbrass · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 8:36 am Post subject:

Old flugelhorns can be very fragile. I agree w/the earlier poster that you need a good repair person to assess the condition of the instrument. If it is playing now, that's good, often the valves will be so loose that the tone is airy, ill-defined. Fixing that is difficult.
Bonne chance,
-Lionel
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Marianne · New Member Joined: 29 Sep 2018 Posts: 2

News from the Besson flugelhorn: I followed your advice and had it repaired.
New corks, new springs, piston cleaned, and (nearly) no dents now, what really helped making it much easier to play.
So yes, it was worth repairing it ! Thanks for your answers.

Crazy Finn · Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 9:57 am Post subject:

Good to hear that things are working well after the repair.

Old horns often have slightly loose pistons. However, thicker modern oils can help with that without costly valve rebuilds. Yamaha, Hetman, and Ultra-Pure all make excellent oils available in a heavier weight for these situations. If it's not needed, the regular weights of all those oils are also excellent.
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