TromboneChat

Hi, I am hoping someone might be able to give me some information about a mysterious Besson trombone I recently came across.
Towards the end of last year a good friend and fellow trombone player was suddenly taken ill and went into a coma from which he never recovered. I agreed to sort out his trombone collection for his distraught widow, assuming that they would need some cleaning and lubricating. When I collected the 6 trombones, one proved to be a strange one; a Besson 737 made in the USA. I know a bit about B&H/Besson instruments made in the UK, but this one was a mystery.
I searched the internet and found an identical model on Reverb from 4 years ago.
https://reverb.com/item/39401533-besson ... llow-brass

The information I have is that it is an 8in yellow brass bell, ML bore (0.525in) Bb/F tenor with a serial number
5 689***. The one shown in the Reverb ad seems to have been well used whereas my one looks as though it was made yesterday. Mine has the same heavy duty SKB case and a Besson 7C mouthpiece.
It seems to have many features that hint at King as the manufacturer; the F wrap with 2 tuning slides and the F lever design with the short black plastic, square section rod, the King style cork barrels and mouthpiece receiver and the hand slide bottom bow being swaged onto the outer slide tubes rather than the more common joints with ferrules.

My questions are,
1) who made it? King, Kanstul,(they made some trumpets for Besson) Blessing, (some Besson 400 student trombones were Blessings, with the chrome hand grips and cylindrical counter weights)
2) How old is it? Pre 2005, Besson trombones disappeared then.
3) What performance level is it? 3B/F or 607 and what sort of value would it have? (the reverb one was about $730 and not in as good condition)

Any help would be appreciated. I have found good homes for the other 5 trombone and would like to be able to sell this one and bring a closure to the sad episode.

Cheers

Stewbones43

Yup, that's just a King 607 with Besson stamped on it. Very interesting they did that brand swap.

I agree with Burgerbob. Looks like a King,

Thank you, guys. It is as I expected, but it leads to another question.
What is the difference between a King 3BF and a King 607F? I notice that the 3BF is no longer listed on the Conn-Selmer site and that the 607F is shown as a professional model.

Cheers

Stewbones43

stewbones43 wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 3:31 pm Thank you, guys. It is as I expected, but it leads to another question.
What is the difference between a King 3BF and a King 607F? I notice that the 3BF is no longer listed on the Conn-Selmer site and that the 607F is shown as a professional model.

Cheers

Stewbones43

The King 3BF has a .508" bore and a nickel outer slide.

The King 607/609/607F/608F is a 3BF (same mandrels, valve, etc.) with a .525" bore, a yellow outer slide, and a straight bell brace. The 607/607F has a yellow bell, while the 608F has a rose bell. How the 609 differs from the 607 is still kind of a mystery to me...I've seen all yellow ones and silver plated ones, but never a rose bell one like the 608F. (EDIT: Just found an old listing with a rose bell 609. But that still doesn't explain the yellow ones I've seen!) The 607/609 are sometimes also marked Tempo or Tempo II.

The Besson 737 is a King 607 with Besson stamped on the bell.

The King 3BF Plus (aka 3B+F, or 2125F) is also .525" bore, but has a rose bell and nickel outer slide (and the curved brace). I'm not sure if the 2000s and later 3B+F was ever offered with a yellow bell - the straight 3B Plus was, so I would assume there are yellow-belled 3B+Fs out there. Used 3B+Fs are generally the initial '80s ones, which all had rose bells. I still have yet to see photo evidence of a 3B+F Silver Sonic, but I'd like to believe they exist.

At some point, the 607 line switched from a 3B-style leadpipe to a bad student-grade leadpipe. My theory is that that change occurred when the model numbers were changed from 607/609 to 607F/608F. The later student leadpipe really hamstrings the instrument, while the earlier 3B pipe allows the instrument to be what it really is - a 3B+F with a yellow slide. My 3B, 3BF, and 607 all play essentially the same, with the 607 trading a tiny bit of high range ease for a beefier low register. My 3B+F (now sold) also plays/feels the same, but sounds a bit different thanks to the rose bell.

I had a chance to try a Silver Sonic 3B+F (2125F). It was an Anniversary model. I didn't buy it because I was underwhelmed. I assume somebody did buy it because it left the music store that let me try it.

Problem of the King Anniversary models (1993) was that they weren't as well made as the earlier ones.

BGuttman wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 4:22 pm I had a chance to try a Silver Sonic 3B+F (2125F). It was an Anniversary model. I didn't buy it because I was underwhelmed. I assume somebody did buy it because it left the music store that let me try it.

Problem of the King Anniversary models (1993) was that they weren't as well made as the earlier ones.

Aha! I wonder if that Anniversary run was the only time they made one. It's nice to know they did definitively make them though.

Once again, thank you, folks. I can now look at putting it on Ebay with an accurate description.

Unless anyone on the Chat wants to make an offer!

Cheers

Stewbones43