The New Besson "Prestige" BE2028 Cornet from Boosey and Hawkes

Review by: Roger Webster. Principal Cornet Black Dyke Band

Roger Webster has long been regarded as one the worlds foremost cornet virtuosos. His playing career started on the piano before he graduated with meteoric success to the cornet where he forged his reputation as a player with many of the top brass bands in the United Kingdom.Roger Webster has long been regarded as one the worlds foremost cornet virtuosos. His playing career started on the piano before he graduated with meteoric success to the cornet where he forged his reputation as a player with many of the top brass bands in the United Kingdom.

He became Principal Cornet at the Black Dyke Mills Band in 1988 and held that position until 1993 when he pursued a very successful soloist career around the world, appearing in over 20 countries and performing at venues as diverse as the Royal Albert Hall and Sydney Opera House. He recently completed his 12th major tour of Japan.

In 2000, he returned to the Black Dyke Band as Principal Cornet and today he is widely in demand as a soloist, clinician and teacher. He has released four solo CD's and is deeply involved in instrument development with Boosey and Hawkes Ltd as well as giving lectures and recitals at the Royal Northern College of Music, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the University of Leeds.

Back in 1990 I was fortunate enough to be invited to assist in the development of the Sovereign cornets made in Edgware by the Boosey & Hawkes Musical Instrument company. The result of that work was the 928 and 927 cornets that have proved to be such a favourite world-wide. In my extensive travels as a soloist and clinician I have met thousands of fellow cornetist, not all of who shared my love of the Sovereign cornets. I made it my mission to compile a list of their likes and dislikes, not only of my instrument choice but also their preferred alternative. In 1999 armed with this information development started on the Prestige cornet. Although I was personally happy with the 928, we were determined to create not just modified version of the Sovereign but a cornet significantly superior to anything available.

A new valve group (the engine room) was first assembled .....solid and reliable. Leadpipes were tried, tested, rejected, retried etc....until one exhibiting the characteristics we required was discovered.( brief was - 'free blowing') Bells re-bent, new materials tried, different shapes tried ....again until what we required as 'THE Sound ' was achieved (the brief was ' besson sound - enhanced') The new main slide tuning trigger in in place as an invaluable tuning aid. This should enable the player to constantly monitor and adjust the tuning to suit any situation (e.g. mutes, fatigue, etc.)

Aesthetically we have followed the lead of the Prestige euphonium and the result is a really beautiful instrument.

The new Prestige cornet is a free blowing cornet producing a full rich sound throughout the range. All aspects of playing have been enhanced, which for me as a performer is a must when considering a change of equipment. Many cornetists have tried the Prestige prior to its launch and all agree that this really is a great instrument capable of meeting the needs of today's players.

One final quality point (for all out there that have any doubts) every Prestige cornet made will be personally tested for playing and cosmetic quality prior to dispatch from B & H by myself, and will carry a signed quality guarantee card.

So there it is .......any problems........it must be my fault. Happy blowing

Roger B Webster

Instrument Review:

You remember the old Ford Escort motorcar don't you? Simple, pretty well built, easy to maintain and sold in their thousands over the years to satisfied punters all over the world – it was the standard bearer and class leader in the industry until other manufacturers started building better quality cars that outperformed and finally outsold it. Ford then killed it off and replaced it with a new market leader - the all new "Focus". You stand still for too long long in a cut throat business and you're dead meat. Even Skoda for heaven's sake, are making good cars now.

The same goes for cornets. For years the standard bearer was the Besson "Sovereign" – the leader in a market that demanded quality, performance and value for money – but in the last few years the likes of Yamaha, Courtois and Vincent Bach had produced better models and the "Sovereign" started to look a like it was about abdicate it's position as the top cornet in the world. Besson have therefore decided to commit regicide and have replaced the old "Sovereigns" with a new "Prestige" model. It's all new, all shining (more gold than King Midas could put a finger on) and all ready to reclaim it's crown – so we put it to the test.

The same rules apply in our Roadtest – 4 categories worth 25 marks each to give an overall score.

Roger Webster has given some idea about the thinking and development behind the new model, and furthermore, he has put his name to it, so it has one heck of a reputation to live up to.

Build Quality:
The first thing the sales pitch tells you is that there are more new bits and bobs on the Prestige than Pamela Anderson after a trip to the cosmetic surgeon. Take away the Denis Wick mouthpiece, new case and the gold trimmings and we found that there have indeed been many major new innovations and the build quality is first rate.

The leadpipe, bell shape and valve groupings have all been changed significantly which should help in the other areas of our test, but in terms of build quality we were very impressed. There have been many grumbles about the quality of some instruments that have been produced from the makers in light of the increased demand due to lottery applications, but after a grilling from Anne Robinson on the BBC a few months ago, things have improved it seems.

It's very well put together and the little things such as water keys, springs, valve tops and trigger stops have a look and feel of quality about them. We liked the ostentatious gold plated triggers, top and bottom caps and button tops with black onyx inlays and care has been taken about them. If only Pammy could remain as good.

A very good start then, and 23 points.

Intonation:
Again, the makers have learnt their lesson from quantity rather than quality from the lottery money chase where many instruments suffered from poor intonation. Time has been taken with the Prestige cornet and the makers have been rewarded with an instrument that we found was very much in tune throughout the range.

The innovation of the trigger on the main tuning slide instead of the first slide gives the player the opportunity to use their brains as well as bending their lip to try and get top G's and A's in tune, and when used with a bit of intelligence is a real bonus. We heard a full cornet section using the cornets and there was a uniformed sound and timbre about them as a unit. A clever idea that rewards the clever player we thought (that's most back row cornet players out then!) and the third slide trigger also gives a good degree of extension to help the backroom boys out as well – just to keep them happy.

Excellent. 23 points.

Ease of blowing/tonal quality:
Another plus for the new cornet – especially over it's predecessor and main rivals. The newly designed leadpipe and bell design give the Prestige a sense of ease when blowing at the extremes of the dynamic range that we found very good. Don't know if the new arrangement of the valve groupings helped (too technical for us!) but overall we liked what we were able to do without giving ourselves a hernia to play fff or requiring a surgical truss to help with the quiet stuff.

Tonal timbre was excellent throughout as well (at one stage we even thought we sounded like Roger Webster – in our dreams) and the cornet sound can easily be brightened or darkened by an experienced player without losing quality of tone. 22 points.

Overall performance/value for money:
A brave decision to get rid of a proven popular model, but one we think was overdue and most welcome. Boosey were running behind the game and have pulled out all the stops in giving us a high quality instrument. If it's the little things that catch the eye (all that lovely gold) then they have upped the ante on their rivals, but for us it was the major developments on the design that have lead to the big improvements and put the "Prestige" back on the top of a very competitive pile. It's not cheap – but then quality never is, and we think it's a worthy investment for the serious player. Not a bad carrying case to boot as well. 21 points.

Much to congratulate Boosey and Hawkes for at last and Roger Webster can sleep happy at night knowing that he has put his reputation on the line with an instrument that befits his talents.

Overall score: 89 points out of 100 – top of the class.

Specifications:
Bore Size: 11.89mm
Bell Diameter: 124mm
Weight: 1.225 kg
2 water keys; 3 centre sprung monel valves with dual point action; microball fully adjustable main tuning slide trigger; main tuning slide and 3rd valve slide in gold plate; top and bottom caps in gold plate; onyx insets to valve tops; optional heavy bottom caps; laquer or silver plate finish; woodshell cordura case with shoulder strap; Denis Wick mouthpiece.

The Verdict:

For more information about the "Prestige" cornet, please contact www.boosey.com or Rosehill Instruments, The Old House, 64 London End, Beaconsfield, Bucks. HP9 2JD.
Tel: 01494 671717 Fax: 01494 676428
E mail: rosehill@percypriors.co.uk

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