Baritones

[Rebecca Devaney]

My husband has been learning the baritone now for a couple of years. He currently has a Boosey and Hawkes Imperial that belongs to band but has been thinking about buying his own. Unfortunatley we don't have the money for a new Sovereign (my instrument of choice) and 2nd hand ones are non-existant. Something about Besson not making any new ones at the moment so no one are selling theirs. Can anyone recommend other decent baritones or should we just hold out for a Sovereign? Is it worth replacing an Imperial with anything else?

Hope you can help and please let me know if your hear of any 2nd hand sovereigns coming up for sale.

Thanks

[njh]

What instruments are used in your band? You need to buy one that blends and tunes well.

[Rebecca Devaney]

We don't have a full set of band instruments - most people have their own. The other 2nd bari also has an Imperial, one of the 1sts has a 4 valve Yamaha and I think the other 1st has a Sovereign, but I'm not sure.

My husband feels that a better baritone would improve his playing. I'm not sure, and have simply suggested more practice and time. As an adult learner I don't think he appreciates the time involved. I think he ought to try a few out first before making nay decisions. I know when I replaced my old cornet with a Sovereign the difference was amazing, but then my old cornet was fairly rubbish!

The other option is spending the money on a series of lessons (as opposed to me) which I think would really help.