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Okay, maybe that's a bit specific, but I was excited to finally complete my set of original cases for my Bessons. I already owned a Besson New Standard euph and compensating Eb with OEM cases, and picked up a fantastic little compensating baritone this past summer but didn't have a place to put it, so it had been living in a gig bag. I found someone selling a Besson baritone and case on Facebook and asked them if they would part with just the case. A deal was struck.

My favorite is probably the euph case with the super-screamin'-70's brown alligator hide and bright red plush interior. The compensating Eb and the baritone are a bit older (1960s) and are a bit more muted in style, although if you look closely the tolex material does have an alligator/textured pattern. (The euph is a later '70's model with the large bass trombone shank receiver and not British medium shank).

Collector-mindset aside, having original cases to these old instruments is not only cool, but it prevents them from being accidentally goofed upon by my 3 year old. Belted and buckled for safety...!





A bit scuffed, but they do the job, and I am not in any hurry to refinish them or anything.

I found a website that sells tolex that looks like that and actually in various colors.

I can smell those cases from here

Just kidding, somewhat… My first ever instrument purchase when I was in high school was one of those Besson New Standard models with some wild stuff attached to it to help play in tune. It came with that original 70’s hard case that was so very musty.

sidebar: old cases

It's amazing what doing not much more than vacuuming them out will do for mustiness.

If they're opened wide open and set outside where direct sun can hit them for a few hours and then vacuumed again, they do even better.

If they can be left alone for a few days or quite a few days, setting a sponge inside of one (after the previous things have been done) which has been soaked in white vinegar or cleaning vinegar (sitting in the case in a dish) will get rid of just about the last traces of any of that musty odor.

Personally, I'd rather have a trace of the mustiness remaining than some overpoweringly flowery Carpet Fresh stuff which permeates the instrument itself.

Oh, those pesky 3yr olds..

bloke wrote: Tue Dec 30, 2025 11:07 am I found a website that sells tolex that looks like that and actually in various colors.

To match your belt and shoes!

These cases are surprisingly somehow not musty at all.

I have an era-appropriate Besson 13 mouthpiece in the case of the Eb, an era-appropriate Besson G-something or other in the case of the euph, now I just need a small Besson mouthpiece for the baritone to complete this little endeavor.

(In practice, I use a Sellmansberger Imperial £ shank, a Schilke 51D, and a Bach 6.5 AL in them, respectively, but I want to try to get them all with stock mouthpieces for completionist’s sake.)