In the booklet “Nomenclature des sociétés musicales de Belgique” published in 1853 was written about the band: “Régiment des Guides. Harmonie, symphonie et Fanfares, fondées en 1832. 45 Exécutants.” The “Fanfares” probably refers to the mounted band which at that time presumably only boasted trumpets and other brass instruments. The “Symphony” probably consisted of a rather small string ensemble that performed at Court diners and balls. 

In May 1856 Monsieur Julien, concert organiser who a couple of years before had organized a musical expedition to America which deprived Belgium momentary of some of its best musical artists, had founded a new wind band composed according to the advise of Adolph Sax, of the paris musical instruments manufacturer Courtois and of several soloists of the “celebrated Guides”.

The first trip to England in July 1857 was for a series of concerts in London. In fact the Guides Band accompanied King Leopold I on his official visit to London. Queen Victoria of England personally invited the Band of the Guides to perform at Buckingham Palace where the complete British royal family was astonished by the exceptional music qualities of this wind band. The Dukes of Kent, the Queen's mother, said it was the best orchestra she had ever heard and certainly the best military band in the world. Queen Victoria personally congratulated the band and its conductor.

In September 1858 the Band was in Antwerp where it was compared in the local press with the Band of the Dutch Grenadiers of The Hague which apparently was also popular in that city. Antwerp still had sympathy for The Netherlands and clearly envied Brussels its position of power, also on the cultural level. The “Guide Musicale” quoted the “Journal d’Anvers”: 

“On the occasion of its recent trip to Antwerp, the Band of the Guides of Brussels was more than once compared with the Grenadiers Band from The Netherlands. According to the Journal d’Anvers, Mr.Bender’s orchestra glitters by means of its soloists whereas Mr.Dunkler’s excels by means of it’s incomparable playing. The former charms the audience and the latter delights them; in fact those two brilliant orchestras rightly boast an European fame. In our musical world, we can easily understand that with the annual resources of 12.000 francs that Mr.Dunkler has at his disposal he cannot have under his skillful direction the soloists of an orchestra that costs annually 40.000 francs in Belgium.”

Jean-Michel Frédéric Staps the assistent conductor of Bender, succeeded to the latter; like his predecessor Staps was of German origin but he had got the Belgian nationality. 

The band now boasted 64 musicians and was equally successful both in Belgium and abroad. 

In his standard work about European military music the German author August Kalkbrenner, conductor of the band of the 42° Royal Prussian Infantry Regiment, published in 1884, wrote about the Guides band:

“This band boasts over 60 musicians, spread over the following instruments:

Not all the mentioned instruments are used for the actual mounted service; the latter calls for 40 musicians who, with omission of the bassoons, oboes and percussion instruments, play wind band (harmonie) music.  A small wind band of 22-24 musicians always remains at the disposal of the Court service and is discharged from any military service.”

In July 1851 the Band of the Guides participated in Grand Music Festival at Douai in the North of France. This was the report in the "La Belgique Musicale":

"The fame of the  Band of the Guides is widespread enough in all European musical areas so that we do not have to add any praise or admiration to what has already been said about this orchestra, known as the best among the military bands; the musical genius, the first class talent, both as a composer and a conductor, of the eminent man who conducts the Band of the Guides, Mr.Bender, is sufficiently recognised and avowed by all, so that we do not have to renew our admiring appreciation for him, yet we think to please our readers very much by publishing the praise of our artists by foreign newspapers. there is no more justified pride, no rightly acquired fame." 

The paper consequently published the report by Charles Choulet , member of the French adjudicators panel of the contest that was part of the festival:

"We can hardly believe our ears. We saw indeed clarinets, trombones, trumpets, ohicleides, even a bass drum, in one word all military musical instruments, but we are completely flabbergasted by this new sound that we could hardly imagine; a sound as sweet and charming as that of the best string orchestras. Another surprise! It is an organ that spreads those celestial vibrations into space? No, the organ boasts that fullness, the penetrating unction, yet it cannot produce those harmonius crescendos and decrescendos. And yet one could easily be mistaken, if the eyes did not drive away the illusion caused by the ears... Everything is so well sung, either in solo parts or in tutti passages, by those clarinets, those valve trombones, those French horns, those saxes, those bassoons, those oboes etc. A complete analysis of all details would be endless if we would insist on the fabulous exactnes of tune for a wind band, on this marvelous ensemble that never fails, on the absolute obedience to the slightest gesture of the conductor, on those delicate, varied and skilfully produced nuances, on the individual merits of each soloist who compete with one another to obtain the single victory, finally on everything that should be measurelessly admired and praised in this nonpareil assembly which we could only compare with the Orchestra of the Paris Conservatoire."

The Paris music magazine “Revue et Gazette musicale” mentioned a concert at Spa on August 15, 1860, magazine “Le Ménestrel" wrote extensively about this concert and more precisely about the performance of the Guides:

“Then came the Guides whose European reputation has been once more justified by an immense success. This wind band can, undeniably, be classified among the most remarkable bands in Europe. Moreover Mr.Bender is one of those rare artists who cannot stop on the way of progress. he always goes ahead and his efforts always lead him to another perfection.”

In 1894 when Staps asserted his pension rights, his position was taken over by Julian Simar who became the first Belgian born conductor of the Guides band. Simar, holder of a Second “Gran Prix de Rome” already boasted some fame as a composer. Hi widened the repertoire of the Band and added both numerous transcriptions of symphonic pieces and original band compositions. He only conducted the famous band for six years, but got enough time to teach the band the principles of the so-called “nouvelle école”, following the new tendencies of the last decade of the 19th century. For the rest, he had to face a series of economy measures.

Indeed, at the end of the nineteenth century the Belgian military bands are threatened by cost-saving measures. A ministerial regulation of October 29, 1894 recommended a decrease of the number of musicians in the Infantry bands, whereas a circular, dated from the same day, recalled that the number of musicians in a cavalry band should not exceed 32, except for the Band of the Guides. 

Simar excluded the alto and baritone saxhorns as he considered them as doubles of the French horns. The article consecrated to his decease would also mention:

“It is Julian Simar who, when he took over the direction of the famous band, did away with the alto and baritone saxhorns which had been imported from France to replace the French horns. He said they were bastard instruments with a feeble sonority and which could only be admitted in the fanfare band where the medium is too weak.”

These instruments where however reintroduced in the band after World War II.

In July 1888 the band played a concert in Lille (France). The band also visited Scotland in 1888; actually the Guides played several concerts at the first Glasgow International Exhibition which was held from May to November 1888. In fact the Guides Band performed at several International Exhibitions both in France and in Great Britain. In his standard work about military music Henry George Farmer wrote: 

“The numerous international exhibitions which have been held in England, have given splendid opportunities to military bands, not only to our own, but to those of other countries. Among the most important of the latter which have visited England are the French Garde Républicaine, the Belgium Guides and the New York 22° Regiment (Gilmore’s).”

He then compares the instrumentation of Gilmore’s Band in 1878 to that of the Guides and quotes the instrumentation of the Guides Band as it appeared in Glasgow and was reported by Robert A.Marr. In fact Marr made an erroneous translation of Kalkbrenner’s list, confusing for instance saxhorns and saxophones!

In 1892 the composition of the band was as follows:

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The Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides

Founded in 1832 in Brussels, at first consisted in 28 musicians including: flutes, clarinets, bassoons, French horns, trumpets, oboes, trombones, keyed bugles, alto and bass ophicleides and serpents. The first conductor was Jean-Valentin Bender, bandmaster of German birth.

Some years later, in 1846, Bender together with Francois-Joseph Fétis (chairman of the inspection and reorganization committee of Belgian military music) introduced several new instruments made by Adolph Sax in the Guides Band. The magazine “Belgique Musicale” wrote:

“After the success obtained in France and England by Mr.A.Sax, the driving force of the military bands in France, he only failed the appreciation of his fellow countrymen. It is with great pleasure that one will hear that Mr.Bender, the skillful conductor of the Band of the Guides Regiment, has just introduced several music instruments of A.Sax.”

Their official proposal did not mention any saxophones but included the saxhorn family. They did however not include Sax’s bass clarinet. 

The saxophones however, were introduced in the Guides Band in 1849. 

Bender had been the private clarinet teacher of Adolph Sax and for many years had been an ardent defender of the new instruments invented by his pupil. 

This is how the bass clarinet and saxhorn family were finally introduced in the Band of the Guides.

Sax created four musical instrument families: the saxhorns, the saxtubas, the saxtrombas and the saxophones. He invented the saxophone around 1841 when he was still working with his father. The first saxophone was a bass saxophone for which he received a patent only in 1846, the saxtrombas dated from 1845 and the saxtubas from 1852. With these and further inventions, as musical instrument maker he was granted no less than 47 patents and licenses, Adolph Sax also played a very important role in the reform of the military music in France and indirectly in most West European countries. 

The reformes of 1848 introduced the alto clarinets in F and Bb, the valve horns and the saxhorns to replace the bassoons and bombardons on parade. Anyhow, Bender introduced the saxophones at the end of the forties, though no precise date has been found.