After 35 years, I'm Looking For A Trombone

[JefferyJoseph]

Hello! I last played in high school in the late 1980's when I played in concert band and jazz band. I had a silver plated OLDS student horn made in the mid 1980's but don't know what model it was. It was average student model. It's long gone as I gave it to a jr high student when I headed off to college (not sure why I didn't take it to school with me. I actually liked playing trombone, but was a vocal music major in college and I think I wasn't planning to use the horn I guess?)

Anyway....I'm wanting to get a horn to play in our church band (we have a full size band that gathers 4 times a year to play with all ages of adults/kids from our church and community, AND, I want to get my chops better to play in our larger community/city band as well)

So, I am looking for a decent used trombone that is $350 or below price range. I need some advice.

Locally I find:
Holton TR-602 with case, mouthpiece, and horn in really good shape just a few scratches.
Getzen KT 300 series (from early 1980's) in pretty good shape
Getzen 355 (not sure how old) but looks decent at a used music store
Cleveland King 605 in pretty good shape
King 606 with the usual scratches
OLDS Ambassador from 1955 in decent shape (they thought it was an ambassador)
Yamaha SL200 in pretty nice shape

I haven't had chance to play anything with COVID going on, but wondering if anything would look like a decent horn for a guy looking for a good playing straight trombone? What would you all suggest I lean toward? Are there brands there (or ages/decades) that I should look into for a good used student-to-intermediate trombone?
I've been going back and reading all threads over last week and haven't seen exactly the post I need.
Thank you for your help. And thank you for letting me join the forum!

[Doug Elliott]

Any of those horns would be fine to start back up on. I'm not specifically familiar with all of them, but my suggestion would be to just pick one and go with it. Whichever one has a decent slide for the best price. The Yamaha would be the newest and would probably be my choice if it's cheap. I would be looking to spend not much more than $100 if possible, but maybe that's not realistic.

[JefferyJoseph]

The Holton 602 is selling for $50 and no dents (they said slide is good). Daughter played on it for a year in school.
I just don't know anything about trombone brands. I am leaning toward this 602 because even if it isn't great, the case and mouth piece are probably worth at least the $50 I was guessing.
I just didn't know if there was a brand I should jump on if I see one come through.
A guy who flips trombones has the Cleveland King and a Blessing (never heard of that brand) so they might come with a better set up but they are also $250 each.

[BGuttman]

The trombone you had all those years ago was probably an Ambassador. Ambassadors have oblong cross section braces (unique to that model). There hasn't been a new Olds since 1979, although the name was bought by Shenkelaars and some models were sold in the 1980s. Shenkelaars Olds trombones are not terribly highly rated.

I'd probably skip most older Getzens. Especially ones that were before the big fire. And doubly if they have braces of bent hex stock.

The Cleveland 605 is the predecessor of the King 606. Probably of smaller bore. The issue with a 605 or 606 is condition. How beat up is the horn. Check the slide as well.

I liked the TR-602, which is an updated version of the Collegiate. Holton hasn't been a factor in trombones for many years (and they were absorbed into one of the other brands). Again, the issue is condition. Mostly a good slide and maybe not too many dents in the crooks.

Blessing has been a wannabe brand since forever. I read somewhere that they used to take old worn-out Conn tooling and make cheap copies of the Conn models.

The Yamaha Advantage 200 is the 354 Student model specifically made for brick and mortar stores. It was introduced after 2000, so it's probably not that old. Again, with a used horn the key is condition.

If they only want $50 for the Holton, that's probably a great buy, even if you have to pay for some minor repairs.

Get a good book of exercises to help you remember what you used to do. For adult beginners the Rubank books are pretty good (if dated).

Good luck.

[Reedman1]

I started on a TR-602. It was a decent horn.

[Doug Elliott]

For $50, grab it.

[JefferyJoseph]

Well, they decided to donate it free to their neighbor kid so the $50 never got to be a reality for me. Great for kid though.

There is a King 606 from the early 70’s in really good condition that looks promising and decent price (I think......it’s $150)
Old Kings good? What decade was peak for King?

[BGuttman]

The 1970s were good years for King. Not so much Conn (they had a quality dip when they moved to Texas in 1972). Big question has to be condition.

[Doug Elliott]

I recently played somebody's 606 that totally surprised me, it was an excellent horn, played and sounded great. American made student horns from the 50's-70's were often pretty much identical to the pro horns, maybe just different trim and brass instead of nickel silver in places.

[JefferyJoseph]

Thank you for all of the feedback! I am going to check out the King 606 this week (keeping our social distancing). It is being sold by a retired band director and he states it has been cleaned and slide is excellent. From pictures I only see very minor dings and scratches (he had 11 detailed pics). What would you think is a fair price for a 1970's King 606 in good-to-above average condition? case and mouthpiece included.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Posaunus]

What would you think is a fair price for a 1970's King 606 in good-to-above average condition? case and mouthpiece included.

Given the apparent provenence, and expert-reported condition of this instrument, I'd say that anything less than $300 would be a great value.
Just my opinion.

[Doug Elliott]

Agree

[JefferyJoseph]

Perfect! That is just the nudge I needed. He's asking $150 which felt like a good deal, but like I said, I haven't bought a student horn since 1980's so I'm pretty green on these things.

[BillO]

As a matter of interest, what are they asking for the Yamaha? They are the bees knees (if in playable condition) and have been/are being played by professional/professional level players - including Doug Elliott on this site and a friend of mine here in Canada.

[JefferyJoseph]

The Yamaha 200 (don’t know the year) is around $350 at a music store (closed now during COVID so I’m not able to see it.

The Craigslist guy sold the King before I could get to him so I’m striking out a lot here.

Aren’t the 200 series Yamaha student horns? Pros are using them? Is $350 high for a used one or about right?

[BGuttman]

Yamaha considers 200 and 300 series horns as "student". But Yamaha horns are quite well built and will often serve for professionals. $350 for a good 354 (or 200AD) is actually not bad. I've seen them go for much more.

[Doug Elliott]

I suppose if it's in really good condition $350 is an OK price. They're good horns.

[LarryPrestonRoberson]

I have played examples of all of those except the Getzens—possibly the 355. Too bad you missed the Holton for $50, but I feel good for the kid. The older Holton (80s-early 90s), play really well. I've heard they were stencil horns made by Yamaha. Anyway it's a moot point.

The Yamaha would be a good deal, as others have said. But that King 606 is good deal. In my opinion, when comparing student horns, a King is a strong prospect for having a nice sound with unique character.

Keep us posted. And please accept a premature welcome back to playing!

[JefferyJoseph]

Thought I would give an update:
I bought a Yamaha 200 Advantage trombone with the deluxe case all in mint condition and recently cleaned by a professional store (before COVID). Very nice horn and plays so much better than I ever remember my old student horn in 1985 playing. Very happy and looking forward to falling in love with trombone all over again.
Thank you all for your help. Was hard to find a good quality student horn on the local sales.....so much low grade stuff out there (or beat up stuff). Was glad to find a good price on a mint Yamaha horn

[Posaunus]

Play on. Enjoy!

[PaulT]

Now get some Yamaha slide lubricant to keep that slide as smooth as butter:

(apply liberally then spritz with distilled water)

https://smile.amazon.com/Yamaha-Trombon ... 184&sr=8-1