How old is this Holton?

[Bassbones]

Hi Guys,

New member here from the UK looking for some advice. A local brass band has passed me two Bass trombones to look as to whether they keep sell or trade them and replace with a newer model to try and entice a player to an empty chair.

I know there are places on the net to get ages from serial number but can't find anywhere I don't have a to put credit card details.

The two I have are Holton TR180 which is serial number 550283 the bell is a strange 9.75 in flare not the 9.5 or 10 I was expecting.

The second is a Bach 50b3O serial 237944. Can anyone help?

Many thanks

Daz

[JohnL]

Have you checked the serial number lists on the Adams Music site?
https://www.adams-music.com/instrumente ... p?lid=1033
https://www.adams-music.com/instrumente ... p?lid=1033

But like the man in the hat said: "It's not the years, it's the mileage."

Either one of those would possibly appeal to a certain kind of player. TR-180's have a lot of fans, though most of them would prefer a conventional split trigger linkage rather than the Glantz bar. The 50B3O doesn't have the same kind of following, but it does have some fans.

[Bassbones]

Thanks John,

I've managed to age the Holton as a later model from that site and kind it to be a 1978 model.
Had a hard life and not Convinced by the second valve and the Glanz bar but it blows so freely it might be worth a punt myself.
Will look at the VB tomorrow.