XO 1236 vs Shires Q30

[Sossij]

Has anyone had a good amount of experience with both of these horns? I tried out the Shires and my local music shop and liked it a lot, but overall I'm still torn between it and the XO 1236 since I've seen a lot of posts saying Shires instruments don't hold up for very long or something. Plus I could get the XO for much cheaper on the resale market. I'm just concerned that because the XO loses so much more value on the resale market compared to Shires that it's not nearly worth the $3300 price tag. Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

[BGuttman]

Shires Q horns haven't been around too long. Earlier Shires models held up pretty well.

[mbtrombone]

Depends on your plans I think. The advantage of the Q30 is it will be interchangeable with other Shires Custom parts down the line if you want to adjust parts of the horn long term.

[Elow]

Small bore shires are not modular. I’d be more concerned with the quality of a jupiter than a shires but who knows.

[jjenkins]

I’d be more concerned with the quality of a jupiter than a shires but who knows.

XO trombones are excellent -- certainly not your average Jupiter trombone which aren't necessarily designed with the professional in mind, although a professional would be able to use them just fine. But the XO 1236 is a quality instrument -- both rotary and axial flow valve variants. Try for yourself before making a judgment.

[mbtrombone]

Small bore shires are not modular. I’d be more concerned with the quality of a jupiter than a shires but who knows.

Q30 is the large bore. Q33 is the small bore. The the XO 1236 is also a large bore I thought given the f-attachment. Maybe the OP can clarify if they are looking at a small bore or large bore horn?

[Sossij]

To clarify I am in fact looking for a large bore horn. Probably .547.

[mbtrombone]

To clarify I am in fact looking for a large bore horn. Probably .547.

Do you mind my asking where you are in your musical journey? High school, college, beyond, returning after years off?

[Sossij]

I'm a collegiate student, formerly majoring in music composition, though I'm switching away from an actual major in music so I can have an easier time finding work after graduating while still pursuing music. I'll still play in collegiate ensembles though. The horn I was playing on was one issued to me by the school for marching, but I used it for everything else too (admittedly not the best decision) since the horn I had before was a small bore intermediate horn. I wanted a professional yet not disgustingly expensive horn that's versatile since I'll be in orchestra while also being the somewhat-resident trombone player for one of the bigger theatres in my city (somewhat because only a few shows out of the season feature a full pit) which involves anything from jazz to very pop-like modern musicals. These two horns seemed good for my desired price bracket and what I'm looking for but just couldn't decide between them.

[jjenkins]

Have you considered medium bore trombones (.525")? Horns this size would be even more flexible for what you aspire to do during and beyond college if you're looking for an all-purpose trombone.

[Sossij]

I did think about medium bore like the King 3B/F but I kind of have to do the job of a bass trombone at times with one instrument so I figured .547 would make that notably easier and it's what I'm used to.

[Elow]

Wow, I'm real dumb. I played the large bores at a convention a year or two ago and was impressed, but didn't particularly want one myself. I did own a Q30 myself and it was great, really versatile if thats what you need.

[mbtrombone]

I'm a collegiate student, formerly majoring in music composition, though I'm switching away from an actual major in music so I can have an easier time finding work after graduating while still pursuing music. I'll still play in collegiate ensembles though. The horn I was playing on was one issued to me by the school for marching, but I used it for everything else too (admittedly not the best decision) since the horn I had before was a small bore intermediate horn. I wanted a professional yet not disgustingly expensive horn that's versatile since I'll be in orchestra while also being the somewhat-resident trombone player for one of the bigger theatres in my city (somewhat because only a few shows out of the season feature a full pit) which involves anything from jazz to very pop-like modern musicals. These two horns seemed good for my desired price bracket and what I'm looking for but just couldn't decide between them.

Well, with that information I would say if you really want to get a new horn then either of these will do just fine (and trust me I loved getting my new horns when I did, a Getzen 1047FR in high school, and a Custom Series Shires Large Bore and Bass in college).

Just a thought though, a used large bore would allow you to consider buying a small bore for jazz and pop gigs. There are lots of bach 42s out there, Conn 88s, King 2B, 3B, and Bach 16Ms. But it also means practicing two horns.

I hope you love what ever horn you decide to buy!

Good Luck.

[Vegasbound]

I'm a collegiate student, formerly majoring in music composition, though I'm switching away from an actual major in music so I can have an easier time finding work after graduating while still pursuing music. I'll still play in collegiate ensembles though. The horn I was playing on was one issued to me by the school for marching, but I used it for everything else too (admittedly not the best decision) since the horn I had before was a small bore intermediate horn. I wanted a professional yet not disgustingly expensive horn that's versatile since I'll be in orchestra while also being the somewhat-resident trombone player for one of the bigger theatres in my city (somewhat because only a few shows out of the season feature a full pit) which involves anything from jazz to very pop-like modern musicals. These two horns seemed good for my desired price bracket and what I'm looking for but just couldn't decide between them.

IMHO a Bach 36 would be the way forward on what you have posted, or going slightly smaller a good used 3b both very versatile horns

[comebackplayer]

I just bought a Jupiter 536, which is the ml cheaper version of XO 1236 (I think actually there's a 636 too, which is the large bore version). I like it! It looks like you could get the XO somewhere in the $1500-1700 range used.

[deanmccarty]

About 13 years ago I went on a journey to find a .547 bore instrument that fit me. As a bass trombonist I never could find a .547 horn that REALLY worked for me… I could easily switch from .500 to the bass… and even .525… but the large bore tenor always felt awkward to me.

At the time, I was playing Shires on my bass and small tenor… SO… I went to a trade show fully expecting to find a Shires that I liked. I tried Yamaha, Getzen, Coutois, Edwards, and then Shires… I found a Pro Select (which is the closest thing to what you are asking) that I thought I may like… but I still wasn’t hooked yet… then I just happened by the Jupiter XO booth… I picked up the 1236 with a yellow bell… it sang for me. It was just a little bright though… so I tried the rose bell… NOPE… not even the same horn. I was bummed… the guy at the booth, who was one of the higher ups… talked to me… I told him I liked the horn… but a red brass tuning slide would probably give me what I wanted… he said “we don’t make that… but if you’re serious, I’ll have my guys make you one… and since THIS is the instrument you like… take this one on consignment… I’ll send you the tuning slide when it’s ready… try it out… if it’s what you want, we’ll work out payment.”

Well… that is what I did… we exchanged contact info… I took the 1236 on consignment… and about two weeks later, I received the tuning slide… the horn played great… SO much better than any of the Shires combinations that I tried. And the customer service was top notch too! So… the short answer… get the 1236.

[Sossij]

I would like to thank you all for all your help! After taking the posts from this thread and similar threads into account and trying some more horns I determined that in spite of my predetermined notions about medium bore, it actually seems to be the best for me after all, since it doesn’t make me lose the low register as much as I thought. After much deliberation I settled on a .525 Schagerl horn that I liked a lot and I got a good deal on a new one on Reverb!