Went Hoping to Buy a Mute, Bought a Horn

[walldaja]

I attended Ohio University's Trombone Day on the 29th. I was looking forward to seeing what would be available to buy as well as hear some excellent trombone playing and teaching.

I brought my trombone playing granddaughter with me as we made our rounds of the tables. She is definitely not a gear nut like her poppa.

I wanted to try a Bach 42--heard a lot about them but I had never played one. I spent the first 17 years of retirement playing trumpet in a brass quintet and was never impressed by Bach instruments (trumpets). I played the Bach and it really didn't move me. Next up was a Conn 88--again not terribly impressed. Both instruments were solid performers but just didn't ring any bells for me.

All of the remaining instruments available were Shires and Eastman. For the price I thought the Eastman was a good deal and in my short sampling it seemed just as good as the Bach. Then I started working through the Shires. I really wanted to try an axial valve (always used rotors in the past). There were two Shires Q30s side by side. One was a rotor and one was an axial valve. I thought the axial had a long pull compared to the rotor.

Then I saw their price list (one day only, at the event only). After quickly looking up a Shires Q30RG I realized that the price was too good to pass up. Wife encouraged me to go ahead and get it. It didn't take me long to get the horn. I played it with the trombone choir later that afternoon instead of the horn I brought with me.

Today I spent a good bit of time playing it. Shires was right, most people like the #2 leadpipe. I didn't care for the #1 at all and found the #3 helped in the low notes. Cleaned up the #2 and put the rest in the case for whenever. Tried the Shires 5G mpc that came with it. It was pretty but I still preferred my Lindberg CL4 / 5.

The Shires is lighter than my AC280 but the weight feels more centered over my shoulder. I weighed it a 4.15 lbs vs the AC at 4.26--not a whole lot lighter but seemed better balanced.

I love the brass outer slide and the nickel crook and the rose gold really made it sound sweet.

The Shires case beats the AC case hands down. The AC case is one of those shiny fiberglass cases and looks nice but leaves little room for much more than a mpc and some lubes. The Shires matches the typical silhouette but in ballistic nylon vs leather. Actually I prefer the nylon. Plenty of room inside the case and in the bag attached to the outside of the case.

The Shires Q is now my #1 go to horn.

[MrHCinDE]

I can relate to this, a similar thing happened to me. I was on tour as a tuba player with a youth orchestra about a year after I‘d started learning trombone. I’d been playing euphonium for years and had picked up the mechanics of the slide by then whilst playing a loaned instrument. I knew I‘d be off to university the following year and would no longer have access to the loaned instrument so had started shopping around for a used Conn 88h back home.

Anyway, I‘d heard from one of the trombonists in the orchestra that a music shop in the city we were touring had a good deal on Jo-Ral mutes and thought it‘d be a nice souvenir and something I’d also use so went to have a look. I didn‘t have a trombone with me to try them so the kind staff handed me an 88h from their display. Needless to say, I decided to buy the mute and was just handing back the horn when they mentioned it was on special offer as an ex-display item. I played on without the mute for a bit and said I’d have a think about it. The offer was too good to refuse and a couple of days later I went back and bought the horn. It was my main axe for about 15 years. I just sold it last year but kept the case for sentimental reasons as it reminds me of the great times we had on that trip.

I hope you enjoy your impulse purchase horn as much as I have. Those Q series horns seem to get a lot of positive reviews. If I were shopping for something brand new I‘d definitely try one.