how good are roy benson bones?

[John]

hello

I have doubt about how good are Roy Benson's trombones( f attachment) for an advancing student (like me) from 1 to 10



john

[paulyg]

2

[Vegasbound]

Just buy an older used pro model, lots for sale on this forum

[HermanGerman]

I believe they are enough for the most people here at this forum (more posting than practicing)...but it is impossible to judge a horn without playing it. It also depends on your skills and your needs... we have a few here in our school and they play okay. Especially those without the F att.

[brassmedic]

2

Kind of generous.

[BGuttman]

If that's all you can afford, I guess it can be OK. Repair people don't like to see these when they break -- they can be impossible to fix.

A used Yamaha 356 would be a better option, or something else. I assume you are not in the US, but some of the instruments in the Classifieds may ship to you in South America.

[harrisonreed]

I believe they are enough for the most people here at this forum (more posting than practicing)...but it is impossible to judge a horn without playing it. It also depends on your skills and your needs... we have a few here in our school and they play okay. Especially those without the F att.

Herman, you are truly cruel and mean-spirited. You've insulted "most people on this forum", on purpose, in this post. For no reason.

Who do you think you are?

[WGWTR180]

I'm thinking George Benson trombones are better.

[greenbean]

The question is really...

"How bad is a Roy Benson trombone?"

[DougHulme]

Actually they are no worse or better than the average Chinese stencil horn. Good enough for a student and they have sold hundreds of them. Since you say you are an advancing player, they might be good enough right now but my advice would be the same as Vegasbound - buy a second hand professional model because you will not stop developing and will soon be past teh capabilities of this horn. In answer to your question 4 (I know what Brad will say to that!!) but a good second hand pro horn could be a 10.

[brassmedic]

Actually they are no worse or better than the average Chinese stencil horn. Good enough for a student and they have sold hundreds of them. Since you say you are an advancing player, they might be good enough right now but my advice would be the same as Vegasbound - buy a second hand professional model because you will not stop developing and will soon be past teh capabilities of this horn. In answer to your question 4 (I know what Brad will say to that!!) but a good second hand pro horn could be a 10.

I was being a little sarcastic. 2 is probably a good enough rating, but I don't really like the "1 through 10" system. What's 10? The best trombone you ever played in your life? What's 1? A corroded old trombone with holes in it where the slide doesn't move at all? Lots of assumptions to be made, and nobody is going to make the same assumptions.

The point is, all of the so-called stencil horns made in China suffer from serious quality-control issues. Eastman has gotten better, but the horns with the weird names like "Selman", "Fever", "Accent", Roy Benson", etc. still aren't very good instruments. So I agree with you, A used professional instrument would allow room to improve AND will be a better investment. If you end up selling it, you should be able to get around the same price as you paid for it, assuming you keep it in the same condition. Buy a Roy Benson new for $800 and you'd probably be lucky to sell it used for $200.

[atopper333]

There are so many better options to choose from. There are a lot of good intermediate trombones that come up for sale. I once got ahold of an Elkhart Blessing B88 which was almost mint sans one dent for 450.00. I’d hold off and be patient…

Wonder if Roy Benson and Miles Volee have deep discussions on quality control…

[DougHulme]

atopper333

Wonder if Roy Benson and Miles Volee have deep discussions on quality control…

I once spent a few days in Denmark at The ITF with the large (German/European) wholesale company that sells the Roy Benson range. They were really nice guys and did a great job for a small retailer that I asked them to help out. Imagine their surprise when I said I actually knew Roy Benson (now sadly deceased) who was a trombone player in Cambridgeshire here in the UK! It was as you all know a made up name (and for a whole range of instruments not just trombone) so to find that their really was a real person of the same name was very amusing. I dont know Miles Volee, I wonder if there is someone with the same name - it may be possible - I'd ask for commission if my name was Miles Volee!!... Doug

[Matt K]

And, ironically, it's weekend warriors, amateurs, and students who benefit the most from a "professional" instrument. Having taken several hiatuses in the past for a variety of personal and professional reasons, it's WAY easier to pick up a Shires with a great slide and Doug Elliott MP than it is to pull out a JinBao with a scratchy slide and an off brand 6.5AL with worn plating.

If you want to walk uphill to school both ways, go for it. But spending time on this site is neither inversely proportional to the amount of time you put into practicing nor indicative of a masochistic desire to try to coerce yourself into playing on a subpar instrument.

[BGuttman]

As someone who spends a lot of time on this site, I probably should take exception to some of these comments. Firstly, I'm retired. No full-time job to take up most of my time. Second, I live in a nursing home and can't spend all of my time practicing -- not that I can any more, anyway. About an hour a day is all I can manage. I stay here to share my lifetime of knowledge with younger and less experienced players.

Back on topic, there are Chinese made instruments that offer better "bang for the buck" because their retailers do the quality control that the manufacturers apparently do not. Wessex, John Packer, Jim Laabs to name a few. It's possible to get a good Roy Benson, but it's equally possible to get a terrible one. In most cases Quality Control on these instruments is a "sh*t sort" where you cull as many of the bad ones as you can find. But even a good instrument is usually made from inferior parts and may not hold up as well as a reputable brand. I doubt you could play a 30 year old Maestro trombone, whereas I have a 125 year old Conn tuba that still plays well.

[atopper333]

And, ironically, it's weekend warriors, amateurs, and students who benefit the most from a "professional" instrument. Having taken several hiatuses in the past for a variety of personal and professional reasons, it's WAY easier to pick up a Shires with a great slide and Doug Elliott MP than it is to pull out a JinBao with a scratchy slide and an off brand 6.5AL with worn plating.

If you want to walk uphill to school both ways, go for it. But spending time on this site is neither inversely proportional to the amount of time you put into practicing nor indicative of a masochistic desire to try to coerce yourself into playing on a subpar instrument.

Totally agree. My biggest thing was picking up a horn and finding that the partials were so off I would be playing notes in ‘half’ positions…SO not worth the time and aggravation when, for just a few hundred dollars more, you can buy something that will save you so much time and effort that you could otherwise focus and becoming more skilled instead of fighting a poor quality horn.

[OneTon]

As good as most of these points are, a better question is whether the Roy Benson horn (or any other replacement horn) will hold the advancing student back. It is a binary question and gets traction quickly. The next step would be to ask at least five times why an instrument that will not hold the student back is not being pursued. The first answer to the second question is that this forum delights in rabbit holes.

[gbedinger]

Totally agree. My biggest thing was picking up a horn and finding that the partials were so off I would be playing notes in ‘half’ positions…SO not worth the time and aggravation when, for just a few hundred dollars more, you can buy something that will save you so much time and effort that you could otherwise focus and becoming more skilled instead of fighting a poor quality horn.

True for folks like us. Beginners, even many adult beginners are NOT concerned about “partials lining up”. For them we’re talking about serviceable and new (i.e., shiny) instruments. That’s what the OP is asking about.

[atopper333]

Totally agree. My biggest thing was picking up a horn and finding that the partials were so off I would be playing notes in ‘half’ positions…SO not worth the time and aggravation when, for just a few hundred dollars more, you can buy something that will save you so much time and effort that you could otherwise focus and becoming more skilled instead of fighting a poor quality horn.

True for folks like us. Beginners, even many adult beginners are NOT concerned about “partials lining up”. For them we’re talking about serviceable and new (i.e., shiny) instruments. That’s what the OP is asking about.

The OP listed himself as an advancing student…if he is not worried about his notes being in tune and being at least close to the proper positions…that could be a something to talk about…or ask, maybe they don’t care…I guess that would depend on a person’s definition of ‘serviceable.’ Is it operating as most new instruments, or does it at least make a noise? Is serviceable ‘shiny?’ These and more could be relevant questions ask as well.

So, if the OP is an advancing player…why not give suggestions that’ll make things easier on them? Or perhaps just say, that horn looks pretty…go for it!