TromboneChat

Yes, you read that right... double valve B/F/G/Eb Blessing B88.





Our very own Brad Close built this for a friend of mine (on the forum as well, but he's a strong silent type). I played it the other day and it's awesome!

The result is a horn better than the sum of the parts. I've owned a B88 in the past, and my friend played these before they were hacked apart- they're fine instruments, but nothing special. Nothing you could choose out of a lineup. This, though, has gained some magic with another valve. With a tenor piece it's a nice large tenor with the added functionality of a G valve. With a small bass piece it's a real small bass- a nice compact fat sound with a real low B and nothing really given up.

I'm thinking about having this done to my two 42Bs now...

Wow! This looks really cool! Sounds fun to play on!

Can you swap the tuning slides to get Bb/F/Gb/D? Looks like you probably could.

That's cool! I have a 9" Holton TR-150 bell that I planned to use for a dependent .547 bore large tenor with two valves. I figured that I didn't want to mess with the gooseneck taper because it could change some characteristics of the large-bore tenor sound. If you say this kind of set-up works.....maybe I should think about making it a independent design?

That's very cool! Does the owner get fed up of having to explain to people it's not a bass though?

It looks like Brad had to rework the F wrap; I'm surprised he didn't make it an open wrap while he was at it, unless the owner wanted to keep it compact.

LeoInFL wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 3:08 am Can you swap the tuning slides to get Bb/F/Gb/D? Looks like you probably could.

Yes!

JohnL wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 6:19 am It looks like Brad had to rework the F wrap; I'm surprised he didn't make it an open wrap while he was at it, unless the owner wanted to keep it compact.

See above- Also, that means sourcing a crook. Much easier to just use the tuning slides as built. With valves like this, an open wrap isn't going to make THAT much of a difference.

Can you swap the tuning slides to get Bb/F/Gb/D? Looks like you probably could.

Yes! Swapping the slides gives you a solid Gb/D tuning with some room for adjustment. If you pull the G slide all the way out you can get close to Bollinger tuning. I just like G/Eb too much!

That's very cool! Does the owner get fed up of having to explain to people it's not a bass though?

Lol, I’d say not yet, I’ve only had it for about a couple of weeks and still haven’t had a chance to use it out in the real world but I usually don’t mind questions about my gear.

It looks like Brad had to rework the F wrap; I'm surprised he didn't make it an open wrap while he was at it, unless the owner wanted to keep it compact.

Yes, I did ask for that specific design for the F attachment. Brad actually wanted to make it an open wrap (according to him, no additional parts are required) but I wanted it to be pit friendly. I’m also not a big fan of open wrap designs, they tend to take up a lot of space behind the player and don’t really improve anything as far as how it plays. Brad of course did an amazing job and it turned out absolutely great!

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Thu May 20, 2021 9:40 pmI'm thinking about having this done to my two 42Bs now...

I can be the devil on your shoulder encouraging you to do it if you'd like. Actually, I'll do that even if you wouldn't like.

Thanks for the kind words. I think it ended up not needing any added parts except the new finger lever, linkage, and a small brace. The rest is all parts from 2 tenor trombones. The challenge is cutting the parts in the right places.

Brad.....how did you make the gooseneck? Did you modify the original or start from scratch?

Crazy4Tbone86 wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 7:43 pm Brad.....how did you make the gooseneck? Did you modify the original or start from scratch?

I just cut it shorter.

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Thu May 20, 2021 9:40 pm I'm thinking about having this done to my two 42Bs now...

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 10:01 am

LeoInFL wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 3:08 am Can you swap the tuning slides to get Bb/F/Gb/D? Looks like you probably could.

Yes!

That's got to be the best 2 valve configuration, IMO. Maximum flexibility in tuning options without any extra parts to keep track of, plus the super compact setup.

There is a difference in what you need to do with a 2 valve Bass versus a 2 valve Tenor. The G valve makes operating the tenor in the bass staff much better. There have been several threads about the value of a G attachment both here and on the old Trombone Forum. The downside for this is that 2 valve C and B are far out on the slide, but a tenor player rarely needs either of these notes. On the other hand, the bass often needs the C and B and a Bb/F/Gb/D Indie works better for the bass.

Having 2 valves, one in F and one in G, makes good sense on a Tenor since there are some passages that work better on an F valve and others that work better on a G valve.

I love my bass with this setup, although I have a Gb valve in event of many B naturals on a gig.

I also built a dependent tenor that I kick myself for making dependent rather than independent. I thought I'd rarely use it and would rather have more taper in the neckpipe. Incidentally, I'd be willing to part with that valve; fully Shires compatible. Bb/F/D Makes playing things like Cello suites a lot easier although if I were going to do that now, I'd just use my bass... maybe with the tenor slide so that horn gets no love these days!!