JP Rath Trombones

[JoeOffner]

What do people think of the JP Rath line of trombones? I've been looking to expand my stable of instruments in order to cover more roles to my own personal satisfaction. The JP Rath instruments are significantly more affordable than just about anything that isn't some Chinese knock off, but I can't find a lot of reviews from professional musicians aside from Christopher Bill on YouTube.

Specifically, I'm looking at the alto and medium-bore tenor. I can get by just fine on alto parts in orchestras using either of my tenors, particularly the small-bore, but there's a difference in character that leaves me unsatisfied with the results. The medium-bore tenor would be used mainly for musical theater work, though there are plenty of other situations I can imagine using it. For example, brass quintets where I am playing as a French Horn substitute.

Thoughts?

[Andrew]

I have a large bore JP Rath that I bought last year as a store demo with a significant discount. My Edwards was stolen, and I couldn’t justify spending the much again as I only sporadically play. It’s an overall good horn. Construction is solid. Slide was a 9/10 out of the box. Plays better than I honestly expected it to. Very easy blowing and consistent across all registers. The large bore plays very similar to a Conn 88.

[walldaja]

Brass players in River City Brass Band play them.

[walldaja]

Here's a variety of JP horns

[spencercarran]

Steve Ferguson carries them at his shop, and he's not known for selling junk. Could call him up and ask more about the alto.

[deanmccarty]

Everything I own is a Rath trombone… EXCEPT… my alto and my backup horn section horns (I also have a Jürgen Voigt Contra, but that doesn’t apply to this topic).

My backup horn section horn is the .500 bore JP Rath… it has been on stage in Vegas and other stages around the country… I take this as my flight horn to avoid baggage damage on the airlines to my R10. This horn plays VERY well, and I’ve never had an issue blending with any section. It’s not my Rath R10… but it’s a worthy instrument.

My alto is also a JP Rath… I picked this up at a NAMM show the year they came out. I was floored by how well it played. The show price was hard to beat… I’ve never even considered upgrading.

[Cotboneman]

Steve Ferguson carries them at his shop, and he's not known for selling junk. Could call him up and ask more about the alto.

Great suggestion. He's impressed with them. I bought a 3320 .547 bore trombone from Horn Guys in 2017, and it was a player right out of the box, solidly built and a really excellent slide. I used the horn in community band work and it does indeed play like an 88H. They are a little heavy, but compact enough for pit work. I wasn't using it much since the pandemic began, and I already had a newer 88HY, so I donated it to the school district that I retired from this year. Prices seem to be going up a little from what I see, but its a very good horn if you want a new horn as a backup rather than a good used 88H.