Stephens Brass Instruments

[arich621]

Small plug for "Stephens Brass Instruments", the new line of trombones from Steve Shires himself in his new venture in addition to making horns. These are available by order through the Brass Ark, but Steve was just at the ITF with these new instruments and will likely be at other shows for people to try them out.

They play incredibly well, as you would expect a trombone made entirely by Steve from start to finish would.
I picked up his "Mt. Vernon style" 1 piece yellow bell, Caidex rotary valve, and wide tenor slide (TW47 style) in yellow brass with a nickel crook. It gives you the color of an SE Shires with the slotting and core of the best Bach trombones. Everyone that was playing these at ITF seemed to be in awe (especially the many Shires artists coming by the booth), and I have a feeling they'll be popular very soon.

http://brassark.com/new.html
https://www.stephenshorns.com/trombones

[WilliamLang]

That's very close to the model I just bought from Stephen! Mt. Vernon Bell with a french bead, as well as a wide tenor slide, an 81 lead pipe, and an annealed valve cap. Absolutely fantastic horn

Stephens Horn.pdf

[arich621]

Beautiful!! Very similar indeed, even down to the 81 leadpipe!

[WGWTR180]

Can’t wait to see who changes instruments during the next year. There will be some big names.

[Tbarh]

Why nickel crook?

[arich621]

Why nickel crook?

Just preference, clearer front to the note and articulations speak easier vs. yellow or gold

[arich621]

Can’t wait to see who changes instruments during the next year. There will be some big names.

Agreed! And not for $ or following a trend, just due to how well they play

[WGWTR180]

Can’t wait to see who changes instruments during the next year. There will be some big names.

Agreed! And not for $ or following a trend, just due to how well they play

We'll see.

[harrisonreed]

Lol

[Molefsky]

Some of the bigger names def seem to be following the money when it comes to endorsements... I was at ITF looking to purchase a new primary instrument as my shires was stolen recently. Steve's new stuff was pretty compelling. The valve was good but not quite the best choice for me. The instruments he brought were definitely top tier offerings and I saw this after spending a good amount of time trying instruments from other boutique makers in the same timespan. Love seeing Steve making trombones again.

[arich621]

Some of the bigger names def seem to be following the money when it comes to endorsements... I was at ITF looking to purchase a new primary instrument as my shires was stolen recently. Steve's new stuff was pretty compelling. The valve was good but not quite the best choice for me. The instruments he brought were definitely top tier offerings and I saw this after spending a good amount of time trying instruments from other boutique makers in the same timespan. Love seeing Steve making trombones again.

Aw man, I'm sorry to hear that about your Shires!
Did you try both valves, or remember which one you played? He has the Caidex valve as well as a modified Rotax valve. I'd say the Caidex is a bit lighter, while the Rotax plays slightly wider and you can get a larger sound in the trigger range without the sound getting bright or edgy. The resistance is slightly different between the two as well, and you can tell the Rotax blows differently from ones found on the 396-A for example.

[Matt K]

What style leadpipe is Steve using on those? (Or are there multiple?). The choice can really make or break a setup on a rotary horn.

[arich621]

What style leadpipe is Steve using on those? (Or are there multiple?). The choice can really make or break a setup on a rotary horn.

I'm not really sure about the exact style, he's only making yellow brass pipes at the moment and offers a range of sizes along with the similar short/regular/long styles from Shires. What do you find works best with rotary valves??

[Matt K]

Depends on the bell setup, but for unsoldered bells with rotors I tend to use something more "open" and on soldered bells, I tend to prefer pipes that are more "centered". But at conventions, sometimes with modular pipes people prefer the opposite, which may make the horn feel not very good. But some rotors can feel more "open" so a little extra "centeredness" can be good. Likewise some rotors are more centered and articulate and need a little extra "openness" to broaden the sound a little bit. I've never played a Caidex, but I have an Instrument Innovations bass that I play a fairly short piece that seems to be closer to the open side of things and it works really well. if I had thayers on it, I'd probably put a Shires 1.5 or a Bach 50 replica in it.

[Molefsky]

Aw man, I'm sorry to hear that about your Shires!
Did you try both valves, or remember which one you played? He has the Caidex valve as well as a modified Rotax valve. I'd say the Caidex is a bit lighter, while the Rotax plays slightly wider and you can get a larger sound in the trigger range without the sound getting bright or edgy. The resistance is slightly different between the two as well, and you can tell the Rotax blows differently from ones found on the 396-A for example.

I did and I liked the other variant a little more but still not fully what I was looking for.

I went ahead and cut a check to Sheridan today for my new Shires but I'm eager to see Steve do really well and make me regret my purchase in the near future!

[JKBone85]

In reference to this post, take a look at the Shires instagram story currently...

[hyperbolica]

In reference to this post, take a look at the Shires instagram story currently...

Can you provide a link?

[Burgerbob]

[slipmo]

Here are photos of the Stephens model 3 trombone: red brass 2 piece bell with seamed flare, open wrap with caidex, red brass tuning slide, wide tenor bronze slide with nickel crook

stephensmodel3_1.jpg

stephensmodel3_2.jpg

stephensmodel3_3.jpg

Here are photos of the Stephens model 3 trombone