looking for bass trombone advice
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2024 3:10 pm
I am looking for advice from this educated collective on narrowing down a model of bass trombone to purchase. A little about me... I currently play first in a big band in my area on a 3b silver sonic that I purchased last summer. My whole section plays king SS and it's a really cool sound. I also play 3 or 4 pit orchestras every year for musicals and in a community symphony that my wife wanted to join.
For lower playing... I play the tuba parts on a large silver Besson sovereign Euphonium with a DE LB 112 rim and LB cup 8 shank. I am currently borrowing that horn from a friend (a great friend as it's a beautiful instrument) and that sounds really nice in the brass quintet. The mouthpiece is magic for producing a tuba like sound and range for me. I haven't played any bass trombone and know I will have to put in a lot of time to feel comfortable on it... but I'm excited about that. The symphony has a need for a bass trombone player and it's pretty low level compared to what I'm used to playing so I thought that would be a good place to start right away. I also have turned down pit work in the past because bass trombone is what they needed and I haven't played that. I would like a horn with a nice slide and capable of doing the type of playing I'm talking about. It's possible I may want it for big band at some point as well thought I'm currently pretty happy playing lead there.
I would like to know from more experienced players what make/model of horn I should target if possible. My budget is $3,500 or so (or less if I don't need to spend that much) I do have a beautiful Williams model 4 to trade or sell. I could buy and sell it a bit later, but as sweet as the model 4 sounds... I'm just not using it and can't afford to have all this money tied up in brass.
TL;DR I would like some advice on which bass trombone to buy for an experienced tenor player with good breath support.
For lower playing... I play the tuba parts on a large silver Besson sovereign Euphonium with a DE LB 112 rim and LB cup 8 shank. I am currently borrowing that horn from a friend (a great friend as it's a beautiful instrument) and that sounds really nice in the brass quintet. The mouthpiece is magic for producing a tuba like sound and range for me. I haven't played any bass trombone and know I will have to put in a lot of time to feel comfortable on it... but I'm excited about that. The symphony has a need for a bass trombone player and it's pretty low level compared to what I'm used to playing so I thought that would be a good place to start right away. I also have turned down pit work in the past because bass trombone is what they needed and I haven't played that. I would like a horn with a nice slide and capable of doing the type of playing I'm talking about. It's possible I may want it for big band at some point as well thought I'm currently pretty happy playing lead there.
I would like to know from more experienced players what make/model of horn I should target if possible. My budget is $3,500 or so (or less if I don't need to spend that much) I do have a beautiful Williams model 4 to trade or sell. I could buy and sell it a bit later, but as sweet as the model 4 sounds... I'm just not using it and can't afford to have all this money tied up in brass.
TL;DR I would like some advice on which bass trombone to buy for an experienced tenor player with good breath support.