Mt Vernon Bach back in production? Miles O'Malley trombone
Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 2:30 am
I want to draw attention for a moment to this news, from perhaps the most interesting boutique manufacturer at the moment. This trombone is a collaborative project between Noah Gladstone at BrassArk, the extremely dedicated and uncompromising youngster Miles O'Malley and the legendary Jay Friedman of the Chicago Symphony.
https://brassark.com/maker_horns/orches ... y-pricing/
According to Jay Friedman, the goal of this unique project is to "duplicate the best qualities of the best Mt Vernon Bachs, which are super responsive [...] hopefully they will duplicate the old sound that is not available anymore from the current companies." Everything is hand made in-house by O'Malley and his enthusiastic team, and all metal is sourced from the USA.
In general I find the specs close to Mt Vernon's. The thin bell has the same taper, a French flat rim, the leadpipe is a copy, the closed wrap is balanced by an .562” F attachment bore. The valve was designed by O'Malley, based on the original Berni Marston rotary valve used on the Mt Vernon Bach's. However, I understand that O'Malley likes to be more careful when heating the bell during the hammering than usual, and perhaps that will give the horn his personal touch.
Jay Friedman will personally test each trombone. I'm guessing this project is very special to Jay, because this responsive quality is something he has repeatedly expressed that he has missed in modern horns. Jay is the master of orchestral sound production, and here he has had a model tailor-made from scratch, together with Noah Gladstone, and not just assembled parts, like many artist models on the market.
I myself have ordered a copy of this instrument, gold/nickel set up, and cannot wait to receive it.
https://brassark.com/maker_horns/orches ... y-pricing/
According to Jay Friedman, the goal of this unique project is to "duplicate the best qualities of the best Mt Vernon Bachs, which are super responsive [...] hopefully they will duplicate the old sound that is not available anymore from the current companies." Everything is hand made in-house by O'Malley and his enthusiastic team, and all metal is sourced from the USA.
In general I find the specs close to Mt Vernon's. The thin bell has the same taper, a French flat rim, the leadpipe is a copy, the closed wrap is balanced by an .562” F attachment bore. The valve was designed by O'Malley, based on the original Berni Marston rotary valve used on the Mt Vernon Bach's. However, I understand that O'Malley likes to be more careful when heating the bell during the hammering than usual, and perhaps that will give the horn his personal touch.
Jay Friedman will personally test each trombone. I'm guessing this project is very special to Jay, because this responsive quality is something he has repeatedly expressed that he has missed in modern horns. Jay is the master of orchestral sound production, and here he has had a model tailor-made from scratch, together with Noah Gladstone, and not just assembled parts, like many artist models on the market.
I myself have ordered a copy of this instrument, gold/nickel set up, and cannot wait to receive it.
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