TromboneChat

Hello everyone, new member, but I've been reading off and on for a while.

I plated all through school many years ago now, and my son had been taking lessons for a while now. I doubled on bass a bit in school, and my son wasn't a whole trombone family, so I just bought a bass. It was much cheaper that is common, and after it arrived, I see some of the reasons.

It was advertised as a YBL-322, which is what the slide says. The bell section is marked as YBL-3210R, which I think might be a YBL-321 bell? Can I expect any problems from it not being matched?

Condition is a little rough (I'll post some photos when I get enough posts), but it is playable. I think it has had some repairs, the lacquer is poor in places, but it is playable. And somehow survived is a cardboard box (no case) coming from Japan to the US with just bubble wrap and newspaper without any damage that wasn't in the eBay photos. Not bad for $400.

There should be no problem regarding pairing 322 slide with 3210R bell. They are, at least in theory, identical horns differing only in bell material and maybe some ferrule material also.

It is a fine bass trombone if you don’t mind single rotor. I have a 321 (red brass bell) and it is a good horn.

Those Yamaha student bass trombones are outstanding. Don't worry about the mismatch. Enjoy!

As to the shipping, it can actually safer to wrap the components well in bubble wrap and fill the rest of the space in the box than to ship in a case. Especially if the case allows the instrument to move around inside it.

Thanks for the replies. I'll try to post some photos when I have enough posts for that. Go to know that the parts will work together with no issues.

I got a Faxx 1 1/2 mouthpiece for it (none was included), now I need to track down a case. Still trying to decide if I want a professional ultrasonic cleaning or just do a bathtub cleaning myself. But it's nice to have it, first chance I've had with a bass since high school 20 some years ago.

I don't see the point in an ultrasonic cleaning -- a trombone is SO easy to clean -- but I suppose if you do thoroughly clean it and are still worried about how it looks inside, you might want to pay the vig for the ultrasound or a pro chem clean.

I WOULD take the valve apart and clean it. And you may need to put in and trim new bumpers anyway as well. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, then I think you should consider taking it somewhere and having it done. I don't like not knowing what my valves look like and being really sure that they're clean and deposit/corrosion free to start with.

A professional chem clean (mild acid bath) & polishing is probably more effective than ultrasound.

If I remember correctly, four digit numbers on Yamaha horns were mainly Japanese and European variants.

YBL-321 is the American variant which is essentially the same instrument as a YBL-322 which is an older designation for th Japanese domestic variant of the horn. I’m not quite sure when the change occurred to the four digit number, but the YBL-3210 would be the Japanese domestic designation for the YBL-321. The R would denote a ‘rose’ or gold bell. Parts as far as I understand are interchangeable between the models.

They are great trombones and play quite beautifully, Enjoy the horn!