TromboneChat

I'm now the proud owner of two new Bach trombones, a 42A and 42BO. I bought the 42A with a heavy 50 slide because I was looking for a more open horn than what I was playing before. I was very right, this thing takes buckets of air to fill up and it gets a HUGE sound. Occasionally it seems like the sound is a little unfocused to my ear, but most of the time it sounds fine on the other side of the bell.

I did just get the 42BO however, with a heavy 42 slide, so I plan on playing around with different combinations on both of them to get a really good idea of what sounds good with what for what settings, etc.

Which brings me to the point: Besides Bach 42 and 50 slides, what other slides are compatible with my 42 bell sections? Does a 36 slide work? I know that Edwards slides are supposed to fit; are there any other brands that also fit and are the correct length? I have a little bit of a break for the beginning of the summer so I'd like to get my hands on a few of my friends' slides and experiment a little while I have the chance.

Thanks in advance for your help!

The 36 tenon is unfortunately not compatible with the 42. Edwards receivers are, from their 327 (525 bore), to the 350 (547), and 454 (.562) slides, compatible with the Bach bell sections, although there is some degree of variability on Bach's part of the equation such that they are not always perfect fits, or at least that's what Edwards says. I've never personally had a problem doing it but if they say it, they must have had problems with it enough that it warranted specifically indicating that.

Shires slides also fit, though with the caveat that the slide lock ring (I think that's what the part is called) has a different set of threads that are almost compatible but not quite. A Shires bell on a Bach slide works fairly well (or at least the times I've tried that it has... I used a similar setup as my main horn for almost 2 years). The other way around can work but it does tend to loosen fairly quickly. You can replace the tenon rather easily on Shires horns (ca $100 in labor), so if you want to try them out you can get a feel for them and then have the procedure done on the one you want if that's what you're after.

Some of the Courtouis and Yamaha slides fit but I'm not certain which models. A friend of mine has one of the 42A equivalents in the Courtouis lineup and the Bach slides I had in stock fit on it no problem, but I'm not sure which model he had.

And a word on lengths: Shires will make a "Bach length" slide (I believe Edwards does as well). They're a little longer than the stock slides and produce a more "stable" sound. E.g. the slots are a little wider on it at the expense of a little bit of flexibility. I tend to prefer the shorter slides. Even on a Bach, which was nominally designed to have a shorter bell and a longer slide relative to Shires or Edwards instruments. In other words, don't necessarily think that they have to be the length they are designed for or else they won't work. There are numerous Shires players on the longer slide and obviously the shorter slides work with the newfound prevalence of the botique horns that lean in that direction.

I saw that Butler is starting to make a a carbon outer slide that fits a 42.

Interesting, I don't think I've ever heard of people using Shires slides with Bach bells, and I've certainly never heard of Shires making Bach-length slides. I'll be sure to try out some Shires slides if I can get my hands on one, they aren't as common around here.

Of course Courtois slides fit, I totally forgot they were based off the Bach. The Yamaha is interesting though, my 882O slide didn't fit; I wonder if the 882OR does?

Courtois slides probably won't fit. They use their own connector.

The Bach 42 uses a Bach 50B tenon. So anything that uses a Bach 50B tenon and threads will screw right on. Bach 42, 50 and Edwards .547 and .565 slides will all screw right on.

You can friction fit a Shires slide but like Matt said the slide won't screw down though you can custom order a Shires slide with 50B threads from Shires.

I believe Schilke Greenhoe slides and older Greenhoe horns use Bach 50B tenons on both their bass and large tenors though I could be wrong, something to check into. I seem to recall my teacher using a Bach 42B slide with his Schilke Greenhoe when he first received the horn though my memory could be off on this.

Fun fact. Most Holton bass slides will friction fit onto 50B style sections but sometimes won't screw down. Holton bass slides seem to have been designed with a 50B tenon and threads but the actual tenon taper and thread count is super inconsistent. I had a late TR180 slide which had a tenon that wouldn't match with anything and threads like a Bach 50, and I had a early TR185 slide with a Bach 50 style tenon but threads like a Shires slide

You should keep trying out the regular 42 slide! Bass slides on tenor are cool and all but there's a reason almost everyone except the Chicago guys use regular .547 slides for everyday work!

Original Greenhoe slides/bells are interchangeable with Bach 42/50 slides/bells from a fit perspective.

The slide tenon on an older Bach 36/42 is a two piece tenon. It can easily be swapped with a 42 two piece tenon. You are only swapping the threaded taper.

I have found that with a Shires slide is a more involved process to swap the tenon as the inner tube goes thru the tenon.

Another set-up that has become my preferred slide when playing second in the orchestra, is the Edwards dual bore (547/562) nickel slide (TDBAN)

Largobone wrote: ↑Thu May 24, 2018 4:02 pm Interesting, I don't think I've ever heard of people using Shires slides with Bach bells, and I've certainly never heard of Shires making Bach-length slides. I'll be sure to try out some Shires slides if I can get my hands on one, they aren't as common around here.

Of course Courtois slides fit, I totally forgot they were based off the Bach. The Yamaha is interesting though, my 882O slide didn't fit; I wonder if the 882OR does?

I'm not aware of any Yamaha tenor that has the same threads, but I've played bass slides that do. I want to say the older Doug Yeo model (622?) but I would take that with a grain of salt.

Matt K wrote: ↑Fri May 25, 2018 8:25 am I'm not aware of any Yamaha tenor that has the same threads, but I've played bass slides that do. I want to say the older Doug Yeo model (622?) but I would take that with a grain of salt.

It does, I just tried my 622 slide on my 42 and it fits.

This is great guys, thanks for all the help. I'll be interested to try the Edwards and Shires slides, unfortunately the rest are just obscure enough that I probably won't get to for some time.