"Car" horns

[jorymil]

Lately I find myself with little 10-15 minutes in my car where I'm waiting for a curbside order, am early for an appointment, on a lunch break, etc. I've got a pBone I've been keeping in the car for this sort of thing. Do others here keep a "car" horn, and if so, what is it, and how well does it hold up to car duty? I could see solder joints not liking large temperature changes, for example.

John

[BGuttman]

This would be a good place for a Marching Trombone or bass trumpet. Trombone size, but uses valves and is more compact.

I have a couple of trombones that "live" in my trunk and have done well over 20 years. Yes, I pull them out and play them regularly, but not inside the car.

[Matt K]

I actually picked up trumpet in the early phases of the pandemic when I was buying groceries exclusively online. I'd have to wait for awhile in my car. A lot easier to play trumpet. My chops aren't great but and its still basically just for fun but I feel like if I practiced for a few weeks I could get my sightreading up to read maybe 3rd/4th book in a reasonably competent big band if the tunes weren't too hard. I used to have a flugabone but I sold that awhile ago. They're pretty fun too but a little too stuffy... to be fair, I've never played one in great condition so the quality might affect my perception of it.

[Finetales]

Pocket trumpets were made for this. Mine lives on my desk, but if I were to have two for some reason one would live in my car. Short-model cornets also work great as car instruments.

A pBone is a good idea, but a trombone is pretty awkward to play in a car without getting in the back seat. I suppose if I had a truck with an old-school small extended cab I could keep a pBone there, but otherwise I probably wouldn't bother. A pBone mini, or a Chinese soprano or alto trombone might be great for car duty.

[CharlieB]

A bit of hijinks from my college days.........
Bell-front baritone horn, stood up in passenger seat and held by shoulder belt.
Mesh cover over the bell; girl friend's face picture glued to mesh.
Great conversation starter.
Very easy to grab it and play (music) behind the steering wheel.

[Burgerbob]

When I moved to San Francisco, I played pocket trumpet for most of the way driving the Uhaul. I definitely got better at scales!

[spencercarran]

Why not just keep a spare mouthpiece around and do some buzzing?

[baileyman]

Why not just keep a spare mouthpiece around and do some buzzing?

Well, that's because you just never know when someone is going to need trombone, and then you're ready!

At a pro's quartet gig, he'd somehow forgotten his horn and asked me for mine. The one time I had pulled my car horn out and left at home!

[djkennedy]

My favorite is short pattern Calvary bugle lots made by York. Grand Rapids for WW1
Much fun strong sound simple
Small very handy!!!!!!!

[dukesboneman]

I keep a spare mouthpiece in my car for buzzing and warming up if time is tight
I was on my way to a gig and time was tight so I`m buzzing in the car.
A cop passes me , U turns and puts the lights on.
Pulled me over and asked "What I Was smoking?"
I showed him the mouthpiece and said I was running late. He looked everything over
and told me to get on my way.

[brtnats]

I keep a recorder in my glovebox. Not the kind of horn I think you’re imagining though

[timothy42b]

The pBone mini would be good but most cars don't have safe slide room.

The solution is the jHorn Nuvo, something all of us should have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln6PvWQFGvc

[Posaunus]

The solution is the jHorn Nuvo, something all of us should have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln6PvWQFGvc

Very fun! Interesting, but not objectionable, sound.

[Vegastokc]

King Trombonium might be a nice fit.

[timothy42b]

The solution is the jHorn Nuvo, something all of us should have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln6PvWQFGvc

Very fun! Interesting, but not objectionable, sound.

I would be surprised if you could get that sound. That is a professional symphony horn player using a horn mouthpiece.

A couple of us here have jHorns and with the provided mouthpieces (3 sizes) the tone is not great. But they are a fun way to practice valves, and easy to keep handy.

[jorymil]

First in-car pTrumpet session for me today. First goal: learn my major scales!

[hyperbolica]

I agree with the flugabone suggestion. I picked one up cheap, and I keep it next to my desk so I can just pick it up and blow as the spirit moves me. Same mouthpiece as a small shank tenor bone. Shorter than a trumpet, fits on a trombone stand and uses trombone mutes. Almost balances on its bell. It's probably already beat to hell, so you can't really hurt it. You can get a case for it, but a gym bag with a couple of towels in it is just as good. The valves are so worn I'll never have to oil them. Lots of fun to play.

[Vegastokc]

Or how about the Tromba Jazzbone !

http://trombainstruments.com/products/tromba-jazzbone/

[calcbone]

Or how about the Tromba Jazzbone !

http://trombainstruments.com/products/tromba-jazzbone/

There was a company not too long ago (DEG?) making a brass version of this…I believe it was called the Quadribone? Something like that?

Anyway, I remember trying it out at an ITF in the early 2000’s…

[Finetales]

Seems like the Tromba Jazzbone isn't made anymore. It's still on the Tromba website but no place I found that sold it (e.g. Amazon) still does. Honestly, I would be shocked if it was still getting made or sold.

The OG brass version was the DEG Quadro, and...there's also a reason that one isn't around anymore.

[DougHulme]

No ones mentioned a P-Buzz? Maybe they are not marketed in the US?... Doug

[BGuttman]

No ones mentioned a P-Buzz? Maybe they are not marketed in the US?... Doug

Only place I saw a P-Buzz was in a Trent Hamilton video.

I keep a spare mouthpiece in the car for buzzing. It's the only use I have for a genuine Remington (for an 88H). At one time I fitted some hose to it to make a Hose-a-Phone, but had little opportunity to play it that way.

[calcbone]

Seems like the Tromba Jazzbone isn't made anymore. It's still on the Tromba website but no place I found that sold it (e.g. Amazon) still does. Honestly, I would be shocked if it was still getting made or sold.

The OG brass version was the DEG Quadro, and...there's also a reason that one isn't around anymore.

Right, the Quadro... that's one way of putting it...

[whitbey]

I have the Denis Wick MP in my truck for the ride.

And a White Pbone in the back for a break in the day. I am a realtor and I also use the Pbone to play at open houses.

[Posaunus]

I am a realtor and I also use the Pbone to play at open houses.

Do you focus your marketing on music lovers?

[CarlVicVogel]

I have a King Cleveland Cornet that is very compact that would make a good car horn.

Not using it-if you are interested...let me know.

CarlVicVogel

[timothy42b]

Seems like the Tromba Jazzbone isn't made anymore. It's still on the Tromba website but no place I found that sold it (e.g. Amazon) still does. Honestly, I would be shocked if it was still getting made or sold.

The OG brass version was the DEG Quadro, and...there's also a reason that one isn't around anymore.

I thought they both had promise, and that the jazzbone was how the quadro should have been built.

Every quadro I played had a terrible slide, and I think it is just inherently difficult to get a double slide aligned and kept aligned. Also they were nose heavy.

[jorymil]

I agree with the flugabone suggestion. I picked one up cheap, and I keep it next to my desk so I can just pick it up and blow as the spirit moves me. Same mouthpiece as a small shank tenor bone. Shorter than a trumpet, fits on a trombone stand and uses trombone mutes. Almost balances on its bell. It's probably already beat to hell, so you can't really hurt it. You can get a case for it, but a gym bag with a couple of towels in it is just as good. The valves are so worn I'll never have to oil them. Lots of fun to play.

If you know where to find one cheap, let me know! I've wanted one for a few months now: it's like a valve trombone, but not nearly as nose-heavy.

[hyperbolica]

If you know where to find one cheap, let me know! I've wanted one for a few months now: it's like a valve trombone, but not nearly as nose-heavy.

With a little patience you can find them under $300, but you have to be quick to react. Here on the forum and eBay are the places to watch. Also your odds improve if you know what you are looking for. The Olds/Bach/Blessing /Reynolds design is seen as the best, with the larger bore and smaller bell. The King models are a bit different. I prefer the Olds design. I haven't heard any good things about the Chinese models.

[Cush]

I keep a Jo-Ral shortcut mute and a spare mouthpiece in my driver side door pocket and buzz through traffic on my way to perform.

The tone quality is much more fulfilling than just buzzing with a mouthpiece. I get smiles from the panhandlers and yes, occasional curious looks from other drivers and law enforcement.

But it does help me keep my lip and improvise to whatever music is in my head.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/brass-i ... gLJVfD_BwE

They make a large shank version as well, but It may still be on back order.

FYI, I have a fine-playing bell-front King trombonium, but it was hard to find and I am not looking to part with it for less than a serious offer.

[jorymil]

If you know where to find one cheap, let me know! I've wanted one for a few months now: it's like a valve trombone, but not nearly as nose-heavy.

With a little patience you can find them under $300, but you have to be quick to react. Here on the forum and eBay are the places to watch. Also your odds improve if you know what you are looking for. The Olds/Bach/Blessing /Reynolds design is seen as the best, with the larger bore and smaller bell. The King models are a bit different. I prefer the Olds design. I haven't heard any good things about the Chinese models.

Thanks for the advice: I'll set up some saved eBay searches and keep my eyes peeled. There's a King 1130 listed on eBay now, but the starting bid was right at the edge of my price range.

[Claudio]

The pBone mini would be good but most cars don't have safe slide room.

The solution is the jHorn Nuvo, something all of us should have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln6PvWQFGvc

very interesting - May be the player uses the left hand, sometime, in order to show that the jHorn may be played both by french horn players as well as flicorno players ?

[timothy42b]

The pBone mini would be good but most cars don't have safe slide room.

The solution is the jHorn Nuvo, something all of us should have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln6PvWQFGvc

very interesting - May be the player uses the left hand, sometime, in order to show that the jHorn may be played both by french horn players as well as flicorno players ?

I wrote and asked him. The video was inadvertently flipped, it's a mirror image. But yes he does use both hands occasionally.
i also noticed him dumping spit from a slide that I didn't know came out. But now I can get mine out. Condensation or spit is a bit of a problem on this thing because it's a standard nine foot Bb, coiled into a tiny 1 pound package.
It comes with a mouthpiece and three sizes of insert. The middle size gives me the best intonation but makes the low range very difficult.

[Pezza]

I just push in the middle of the steering wheel, and the car horn makes the noise itself!

[robcat2075]

OK...The design goal is to have a normally behaving trombone that you could play in the confines of a car, right?

How about this...

Take a tenor and chop the slide so it has only 4 positions.

In 1st that will extend about 6 inches beyond the bell. Out in 4th it will extend only about 18 inches beyond the bell.

With that you could sit sideways with your right knee up on in the driver seat and play to the passenger seat and have room to move the slide.

If your car has a bench seat in the back you could sit in the middle and poke the slide between the driver/passenger front bucket seats.

What to do about the approx. 3 feet of tubing that is lost by the chop?

One option would be to add it as a loop on the slide like this....

Chopslide002.png

This is NOT a double slide. It is just a loop riding ON the slide. Positions 1-4 remain where they always were.

What about positions 5, 6 and 7? If you're a screamin' jazz player you probably haven't used them lately anyway.

There's a lot of useful warm-ups and maintenance practice you can do without those last three positions and it would be on a horn that otherwise responds and plays like a real Bb slide trombone.

[timothy42b]

That's not a bad idea. Double slide trombones are notorious for being tricky to get aligned let alone keep aligned, but in this case the inner is only 4 positions long and keeping that part aligned and safe might be easier. Being less nose heavy there'd be less need for a counterweight (and if you used a trigger horn you'd still have the extra positions. The downside is you need to buy two more crooks. This might be a decent pit horn.

[robcat2075]

Remember, it's not a double slide.

There's only the regular two tubes to align.

[Finetales]

I would imagine you'd want the inner loop to be in a plane with the slide tubes (a la the Robb Stewart Eb contrabass trombone) rather than below it for the sake of slide action and avoiding misalignment as gravity does its thing.

[robcat2075]

I'm sure there are multiple ways to plumb those 3 feet back into the horn.

one plane...

Chopslide004.png

[Finetales]

That's how the Robb Stewart horn was done. Interestingly, if you installed a Gb valve (presumably closed wrap in keeping with the confined space use case), you would still have a chromatic instrument down to low E on the 4-position slide.

[Claudio]

if dimensions are the issue I suggest using an Alto Trombone - you'd save about half length and at the same time you practice on a very interesting and useful horn, I bought a Roy Benson, it's very cheap but keep in mind it plays very well ( I had bad experience with other low cost horns, but found this peculiar horn is very good ). This is the price in Italy, may be you save some money in your neighborood https://www.amazon.it/Roy-Benson-Rb7011 ... 3487&psc=1

[timothy42b]

The jHorn is wrapped in one plane.

[robcat2075]

This would be the most economical tolopogy. This retains the bow from the bottom of the slide.

The small radius bows could be borrowed from the valve slides of a salvaged baritone horn or euphonium.

[media]https://youtu.be/-y0Z8gRPX2k[/media]

[timothy42b]

Very impressive animation! Nice work.

If i had a beater horn I'd be tempted to try that.

Hey Elow! calling Elow!

[timothy42b]

Hey I do have a beater horn - I have a spare slide for the pBone.

With a brass trombone you can unsolder the inner slides and cut from the top end, saving the stockings. I don't see how to do that with a pBone though. My caliper says the stockings are .002 bigger in OD than the inner slide, but it's hard to get a good measurement.

So I need to play in 4th position, mark the slide, mark a stocking length more, cut the inner there, cut the outer about an inch past, reverse the outer, connect the two. The connection will add an inch, or so, might have to tweak it a bit at that point, then glue the assembled outer slide to itself.

Will it play without stockings? Dunno. Might be worth a try.

[Posaunus]

This would be the most economical toPOLogy. This retains the bow from the bottom of the slide.

The small radius bows could be borrowed from the valve slides of a salvaged baritone horn or euphonium.

Hmm,

• Remove inner slide tubes; and cut and dispose of portion toward mouthpiece.
• Re-solder inner tubes so (necessary) stockings are retained.
• Remaining slide still results in original key (Bb for a tenor trombone)
• but perhaps only 3 (or possibly 4) useful positions. [I never did like 7th position!]
• Water valve is now barely functional and over player's lap ...
• Or remove original water valve on large slide crook, and install a new valve on each smaller crook.

Do I have this right?

[robcat2075]

It's tolopogy because... you're gonna lop part of it off.

...Do I have this right?

Mostly so. A longer explanation can be found several posts earlier.

Four positions is enough for warm-ups and lead trombone stuff.

Water valve is now barely functional and over player's lap ...
Or remove original water valve on large slide crook, and install a new valve on each smaller crook.

Since the slide is short now it would be easy enough to just take it off and tilt the water out.