Geneva Symphony Bass Trombone?

[NuhJuhKuh]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Geneva-Symph ... 3105009937

I’ve never heard of this brand! Does anyone here have any experience of them? Looks pretty, if nothing else

[SwissTbone]

Geneva is becoming a big name in the brass band world. But not for trombones yet.

If I remember right, they took over York and then developped their own line. Their instruments look really great with verydifferent lacquer choices than usual.

Designed in uk i bekieve and made in Kraslice.

[Tremozl]

Holy crap that is a big bore on that horn. Equivalent or bigger than some contras.

[SwissTbone]

I would be surprised if that bore size was correct

[Tbarh]

Sometime valve bore is confused with slide bore... Still large..

[mrdeacon]

Looks like a copy of a Rath R9.

Are they actually made in the U.K?

[blast]

Looks like a copy of a Rath R9.

Are they actually made in the U.K?

It could be a blatant rip-off of the Rath R900..... but I couldn't possibly say that. If it were, it wouldn't have the quality control that Mick has in place.

Chris

[SwissTbone]

Looks like a copy of a Rath R9.

Are they actually made in the U.K?

I know for a fact, that all Geneva cornets, euphoniums, baritones etc are made in Kraslice, Czech Republic. Dont know about trombones.

Interestingly this bass trombone is on neither of the Geneva websites.

[JonTheCadet]

That tenon doesn’t look very secure. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to make the connectors/receivers with threads and nuts?

On Rosehill’s website they have another R900 rip-off called the Catelinet 17B. That looks more like a Rath; the Geneva (might have) copied the squared double-radius crooks though the valve covers look like Kanstuls and the Gb wrap (or the whole set of attachments) looks more like a Latszch than a Rath.

Amati Kraslice is in Czechoslovakia I think. For quite a long time.

For your interest, Kanstul’s contra has a 2nd valve bore of .650.

[JohnL]

The Geneva tenor trombone:
https://www.geneva-brass.eu/en/instrume ... mbone.html
looks an awful lot like the Cerveny VFC-SL6677HR
http://www.vfcerveny.cz/en/piston-valve ... fc-sl6677h

Cerveny's website only lists four-valve basses. Amati (Cerveny's parent company) lists a couple basses on their site, but nothing like the Geneva The Geneva bass shares the curved handbrace with the Geneva tenor (which may have been inspired by the similar brace used by Kuhnl & Hoyer), but it also has the Rath-style clamp on the tenon joint.

Could be a prototype or a development horn. Maybe not a knock-off of any particular model, but more along the lines of "borrowing" bits from several other manufacturer's existing designs? Hardly anyone starts with a clean sheet of paper (though those that do sometimes achieve great things).

[saltyboy]

It is an exact copy of a R900, and I know this to be true. My friend has one, and we were at the Rath factory 2 years ago (I was trying out some components for my R4F). Mick had a good look at my friends Geneva Bass, and recognised the design instantly- because it was his! He wasn't best pleased with what he saw!!! On the plus side, they are really well made, and play very well too.