88H mix-and-match

[Ogmusicteacher]

The Horn Guys offer the suggestion of using a .562 bass slide with an 88HK as a "small bass" horn. Another post suggested merely changing mouthpieces (5G -> 1.5G) on a K-belled (9" thick bell vs. 8.5" thin bell) horn with the standard slide would be sufficient. Any experience or thoughts/suggestions?

[paulyg]

Having played an 88H with a 1.5G for a while, I can emphatically not recommend it. The Gen I horns tend to play a bit more open, and even that was a stretch.

An 88HK with a .562 slide is still gonna be on the way-small side of bassdom. I know many bass trombone players use similar setups on lighter orchestral works- Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, ect. This setup might be fine. I would, again, not recommend upsizing the mouthpiece on a .547 horn. It will just sound like a duller version of the same horn.

[hyperbolica]

If all you're doing is playing down to Db, the 562 slide on the 88hk would be a good way to do that. The size/bore is more about the sound than the pitch. You could use a 3b with an F attachment and reach the low notes, but you'd sound like a chainsaw. I'm a fan of using the smallest equipment that gives you the sound you need to get. So to me, what size equipment you play is mostly about the style and range you'll be playing.

[Matt K]

Depends on what you're trying to do. The bell section is really what makes the difference in feel. A bass slide on a tenor bell still feels like a tenor to me. That said, I've been using my tenor bell on a bass slide as a bass in a big band and have even received complements for my bass sound from it. I have a dependent setup on it so people think it's a bass because it looks like one. I get to fly under the radar! It's perfectly fine for probably 80% of the literature out there, especially if its a local big band or whatnot. There's one band I'm in that its'a real chore to play though because the charts are mostly written by local guys who are great writers and really take advantage of what the bass trombone has to offer. Being able to crunch pedal Fs on it si not nearly as fun as on a real bass.

[EOlson9]

I actually plan on buying an 88hk with a 562 slide at some point myself as a small bass especially for musicals and other things that I don't need my 62h for. That would have been a great one for Cabaret and Oklahoma last spring and summer.

[hyperbolica]

I don't want to add to the confusion, but if you're into the whole 9" bell 562 slide small bass thing, I'd recommend you think about some Olds and Holton horns. You can check the Hornucopia pages for specs. The Holton TR159 is a great example, the Olds George Roberts, some other models.

[Burgerbob]

There's a TiS Olds in that vein on eBay right now.