Different Bones for Different Purposes

[WGWTR180]

I use different basses for different purposes as I have multiples of the same brand that each play differently. My M&W Holton 185 bass is my go to for most gigs but especially orchestral jobs as the sound blends in better with most others that I work with. I have several other Holton basses that I'll use for commercial purposes or gigs where I have to hold up an instrument for long stretches. As for tenors I have a 6H and an 88H that are mostly used for shows. Both of these instruments work well for me and I don't do enough other work on tenor for multiple choices.

[Finetales]

Mellophones just need the right mouthpiece and someone whose played longer than a day on one. Not too many good mouthpieces have been made for that instrument.

I know that struggle more than most! My current solution is my two favorite mello pieces cut for Reeves rims. They are much more balanced than they are with the stock rims. But one day I'd like to get totally custom pieces made for all my mellophones.

[CalgaryTbone]

I guess this is the first time for me to respond with what I used to do (just retired the other night). I generally got by with 3 horns - all Edwards. My .547 (T396AR), my alto (.500 bore, all yellow brass, very lightweight bell), and a.508 bore (heavy yellow bell, nickel slide). Daily driver was the .547, which makes sense in an orchestral position. the .508 was for the more commercial Pops concerts - I found that this particular horn was stable enough to feel comfortable coming from a larger instrument, and it also worked well when there was something that was more classical on a show that was mostly more commercial in nature. The alto, of course for Mozart, Beethoven, but also Schumann and Mendelssohn. That horn (and the .508) was picked out at an ITF, and it has really served me well. Just the right amount of brilliance, and compactness without becoming shrill.

The others sometimes downsized a bit when I played alto - not too much - usually just lighter sounding instruments. Sometimes an old Conn 8H built with an 8 inch bell (must have been a custom order in the 5o's), a Conn 70H or Yamaha 321(?) the red bell single valve. For those Pops, a 6H and a 62H. Sometimes, though, I used the alto or small tenor and the others played their usual horns, and honestly, with good players that make it a point to blend, it works quite well.

A few major orchestras have German or Austrian horns with the idea of using them on Germanic literature when the trumpets are playing rotary valve horns. I've noticed that they don't always use them, and I think it's just that you can often do better to just adjust your approach rather than having to adapt to different instruments with a very different response and tuning tendencies. It is a nice idea - there's a good recording of the NYP guys playing their Theins along with Ben Van Dyjk on a Bruckner motet. I think that the biggest difference comes from playing dynamics and articulations that suit the music you're playing.

Jium Scott

[WGWTR180]

Congratulations Jium on your retirement!!!

[harrisonreed]

New chapter in life, new name

[CalgaryTbone]

New chapter in life, new name

Actually, that's just a phonetic spelling of my name with a southern accent.

I am the last person do give anyone grief over a typo or an autocorrect slip. I'm officially one of those guys yelling at kids to get off my lawn!

Jim Scott

[Kbiggs]

New chapter in life, new name

Actually, that's just a phonetic spelling of my name with a southern accent.

I am the last person do give anyone grief over a typo or an autocorrect slip. I'm officially one of those guys yelling at kids to get off my lawn!

Jim Scott

I blame Siri.

[harrisonreed]

New chapter in life, new name

Actually, that's just a phonetic spelling of my name with a southern accent.

I am the last person do give anyone grief over a typo or an autocorrect slip. I'm officially one of those guys yelling at kids to get off my lawn!

Jim Scott

Congrats on the retirement Jim! I was just touching my toe on your lawn just to see if the grass was any different. Honest! And my baseball flew over your fence ... ignore that other kid climbing over it.

[WGWTR180]

New chapter in life, new name

Actually, that's just a phonetic spelling of my name with a southern accent.

I am the last person do give anyone grief over a typo or an autocorrect slip. I'm officially one of those guys yelling at kids to get off my lawn!

Jim Scott

To be clear I was not making fun of your typo. Being from the South I read that just as you described with my barely noticeable southern accent.

[SMack]

I am an amateur (very amateur) of a certain age (63).

Back when I wanted to be serious about playing, you basically needed two -- a jazz horn and a "legit" horn. I also dabbled in bass trombone, so I got one of those too.

I still have them, plus the student one my brother and I bought from a pawn shop for $70 so we could learn how to play. He was a high school baritone player, and I was a junior high tuba player at the time.

So here are the instruments I have:

1. Conn student peashooter bought from a pawn shop in 1976
2. King 4B bought in 1977 so I could play the bass bone part in the jr hi jazz band
3. King Duo Gravis bought used in 1980 because I thought bass trombone was my future
4. King 2B bought in 1981 to play the lead part in college jazz band
5. Meinl Weston Model 20 BBb tuba bought in 2022 so I could play it in a brass quartet/quintet. It was manufactured in the mid 70s and spent most of its existence in a high school in central Texas. It's pretty beat up, but it plays OK.

The 4B is my legit horn, and I always wanted a Conn 88H, so I just ordered an 88HNV to replace the 4B. If anybody's interested in that old King, let me know.

[FullPedalTrombonist]

I know myself well enough that I’ll have too many horns again once I find where to play and who with. I currently have one horn for no purpose, other than gittin’ gud again. I still have my other horns in long term storage across the country, but I feel like only two of them are as versatile as a horn should be.

BAC/Olds is really too much of a BAC-sounding horn. Kinda has one flavor and really only has one setting and it’s not stun. That sucker is like a laser. Very fun for screaming over a band with a lot of ego or for unmic’d settings.

That Yamaha 354 was a much easier horn to fit in with. Swapping to it after weight training with the BAC it was like being handed a bigger and lighter hammer.

The other tenors did good things but I really settled into playing lead or playing bass in bands.

I really need to have my Frankenbass overhauled. What a sweet playing horn, but I’m also nowhere near in shape enough to be playing that yet. I remember it being like having no ESC or ABS. It took a lot of control paint the right picture. Not too much or you could easily bite a saxophonist’s head off and not too little it wouldn’t project with all the colors and vibrancy you want. It took everything I could send through it. With great power comes great responsibility and all that.

My trusty mouthpieces are being sent to me so I’ll have that urge to get a bass ( already shopping ) in the meantime.

[BrianJohnston]

I can’t say I’m in the same league as any one else here, but I also like to keep things simple. I have:

• a Bach 50B3 customized;

• a Bach 42B, also customized; and

• a 36, straight up, no chaser.

I have a Jin Bao trumpet that I use when I teach trumpet students, an Olds horn for teaching students, and a Mack Brass euphonium (Yamaha 642 copy) for teaching and the occasional euphonium gig. And, of course, a pBone.

That’s it. No frills, bells, or whistles

My thoughts for a FULL stable:

Bass: Bach 50
Tenor: Bach 42
Small tenor: Bach 34
Jazz horn: Bach 6/8
Alto: Any modern american style alto
euphonium?
Bass trumpet?

Think you could get by on just about any gig as a primarily tenor player with this set up.

[harrisonreed]

I feel like you get more for your money when you find the few horns that you need that work for you, and then if other playing requirements come up you tailor your sound with a simple mouthpiece change.

Large bore, for example, my T-396 does everything I need for band, BQ, chamber music, orchestra, recitals. If I am using it in a BQ, I'll go a bit smaller on the mouthpiece depth/back-end for the endurance factor. If it's big rep, I'll go bigger. For a concerto, again it's a different mouthpiece. The sound changes quite a bit with an easy mouthpiece swap, and now I'm not lugging around or storing more trombones.

For small bore, again, I think my 3BF gets me there for anything. But for lead bone in a big band I'll use one type of mouthpiece. If I was going to use one in an orchestra for "small" rep or in a pit I'd probably use a bigger, more open mouthpiece.

For alto, same thing. 36H gets you there, but I use the A1 mouthpiece for chamber music and classical pieces, and the A2 mouthpiece for romantic works and solos or recitals. Very different feels and "presence", and slightly different but appropriate sounds.

[hyperbolica]

I was a single horn guy until I was maybe late 30s. I played 88h for everything. Except when I was in the Navy. They issued me a 42b, which I used for Navy gigs, and the 88h for less dangerous, more nuanced stuff.

I guess I had some extra money and curiosity from the trombone usenet - this was pre-2000. Sam Burtis and Matt Quinn were active. I'd buy bones just to see how they played. I didn't really have a use for a 77h or a 2b or a Selmer Bolero, but I bought them anyway, mainly out of curiosity.

Being maybe a bit moody, the different bones represent different moods, whether there is a genuine purpose or not is debatable. Yes, it would be easier to just own and clean the 88h, but I'm nowhere near that even-keeled, and I can't get there with just a mouthpiece.