TromboneChat

Our long term project/collaboration between Markus Leuchter and The Brass Ark has finally come to a conclusion and I'm pretty excited about these special instruments.

Since the original thread was on the old trombone forum, here's a link to the TC archive post https://www.trombonechat.com/viewtopic.php?t=1445

Markus has finished a handful of "Baby Fuchs" bass trombones inspired by my original from 1916. They are en route to the shop now (sorry they are all spoken for already) and I will give a full report along with some high quality photos once they land.

In the meantime, enjoy these quick pics from Markus's workshop before they were packed up for the journey to Los Angeles

Absolutely stunning!

Beautiful craftsmanship!

Looks a bit like a Kanstul?

Yes Bill, looks quite like my 1662 but less bracing on the D tubing and much smaller rotors. Anyone know what rotors those are?
Also, can't see the tuning mechanism on the slide?

Rob you can check the old thread from TTF linked and see all of those things. We had custom special rotors made in the same size and bore as the original Fuchs by Zirnbauer for this project. You won't find them on any other instrument.

a

slipmo wrote: Thu Oct 27, 2022 4:59 pm Rob you can check the old thread from TTF linked and see all of those things. We had custom special rotors made in the same size and bore as the original Fuchs by Zirnbauer for this project. You won't find them on any other instrument.

Thanks for that Noah, they look lovely
Might there be more in the pipeline?

@slipmo

I can't see the photos in the original thread unfortunately, so non the wiser to where the tuning mechanism is.

It looks like there's a pair of thumbscrews on the slide. I'd really like to play one of these. I'll bet it solves what's wrong with the Kanstuls. I have the 1662i, and it can be hard to push sometimes.

Here's a close up

slipmo wrote: Fri Oct 28, 2022 1:39 pm Here's a close up

Thank you Noah

What a sweet wrap!

These look fantastic, and if they play only half of what they look, I'd sell a kidney for buying one

Well: Given that I really like my kidneys, I better think twice before being smitten by beautiful instruments, but d@mn..... GAS (Gear Acquisitioning Syndrome) is real, and it's a sweet, terrible sickness .

Great news that these have made it to market! I had a go on the prototype at Markus' shop a couple years ago, and was absolutely stunned. I was there again last week with some colleagues, and he still remembered my enthusiastic reaction.

It's perhaps not a bass bone to win a symphony gig and play Wagner and Bruckner on, but I suspect George Roberts would have been saying "Shut up and take my money" if he'd had a chance to try one. Responsive and vocal and richly colorful; wish I could remotely imagine justifying the expense.

Three new 2nd edition Baby Fuchs Leuchter bass trombones have arrived at The Brass Ark. I also have my demo 1st edition available at a discounted rate. Anyone that was a truly modern version of this incredible design is welcome to check them out. I won't get another batch for probably 2-3 years (if we do another run)

2nd edition has a 9.5" bell now (the original is a 9.25") and we also changed the trigger configuration to be a more standardized over the thumb setup. We also did nickel hardware instead of gold plated hardware to keep the price down with current costs of gold

Here are some pics!

Beautiful!

Wow wow wow!

Why the change from 9 1/4" to 9 1/2" bell diameter?

For the sake of the uninitiated, what is a "Baby" Fuchs bass trombone?

And, congratulations to John Packer's newly acquired brand for getting the Rath name on the bell of the trombone! see picture 4 of the new set by Slipmo!

Cheers

Stewbones43

stewbones43 wrote: Sat Jan 31, 2026 9:29 am For the sake of the uninitiated, what is a "Baby" Fuchs bass trombone?

And, congratulations to John Packer's newly acquired brand for getting the Rath name on the bell of the trombone! see picture 4 of the new set by Slipmo!

Cheers

Stewbones43

Herzogenrath is a place in Germany

Beautiful! I wish I had the need—and the cash—for a horn like this!

stewbones43 wrote: Sat Jan 31, 2026 9:29 am And, congratulations to John Packer's newly acquired brand for getting the Rath name on the bell of the trombone! see picture 4 of the new set by Slipmo!

That's a beautiful trombone!

Interesting that you went for the lightest possible TIS mechanism, rather than Greenhoe who reinstated the opera wheel.

sf105 wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 4:50 am Interesting that you went for the lightest possible TIS mechanism, rather than Greenhoe who reinstated the opera wheel.

It's all a balancing act, yes? Maybe it was tried and this solution made the horn play better?

I'm curious of others' opinions who have tried this. I played it very briefly and did not like it. It was very light, I did not play it very long because of how strange it felt. I was also playing on a Bach with axials at the time so probably not the fit for me.

I would definitely love to try one at some point!

@Noah: There could be one here in Hamburg, correct? I think I have seen it with the NDR bigband?

sf105 wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 4:50 am Interesting that you went for the lightest possible TIS mechanism, rather than Greenhoe who reinstated the opera wheel.

Not quite the lightest. I've seen TIS Williams & Wallace horns with just one clamp rather than two...

MStarke wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 5:15 pm I would definitely love to try one at some point!

@Noah: There could be one here in Hamburg, correct? I think I have seen it with the NDR bigband?

I believe Ingo was one of the first to order from the original batch.

JohnL wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 6:38 pm

sf105 wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 4:50 am Interesting that you went for the lightest possible TIS mechanism, rather than Greenhoe who reinstated the opera wheel.

Not quite the lightest. I've seen TIS Williams & Wallace horns with just one clamp rather than two...

I used to own one of those and the slide was definitely light.

HawaiiTromboneGuy wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 8:03 pm

MStarke wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 5:15 pm I would definitely love to try one at some point!

@Noah: There could be one here in Hamburg, correct? I think I have seen it with the NDR bigband?

I believe Ingo was one of the first to order from the original batch.

Thanks for confirming! Good to know.

Just sat next to Ingo's again at a NDR rehearsal. Great instrument. I think he got himself another one from the 2nd batch now.

EriKon wrote: Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:07 am Just sat next to Ingo's again at a NDR rehearsal. Great instrument. I think he got himself another one from the 2nd batch now.

Nice! Why one, if you can have two?

Bob Sanders recently borrowed #11 to give it a try and a review for you all. Feel free to reach out to him as he really put it through its paces

Posting his thoughts here from his facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bob.sanders.944745) post:

"I recently tried the “Baby Fuchs,” 2nd generation, bass trombones that Noah Gladstone, in collaboration with Markus Leuchter, has created. They are exquisite!
The Conn Fuchs model is the great-grand-daddy of the modern, American bass trombone. They are rare and in significant demand among the cognoscenti. These instruments provide a lighter character and instantaneous response for appropriate literature.
Brass Ark has three instruments in stock as of this writing (along with the 1st generation demo model). I played all four. These are hand-made instruments; they are not identical. Each horn has a slightly different character and timbre. They are all excellent.

The craftmanship is top notch. They are very light weight. This, combined with the longer hand-slide, makes them a little front heavy. A hand rest will be a good idea. The long hand-slide makes a one-valve low C (and the Háry János glissandi) more accessible.

I took one, that is very similar to my (highly customized) Greenhoe GC5-2R-TIS (minus the TIS), for a leisurely, in-depth, assessment in a familiar acoustic environment. Both horns are entirely red brass, except for rotors and trim pieces. The Baby Fuchs uses (including the hand-slide outer tubes) seamed red brass. This is an old-school manufacturing touch that makes it possible to duplicate the 1920s era alloy in the original Fuchs, which is now only available in sheets. The Fuchs-style rotors are physically smaller, and lighter, and glass-smooth – but they blow very open. Double-valve response is excellent and faking the Bartok gliss works pretty well.

I was sorely tempted to buy it. This is an opportunity that may not come again. There will probably be no 3rd generation. Ultimately, I decided not to because it is not demonstrably better than instrument I already own – but it is every bit as good! (To be clear, my Greenhoe is the best bass trombone I have ever owned.)
It also will be pricy! And . . . “She Who Must Be Obeyed” has strongly suggested I pass on this opportunity. It would be a different story if I were still active in the industry, but I am thoroughly retired.
But, to be clear, in short, I love these horns!"

BTW, I can spell "pricey"; I just didn't.