TromboneChat

A member of the orchestra I play with in Albuquerque asked me to recommend a decent bass trombone for her college age grandson. I am mainly a tenor trombonist and occasionally play at bass trombone, so I would appreciate some suggestions. This is the list I've come up with so far: S.E. Shires Q36YR, Bach 50B3 Stradivarius, Yamaha YBL-830 Xeno, Getzen 1052FD, Conn 62HI, Eastman ETB848. Thanks.

My recommendation would be for the grandson to find some shops that have horns to try, and try as many as he can. Different people like different things.

From my personal experience (I have tried many 50B3O, a Q36YR, had owned a 830 and currently play the evolution of it the 835D), the Q36YR would be the most cost-effective one. I like the one I tried. But as I said, let him try as many as he can before buying.

If he is entering a music program at college, he should ask his music professor for a horn recommendation. That way he fits in the profs thinking for the program. When he graduates, you can gift him the horn he wants.

Get something used in good shape and spend a little money getting it gone over. New instruments, especially basses, can have mechanical problems especially with valves. These are usually worked out of the used horns. Plus, you don't want to spend new bass money on a kid who may not stick with it. You can get reasonable used instruments that have been worked on at several reputable used instrument sites. I personally would recommend the 62hi of the ones you listed. I would call it lighter and easier to play than the rest.

The Q36 horns are very consistent and have a great sound.

I considered the Q series, can be a solid choice but around here they are about €4k new and for that budget you can more or less take your pick of used Bach, Yamaha, Conn, Getzen, Holton, Benge, King, XO, K+H, B&S etc. and still have something left for a slide job, and if necessary, some work on valve linkages.

A used Q series could be a smart choice if you can find one, otherwise a used horn from the list I mentioned should hold its value and can either be traded or customised at a later date. He should try as many horns as possible and see which is comfortable to play, sounds great and makes him smile.

XO bass trombones are excellent and cost efficient.

ssking2b wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 3:33 pm XO bass trombones are excellent and cost efficient.

https://www.brassandwinds.com/products/ ... T4EALw_wcB

ghmerrill wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 4:07 pm

ssking2b wrote: Mon Apr 21, 2025 3:33 pm XO bass trombones are excellent and cost efficient.

https://www.brassandwinds.com/products/ ... T4EALw_wcB

Heckuva deal! From a trustworthy supplier.

That seems quite high for a dependent XO to me. My student bought an indy XO from Quinn for 2k a couple years ago.

Sweetwater had an Indy (demo) available for quite a while at $3,000, with a "slight scratch" on the bell. I never got them to send me pictures. And I've seen some silver plated ones at suprisingly low prices.

The 1242 RL is a great instrument even at the normal retail price. I am using it now for more than ten years and never had the slightest issue. Even the laquer shows minimal signs of almost daily use. Really big, solid sound. Great low register with my Schilke D 6.0, but just now I am working through the David Vining Range Songs on it, and it's pure fun high and low - as far as the instrument is concerned, not the player..
One single negative: It is heavy. But I think, that contributes to the sound that comes out of the bell.
Maybe it's less interesting here on the board than those famous american made trombones, because it has no quirks to discuss about. It just works. Other than my Bach 50B2L I used before, that could have entertained 'Maintenance' and 'Modification an Repair' on its own...

In my opinion, the dependent XO bass sounds better and plays much easier than the dependent model, which isn't bad either. But I'd choose the dependent any day I'm going for sound and open feel throughout the horn.

I also think that's a fair price in this market. Remember that many (not all) of Quinn's horns are B-stock instruments which have had minor repairs made before listing. So they are heavily discounted.