TromboneChat

Hey everyone! I'm planning to build some demo carbon fiber slides for .500 bore models, and I'm curious what your favorites are. Let me know what .500 model(s) you love! I'll start.

Minnick Conn 5H - This horn had the lightest brass slide I've ever played and that awesome small diameter minnick outer brace. (It's my favorite and I use it on all my carbon fiber slides)

Mine had an elkhart bell, may have actually been a 6H bell, and played awesome. I got a wild hair and decided to strip the Luster-Conn Lacquer off of it and I think I kinda ruined the "creamy" tone it had. It was still a great horn, but I always wished I'd left the lacquer alone. Ended up selling it to a student, but it still lives on as one of my top 5 favorite horns.

Tell me your favorite, current or past!

Williams 6, Adaci .500, Elkhart 6H, 2B+ (both versions). In about that order!

Williams 6/7.

Definitely Williams and Conn 6H for me too. Minick .500s are really wonderful, but a little too lightweight for my taste. Would be cool to try a 6H CF slide that generated inertia closer to the original outer design (and not so featherweight). Also fond of the Bach LT12 and King 2BPLG. Greenhoe GC2-Y is a great modern .500 as well.

Benge 170 Freelancer, great playing underrated horns!

Love my Minick, 6h and 100h. All great trombones, easy to play and with their own character.

Have not played many others in the last years though.

This is my favourite:

L series 6H.

RJMason wrote: Tue Aug 12, 2025 10:56 pm Definitely Williams and Conn 6H for me too. Minick .500s are really wonderful, but a little too lightweight for my taste. Would be cool to try a 6H CF slide that generated inertia closer to the original outer design (and not so featherweight). Also fond of the Bach LT12 and King 2BPLG. Greenhoe GC2-Y is a great modern .500 as well.

Good call on the GC2. I really liked the two they had at ITF.

I'd add a Rath R10 with nickel bell to that as well.

Benge 170 Freelance.

Finetales wrote: Tue Aug 12, 2025 9:22 pm Williams 6

Yeah, I agree. I'm a huge fan of the Williams 6.

Definitely my Conn 6H! 700xxx serial. I like the inertia the weight of the sleeves provides. My 6H is a very stable and projecting "little monster."

I've owned them all (non-Euro makers anyway), from 6H, 48H to Greenhoe GC2, Rath R10, Bach 12, Shires, etc etc.
The .500 horn I've owned the longest: Williams 6 (Slyde Hyde's for 40 years, mine for 20)
The .500 horns I play the most: Martin Urbie Green and Lawler .500 (light vs. heavy, but similar in design)

Conn 48H then Conn 6H. (Elkhart)

I'm a fan of the 48h, but other contenders for the best I've played would be certain 6h, the Greenhoe GC2, a Rath R10 (or which ever is straight 500), and believe it or not a Wessex Urbie copy. The 38h predecessor to the 48h is also a great horn, but maybe too rare to include here. It doesn't quite qualify, but the Getzen 3508 (500/508) is my fav small bore, though.

My choice has to be the Bach 12. I have 2 right now 1) a Lt12G with a Kanstul W6 lead pipe and a 1965 12 slide ( sleeves removed and a 12 nickel crook installed) with an 8G bell. Both play fantastic!
I just got my hands on a 1940 16. WOW!!! My new favorite.

Finetales wrote: Wed Aug 13, 2025 11:45 am

RJMason wrote: Tue Aug 12, 2025 10:56 pm Definitely Williams and Conn 6H for me too. Minick .500s are really wonderful, but a little too lightweight for my taste. Would be cool to try a 6H CF slide that generated inertia closer to the original outer design (and not so featherweight). Also fond of the Bach LT12 and King 2BPLG. Greenhoe GC2-Y is a great modern .500 as well.

Good call on the GC2. I really liked the two they had at ITF.

I'd add a Rath R10 with nickel bell to that as well.

Another plus-one for the Greenhoe(Schilke) .500 bores. Very good modern take on the old Conns (6H, 48H). I believe Alex Isles worked with them on the development of these models. Their .547 horns were great too - I kept coming back to a red brass slide tuning tenor. Megumi Kanda and Ken Thompkins both sounded great on their recitals played on Schilke/Greenhoes.

Jim Scott

6H hands down. The 38H is a fun little ride as well.

Bach LT12
Williams 6
Minick
Conn 100H
Rath R10
Thein Jazz

XO 1632

Edwards .500 bore.

I like my Bach 12. Plays surprisingly big for a small horn.

Owned a Minick and an Elkhart 6H which were both really velvety and smooth but the best all-round fit for me was a Benge Freelance 170.

I own a King 2B and 3B but the 2B seems to narrow for me and the 3B a bit too narrow. I know the King 2B+ exists which is .500 but it's not available in Europe. Anyone had the same problem with me and has a recommendation?

Schmelzer Nr.1, Kanstul ZSL 1555

I really like my Lawler Model 1.

Benge 170 Freelancer

In no particular order:
Conn 6H
Conn 48H
Rath R10 with nickel bell
King 2b+ (I only have experience with the 2102PL, but want to try out the 2115)

I'm rather partial towards an M&W 210, 2 piece yellow bell, yellow tube/nickel crook slide.

I have absolutely zero need for another small bore. But some that I would love to try would be the M and W, Greenhoe and Voigt. Maybe also the Shires Gilkes.

hornbuilder wrote: Wed Dec 24, 2025 9:14 am I'm rather partial towards an M&W 210, 2 piece yellow bell, yellow tube/nickel crook slide.

If only!

Merry Christmas, Matthew.

After owning at one time or another…….
Rath R10
King 2B+
Williams 6
Minick.500
Conn 100H
XO .500
Conn 6H Elkhart x two
Old Lawler .500

They have all been knocked out of the park by my current early Conn Victor 6H

Anyone own/played a Martin Urbie Green? Those always seemed like nice horns.

jorymil wrote: Mon Dec 29, 2025 12:51 pm Anyone own/played a Martin Urbie Green? Those always seemed like nice horns.

I’ve played a couple and always found them very light and responsive, but felt like they didn’t have enough gas at big volumes in loud settings, and felt very easy to overblow.

Urbies are great !
Very responsive and effortless upper register on the ones I had

Holton TR100