TromboneChat

I was admiring a colleague’s K and H Bolero trombone last night. It sounded very nice in a program of northern and central European music. Very comfortable-looking bracing, including a Williams-style handbrace.

I know the brand name but have never heard of this particular model. 8.5”bell, .547 bore, with several valve options available.

Does anyone have any opinions about this horn?

I play K&H Bolero with Open Flow-valve at work. My colleagues play Bolero model Manyak and Bolero Sonor. I love these trombones! Easy to play and control. Super ergonomic to hold. Slide is fast and light. Sound has a lot of color, deepness and overtones, being closer to Conn than Bach on the spectrum. Meinlschmidt-valves are great. The screw rim on the bell flare makes the instrument a bit front-heavy so I highly recommend the K&H counter weight. The Bolero trombone bell diameter is 220 mm, so 8.661", not 8.5. Bolero with open flow-valve might be my favorite trombone I've played (Thein, Edwards, Shires etc). There is a reason it won the award for best german musical instrument! The only downside is, it might be tricky to find a mouthpiece that matches the instrument well. Took me a long, long time. Ended up getting a custom mouthpiece from Tomi Romera.

I strongly recommend the Bolero horns. The craftmanship is astonishing. The instrument is even beautiful to look at!

I used to have a straight large bore Bolero. It was one of my all time favorite horns. Wish I hadn’t sold it.

Try one if you can! K&H make great horns and the Bolero is really a great take on an orchestral tenor trombone. Added bonus: probably the most ergonomic trombone I've ever played!