TromboneChat

I’ve been using this setup for over a year now and it’s still surprising how often the trigger comes in handy on a small bore. For those of you that don’t know this horn is essentially a 891ZD with a trigger section. I do lots of big band lead/section playing as well as weekly recording sessions and theater work. The trigger is in use daily to the point that I ended up selling my straight 891ZD as it wasn’t getting used at all. I’m still working on convincing Yamaha to make it available as a model you can purchase but at the moment it unfortunately isn’t. Fingers crossed as I think there is enough interest for something like it at a good price point.

Whats the bore size on their tubing for that size? Recently picked up a 3BF and put a Lawler bell on it. Has an absurdly good low range for .530" on the tubes.

Matt K wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2026 8:09 am Whats the bore size on their tubing for that size? Recently picked up a 3BF and put a Lawler bell on it. Has an absurdly good low range for .530" on the tubes.

I don’t know about the bore size for the tubing. I can say that with the right mouthpiece (25.4mm ish and a little deeper) the trigger and low register sound great. It does also work well with my 25mm workhorse but it gets brighter in that range for sure.

I wonder if that's the same valve and tubing that's on my 852 (.500 with F)

The concept is great. I love my 3BF

If you're curious, you can probably get a reasonable approximation by seeing if a 525 or 547 leadpipe fits in the tubing. If the 547 doesn't fit but the 525 does, it's probably somewhere near .530", for what little that is worth. Some of the Yamahas, like the 356, use a .547" tube. I've never seen smaller on them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they used a .530" like the 3BF. I've also seen some wild ones like the Getzen... I can't remember the number, but it's a student horn. I had one that measured .491 on the slide tubes and .562 through the rotor - so they used basically a large bore bell section. It actually played pretty well.

In hindsight, I'm honestly a little bit surprised things went the way they did with the extreme prevalence of F attachments on symphonic horns and so few options on the small side. Given how many commercial players did pit work, commercials/jingles, etc. and with how good they all play... just funny that they aren't more popular. I've yet to play a 3BF or even 607 that I thought was a dud in the low range.

My Yamaha is .530 though the valve section.

Burgerbob wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2026 8:44 am I wonder if that's the same valve and tubing that's on my 852 (.500 with F)

It could be similar. A lot of Yamaha parts stay the same. If yours is .530 there is a good chance mine it as well.

I would love a Yamaha like that. I play my 354 daily and would seriously consider a 891zd if I can ever get to a store to trial one, but having a trigger like yours would make me reconsider wanting the 891zd altogether and trial that instead.