…but still, a lot of them.
Just to kick things off, here are two of my mouthpieces, both Giardinellis, both the old New York-manufactured versions. As you can see, the neck of the one to the right is bent – this 10-degree bend is entirely on purpose, believe it or not.
In my previous post, I promised to “show off” my instruments at some point. I also hinted at the amount of instruments I have… So, I thought I would fulfil that promise. At least half-way... Therefore, bear with me while I share some pictures, facts, thoughts and personal feelings towards some of my horns, as well as a few anecdotes here and there.
Here I will only feature my trombones, the other (!) instruments will have to wait until later. This makes for nerdy reading, so if it gets too long-winded, just look at the pictures of these weird and wonderful horns.
After playing the trombone all my life, and me being somewhat of a collector (some might call it hoarder…) I’ve accumulated a stash of wonderful trombones over the years. I want to make it clear from the outset that yes, I’ve actually played all these horns, they are not just for show. But, in my opinion, they are a sexy bunch of girls. Yes, girls. They each have their own personality and temper, and without a doubt, they need to be handled carefully in order to get them to do what you want… (My apologies to the female half of the population.)
So, onwards dear reader, come along on a journey into this utter madness of mine!
This is my first “pro” horn, an absolutely superb trombone. I used this one as my main horn for more than 10 years, and she never failed me. The 16’s in general are fantastic all-round horns, even if they may be a bit limited in the lower register. But for someone starting up, this is a top-quality horn which you can’t go wrong with. She has a very open sound, especially considering that it’s quite a small horn. The bell is very soft, with a bit of hand-strength you can easily make a dent. This particular one has the bell all twisted unfortunately, which you can see in the pictures. (Happened during a tour with a blues band where one of the roadies were a bit careless.) I’m currently looking for someone to fix this, but it is proving harder than I thought. Suggestions and recommendations for a good repair-guy (preferably in Spain) would be most appreciated in the comments below.
The older models (before they moved the factory) are very sought after, so you might see prices on a Bach 16 vary from really cheap to mid-tier to quite pricey. If you want one, do your research first…
This is another one from the Bach family. If you ask anyone who plays the trombone what might be the most versatile horn, this is probably fairly high up the list. She has a very warm sound in the lower register but also the upper brilliance when needed. It’s no surprise that this horn is a favourite for jazz and classical musicians alike. Just like the 16’s though, they have a small tendency to vary in sound and quality, depending on when and where they were manufactured. Again, do your research and always, always try to do a test drive if at all possible.
This particular one, I was lucky enough to be able to buy from a guy who in the past played (with?) her for 10 years as lead/solo trombone in the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The original owner was experimenting with other horns at the time, sold her (oh my goodness...) to one of his friends, and as he wanted to sell after a few years, I was there at the right time. Fantastic horn as well, she has a great ability to blend in a trombone section, but can also really shine and sing when you need her to.
This is a weird one. I will admit, I bought this one just for the purpose of hanging her on the wall. She’s not the greatest horn in the world. Very heavy and stiff to play, so you need some serious effort to make her sing. But oh my, does she ever look funky, with that “art deco” styling!
One of my friends has this in a silver version (there are several different “Deluxe” versions, some in silver and some with copper finish) and she looks absolutely fantastic. He almost never takes her out though… Mine is definitely going on the wall. Trombonists refer to trombones you don’t really want to play (anymore), but just look at, “wallhangers”.
Another very weird one. This one has something so unusual (and I believe completely unique) as an asymmetrical slide. Meaning, one of the slide pipes (the upper one) is further away from you, while the lower one slides further than usual towards you.
Quite a fun horn to play, but can be too shallow and narrow, especially if used with the wrong mouthpiece. Another one for the wall.
We move on to another famous brand of instruments, the Conn family. This one in particular, has a so-called “Coprion” seamless copper bell, which gives her the fabulous red colour.
She’s a bit stiff to play, she’s seen a rough life and has suffered through some awful repairs (before I got her). To be quite honest, she looks better than she plays. Probably another wallhanger, since I don’t think I’ll actually use this one on gigs very frequently. She does have a beautiful dark and warm tone though, which is attributed to the high copper content in the bell and the way the bell was manufactured.
Here’s probably the most beautiful horn I have. She’s all silver-coated, with slanted braces and a very delicate engraving of “Pan the Piper” on the bell. More on the horn itself below the pictures of the brass version.
The “Vocabell” also has something very unique; a rim-less bell. If you look at all the bells in the pictures above, you’ll notice that the Vocabell does not have that small “curve” or "line" which runs around the rim of the bell. This is usually a metal wire which the bell is shaped around, to increase stiffness and stability. But here, it almost looks like someone cut off the very end of the bell. In fact, when I started taking her out to gigs, several of my colleagues asked me, “what the eff did you do to your bell?”. This was (supposedly) done to increase the output (decibel) with no extra effort by the player, and for some other slightly more obscure reasons as well. Here’s from the marketing blurb by Conn back in 1937, “Delicate radio tests […] showed from 12 to 15 decibels more power for the Vocabell.”. Be that as it may, they are both fantastic horns. Despite the fact that they are very small horns, they have an even, broad register and are extremely well-suited for lead or solo gigs. The silver version is much stiffer than the brass one, so that one went on the wall as you can see. The brass version is by far my favourite to play, out of all these horns.
Be prepared to pay if you want a Vocabell. They are collectors’ items and will sell for a premium price on e-bay – if you manage to find one at all.
I should mention that missing from the pictures above is a hybrid between a Conn 6H rebuilt bell and a Bach 16 slide, which I had to leave behind in Copenhagen temporarily.
When it comes to the age of all of these, it varies quite a bit. It’s fairly easy nowadays to track an instruments age on various websites by looking at the serial numbers. Yes, all of these have serial numbers.
The brass Vocabell, which I play the most these days, is from 1938... No that’s not a typo, that is one seriously old lady. 81 years and still going strong!
I hope you enjoyed this read and the pictures. If you have any questions whatsoever regarding any of the above, don’t hesitate to ask in a comment below.
Source notes:
All photos were taken by me. With a crappy mobile phone. And a dog sniffing around all the time. I’ll do better next time, I promise.
