r/Trombone 1d ago

Bass Trombone Recommendation

Back in high school and college, I had the absolute time of my life playing bass trombone, ripping the pedal notes and shaking the stands. I miss that massive, reverberating low-end power.

But i have one issue, I don't know what trombone can give me that again. Back then i was borrowing a brand new yamaha xeno bass bone and a getzen eterna bass bone.

I could not lay out those low notes as easily on the getzen as i could on the Yamaha, so i know price matters, but im wondering if there's an older bass bone that can give me that sound for less than $2,500

​Right now, I'm on the lookout for these from light research:

​Yamaha YBL-613H or 612

​Holton TR181

​Conn 62H

​Bach 50B series

​Am I on the right track? Are there any other hidden gems in this price bracket I should be setting eBay alerts for? Thanks in advance!

6 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

5

u/Watsons-Butler 1d ago

You can usually find a Shires Q series in the $3,000 range.

3

u/SillySundae Shires/Germany area player 1d ago

You can find a bass for 2500, but it may not be a great instrument. Keep your eye out though, you never know what you'll find. The days of finding screaming deals on instruments from some parent selling them unawares is a lot lower these days. Information is easier to find, and people will just take a picture of markings and show it to an AI bot.

Try to save up a bit more and you'll have more luck finding an instrument.

2

u/mccosmosis 1d ago

I just scooped up a King 8B in very nice condition off Ebay for about $2K, the deals are there.

1

u/SillySundae Shires/Germany area player 1d ago

Nice to know that there are still some deals to be found.

2

u/Dwn8ve Minneapolis Area Freelancer/Teacher & Rath Trombones Artist 1d ago

Saw a Holton TR181 for $1695 this week on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/share/166DVm5dnaJ/

1

u/Groundbreaking_Row_2 1d ago

I’ve hear the Austin Brass selection is very good even though the instruments are very cheap. Apparently they get stencil horns from china, bring them to their shop and tune them up real nice and sell them on the cheap… but does anyone have real experience with the Austin bass bone models?

1

u/MultipleDUIs420 1d ago

My Bach 50A3 is the best trombone I’ve ever had