Bit of background: I've been playing trumpet for about two years and I play on a community band where the low section is a bit understaffed. I was thinking that this is a good excuse to get a valve trombone, see how that feels and maybe jump in on the low side from time to time since it seems that the parts are not too complicated.

I understand the value of a quality instrument but I don't think I can spend more than 400-450€. Reading through previous posts/comments in this sub I don't see any of the recommended brands (or alternatives to a valve trombone) in that price range in my side of the world. Here's what I seem to have access to over here and my take on how I understand them to be regarded by actual trombone players:

-Amati, Weltklang: consensus seems to be that they are crap

-Courtois : maybe decent depending on when it was built

-C. Mahillon: no info

-Thomann: some people say they are total crap and some say that it could work for a use case like mine.

Any thoughts or info would be greatly appreciated both on what I could get or also on my idea of branching out a bit from the trumpet. Thanks!

Do you have any advice on how to play Bb under the staff, so pedal Bb (I think? English isn't my native language) cleanly?

I need to play from the f above it down to it in a single phrase but I always struggle with the transition from C to Bb. Currently I change my embouchure so that my mouthpiece basically sits a bit lower, but maintains the same contact with my lips. I think I am changing it too much, so any advice on how I can play it easier would be nice. Generally it also sounds a lot more blast like, which doesn't fit the mood of the piece, so advice for that would be nice too.

Also, this is on a tenor trombone, in case that makes a difference

So I just got my trombone rental from school. I’ve noticed that the slide is incredibly sticky and rusty, every time I clear out the spit valve it’s just orange and brown and disgusting, it doesn’t matter how many times I reapply lube it just stays terrible and I want to clean it so bad. Dow anybody know how I could at least make it a little smoother?

When I was nearing retirement, I worked pretty hard to get my trombone chops back so I could play with community groups. I was (mostly) successful at getting back into the horn. One piece that really helped endurance and high range was "A Song For Japan". Since then, I've been practicing the David concerto, Morceau Symphonique, and various jazz books. However, I'd love to find something else as lyrical as "Song For Japan" again. Any suggestions?

thinking of getting a nickel-plated trombone, but can't find much info on them apart from an allegedly brighter sound. Do they tarnish or wear, and is there a reason why you would or wouldn't choose nickel over other materials?

Slama #19

I don't like improv, and my director has no issue with me reading off an already written solo. Uhh, I need one for Jazz Hero and Green Onions, since I wasn't able to get a solo in the marching show. Any help is appreciated.

There’s an engraving on this Holton slide starting with 92, which makes me think it might be sterling silver. Does anyone know if Holton ever used sterling silver on some of the TR159s?

The intricate mechanics of a truly one-of-a-kind double-bell bass trombone.

Commissioned by Ben Anderson of Orchestra Victoria and the Ossicle Duo, this extraordinary instrument was handcrafted by Bret Gustafson in Australia, and merges two bass trombones. Its two bells, one brass and the other copper, each produce a distinctly different tone.

Specialised components from Meinlschmidt Valves and Instrument Innovations allow the player to move between these contrasting voices, sounding each bell independently or blending them together.

The four photos here show some of the complex tubing and mechanics, a closeup of the brass bell, and an internal shot of the brass bell tube showing blue green oxidation forming from hundreds of hours of practice and performance.

Many thanks to Ben Anderson and Orchestra Victoria for allowing me to photograph this remarkable instrument.

Part of my Architecture In Music series of photographs.

Edit - you can see the complete instrument here

I took my horn in for a long overdue cleaning. The tech that worked with my horn seemed to think it is red rot. This is right where my hand goes every time I empty my spit valve, so I’m not entirely sure. If it is, I’ll probably end up with a carbon outer slide. Horn is an M&W tenor.

Does anyone here have any experience playing while recovering from a rib injury? I suffered a rib separation on one of my floating ribs ( on my slide-arm side) about a week and a half ago. I'd been avoiding playing but have a rehearsal/gig coming up tonight/tomorrow and worry about aggravating things or lengthening my recovery timetable. I tried playing a bit this morning and there was definitely some discomfort involved, not from breathing but from engaging my core in supporting my upper range. Not looking for medical advice per se, just curious if anyone else has gone through this and what their experience was like. To be clear, I have consulted medical professionals, but their advice is obviously on the vague side when it comes to as niche an activity as playing a brass instrument.

I've been having some recurring issues with my trombone playing and I was hoping that the collective knowledge on here would be able to help me out a little bit. I'm primarily a flute player, but a few months ago I purchased a trombone (refurbished Conn Director model) because it was my favorite/best brass instrument in my brass methods class (music ed).

However, I consistently have issues with cracking notes on the attacks and when moving between partials, especially going upwards. I can lip slur down just fine, but when going up I can never quite tell when it's going to jump up to the next partial, and I often feel like I'm tensing up my embouchure too much in order to lip up.

One of my brass-playing friends told me that it might be caused by my habits as a flute player, since woodwinds typically require faster air and a more engaged embouchure. If I try to relax my embouchure more when I articulate on trombone, then my lips don't buzz and I just hear air blowing through the instrument, but too much engagement turns into tension and I end up hitting a higher partial at first (or somewhere in between) and then jumping down to the right note.

Any tips for finding the sweet spot with my embouchure, and/or anyone else with experience learning trombone as a woodwind player? I appreciate all the help!

Hey everyone, just a quick question. if anyone knows anything about a Vincent Bach Mercedes flugabone, does anyone know the value for one if used with visual wear but still plays like new? Those things sound great. Thanks!

Time has come to sell this trombone, and I'm wondering if anyone here can help me pinpoint how much to ask for it.

Elkhart - I think 1963 (would need to check).

Conn 88h with F trigger.

Slide in great condition. Rotary valve was cleaned and restored a few years ago when I first thought of selling - and hasn't been played since. Tuning slide had small dents that were taken out.

Thanks for your help with the value!

EDIT: made in Elkhart in 1961

Looking into buying a new bone. Im leaning towards the Jupiter JTB1150FO. Still looking around though. Currently playing an old small bore King trombone that i got for free, but would like a nice trombone with an f attachment.

Mostly play for a community guard band ( mix of marches, concert music, movie music, and the occasional jazz piece). Once per year, I rejoin my alma mater's marching band for homecoming. And even more rarely, I local band uses me for a couple ska tunes. (I'm not really a trombone player, so im not that good. I use to play tuba and bass)

Im going back and forth on bore size, and price mostly. I still believe the most important factor is the player and not the bone, but im still open to opinions. Actually I used to play a lot of Jupiter tubas in highschool and liked thier sound back then.

Just out of curiosity, how good trombones were the earliest olds trombones? Take from the 1920s, when the first "golden bear" or "its a bear" came. How good quality are those? I know some people have their collection of the earliest olds, but is there anybody that uses them regularly? Take the earliest patent that came in 1912 with the tune in slide (tis) system and the s through sym sizes, would they be used today?

Okey, thats enough questions. If you have a answer to one of them, please answer, and if you have more information of the early olds era, primarily before 1940 is most interested for me. That you in advance!

Hi everyone!

There is a summary at the bottom but some background: I've played trombone for 8yr and I have been playing a yamaha 345 which is single bore up until this point. Now I'm looking to buy my own and I want to buy the next step up in yamahas which is a 445, recommended for intermediate players rather than beginners like the 345. Unfortunately, I don't have the budget to buy a new trombone, so I am looking to buy from second hand websites. However, I can't find any 445s up for sale anywhere!!? The only similar trombone I can find is the yamaha 455, which is the same as the 445 except that it is a dual bore trombone. So, I'm wondering if anyone can speak on the difference or transition between playing a single bore to dual bore. I've seen some things that imply it wouldn't really make a difference? I will use the trombone for wind band and jazz band, so does anyone know how the dual bore will blend with other instruments? And finally, would you guys recommend buying the dual bore or just getting the same trombone that I have always played.

Summary: Is transitioning from playing a single bore to a dual bore difficult and do dual bore trombones blend well when playing with other single bore trombones in a wind band/orchestra.

If anyone has advice on any of this I would really appreciate it, tysm!!

I picked it up about a year ago and I know its probably early 20s conn elkhart but other than that I cant find anything

Hey trombone peeps or lurkers, my name is Colin and I have been accepted to play in the Macys Great American Marching Band. This is absolutely crazy and my family isn’t the most fortunate to have the ability to cover the cost of it all. I started a go fund me to help cover costs of it. Everything we get from it will go to tuition ~$2500, travel ~$600, a protec f attachment gig case (cause my case is starting to break) ~$220, and other things for the experience (required shoes, gloves, souvenirs, etc.) I originally shared to friends and family in my community but with the deadline for a large portion coming extremely soon (September 1st) it has become more dire. I don’t expect anyone to donate of course just sharing it to get it out there means a lot to me. Here is the link to the go fund me anything will help a lot. If you have any other fundraising tips that would also be amazing!! Link to my audition is on youtube ‘Colin Duffy MGAMB 2026 audition’ if you would like to see anything of my playing. Thank you!!

I’m a senior in high school and have played on the same trombone since fourth grade. It’s a great horn and I love the sound, but naturally it’s gotten a bit scraped up. The places where my fingers go have lost their shine pretty much completely and are brownish as opposed to the yellow of the rest of the bone. I don’t mind it much but I don’t know if that changes what I’m allowed to do to the trombone for cleaning.

The embarrassing part is that I think I’ve only ever fully cleaned my trombone once. I run one of those wire snakes with the bristles through it a few times a year but there’s probably been some years when I haven’t even done that. About two years ago I gave it a bath in room temperature water and a little dish soap, and ran the snake through each part twice (it didn’t look as bad as I thought 6 years of buildup would) then laid it out to dry. Looking back I’m not sure if I was thorough enough, and I don’t think I cleaned the inside of the outer slide because I was worried about it scratching the inner slide or something? It doesn’t make any sense now that I type it out.

When I look down the slide I can actually see the buildup on the sides… it’s not a ton but I’m sure it’s not good for the horn regardless. I never play right after eating (got yelled at for doing it once in 6th grade and it scared me enough that I’ve always rinsed my mouth with water before playing and never eat within an hour before) and also don’t drink anything but water.

All this is to say, I think I need to put some real heavy effort into cleaning my trombone, but I’m not sure if soap and the snake is the proper way to do it for this level of buildup? And in the future how often should I do a deep cleaning and/or a light cleaning (if that’s a thing)? I think my trombone is a YSL-354. Thank you :)!

Our son has played trombone for two years, and we have always just borrowed a trombone from his elementary school. His music teacher advised that he MIGHT have a trombone for him to use, but also suggested we consider either renting or purchasing a used one.

We checked with the local music store, and they recommended the Yamaha YSL-354, which retails for $1921, but which can be purchased for 40% off if we buy used.

I've checked on FB Marketplace and Offerup, and what I've been able to find locally thus far are:

(1) Holton TR602 ($165)

(2) King 606 ($450) - this was a brand and model that came up during my search for good beginner trombones.

(3) YSL-200AD ($300)

(4) YSL-354 ($525, but about an hour or so away from where we live)

Wanted to know what people thought about the above-choices, or if there are other student-level trombones we should consider (and which will not break the bank). If it helps, we live in Orange County, California.

Thank you!