[Trombone-l] An alto neophyte asks for it.

[Eric & Candice Swanson]

Dave Demko wrote:

>......What do people think of the Bach 39, the Amati, the Conn with the Bb
>attachment, the Yamaha YSL671? Any other favorite equipment?......
>

Dave,

I'm not a big alto player, but I know quite a few and I've played on 
quite a few altos.  I think there is a reason why the ones that sell the 
most, by far, are the Yamaha and the Conn.  They both play well and they 
don't cost too much.  I have never heard much positive said about the 
Bachs and they don't sell many.  The Amati is Czech-made, and in my 
opinion you might as well buy Chinese and save some money.

One thing to consider is that on every alto that I've ever played the 
slide is just a little too short to really reach 7th position.  You 
really have to lip down the E naturals and the low As or they're going 
to be pretty sharp, and that's with the slide just barely hanging on.  
Good chance of throwing off the outer slide trying for the E natural.  
The Conn with the trigger has the big advantage because E and A can be 
played in 2nd and in tune.  Also, you could play down to about a Gb if 
you needed to, like if you were playing a tenor trombone part on alto 
for some reason.

I've played enough alto to notice that the short slide is a problem on 
all of the ones I've played.  Maybe some will disagree, but for me it's 
true.  I like the Yamaha a lot and most people get along fine with it.

Eric Swanson