[Trombone-l] Holton TR-180 Update 1

[t.stone@att.net]

Hi List, 

Last month I posted about the Holton TR-180 I acquired, and asked if anyone on the List had any first-hand knowledge of the 180 that they could share with me. There were a number of great responses with an abundance of useful information. Thanks to everyone who posted a response. In particular, thanks to Eliezer Aharoni, former bass trombonist of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and author of the New Method for the Modern Bass Trombone, who responded with his insights to the horn and an offer to send me some additional written material. I took Eli up on his offer, and the material arrived from Isreal yesterday. Included were numerous copies of period Holton advertisements and promotional matererials and a wonderful article written Edward M. Kleinhammer, then bass trombonist of the famed Chicago Symphony Orchestra, entitled, "Evolution of the Bass Trombone," that discussed the deficiency in the chromatic tonal range of the B-Flat/F (single valve) bass trombone and the budding evolut
ion of the "two valve" (B-flat/F/E) bass trombone to fill that "hole" in the chromatic scale. There is also a neat little passage in the article that I think we bass trombonists should memorize and use when snooty violinists looks down their little craggy noses at us and make light of our pitch and technical dilemmas: "It (the maze of slide adjustments the bass trombonist must make to strive for accuracy of pitch and technical agility with the tenor trombones when the F slide is pulled to E) can be likened to a violinists lowering the pitch of his (or her) G string to G-flat, losing the open G and having to make fingering adjustments on this string every time it is used." I just love that, and know I'll use it soon enough. I was thrilled to receive this material and immediately set about to send Eli an e-mail of thanks. I'll use a use part of the text of that e-mail as an update on the status of the TR-180, and continue with periodic reports when, and as, things progress with the h
orn. So here goes... 

Eli, 

Your package arrived today! Thanks ever so much for the wonderful information you sent on the TR-180. You have given me more information than I could ever hope for about the horn. I found it in the mail box of our new house just as I was arriving home after picking up my 72H and the 180 at Robb Stewart's brass repair shop in the town of Arcadia, about 35 miles from my house. How coincidental could that be? I have started the process of bringing this horn back to life by having Robb remove all of he dents and aligning the slide. The slide feels very good now, and there's no chance of any damage to the inner tubes because of the dents or misalignment. The serial number of the horn is 518XXX, and according to several sources it was made in 1972. Robb said that it was in remarkably good condition for its age, and shows very little wear. He also examined the valves, Glantz Trigger and Magic Bar assembly, linkages and Delrin socket joints and didn't see much wear anywhere. In fact, after
 he checked out the entire assembly he said that it worked very well. Up until now I haven't played it very much because of the condition of the slide, but I just blew it for about 10 minutes and I will tell you this -- it plays very, very well! It's free and easy blowing through low C and B (with the little bit of stuffiness you'd expect from a closed-wrap, double-valve horn of this vintage), right on down to pedal E. The attacks and responses in all registers are clean and crisp, and the sound is absolutely excellent -- albeit a little on the dark side, perhaps because of the 10" bell. So far, it seems that this horn may not suffer from some of the maladies I've heard and read about (wrong bell throat and flare, wrong leadpipe, tight neckpipe, etc.), but only time and playing it will tell. In the future, I will make other changes to bring the horn up to more modern standards. Modifying the Glantz Trigger and Magic Bar to thumb and middle finger configuration will cost about $275,
 and a new-build D slide will be over $200. And I don't even want to think about open-wrapping it because now we're talking BIG bucks, and the cost/benefits may not outweigh those of just biting the proverbial bullet and buying a new something-or-other. So with the cost of the slide work already done, I will be investing nearly $600 into this vintage Holton TR-180 (not including the new case that I'm sure it will require). Not a bad investment, I think. And if all goes well, I should wind up with a fine playing, classic double-valve bass trombone that will fit almost any playing situation. At least that's the plan. 
Eli, thank you again, so much, for all of this fine information. I really appreciate it! I still have not been able to find out much about the career of Karl DeKarske, but plan on asking Dick Nash for some input because he and Karl played on so many of Henry Mancini's recording sessions. 

My best to you and your family, 

Tim 

So there's the first update. I'm still looking for a D slide, so if anybody has one I can beg, borrow for awhile or buy cheap, please let me know. And does anyone know, or know about, Karl DeKarske? He was Henry Mancini's first-call bass trombonist for years, and had long career both on bass and tenor trombone. He was my teacher during 1964 and 1965 and played a Holton TR-169 at that time. I was so impressed by his playing that I modeled my playing after his and switched from my new 1963 Conn 72H to a new 1966 TR-169 that I played and went on the road with until 2004. If anybody has any information about Karl or a D slide, I would really appreciate it. Thanks everyone. 

Tim 
Granada Hills,CA