[Trombone-l] D slide: An ageing bass trombonist with no imagination needs to know

[Ray Horton]

Eric is correct, players who use the Bb, F, D in-line setup do not, as a 
rule, use the two valves together.  They prefer this setup for a 
free-blowing D valve. 


I have never tried it, (I have a Bach 50 with original 1984 hand-made 
Thayer valves tuned in Bb, F and Gb) but I would not like to give up the 
independent use of the three separate valve combos (F, Gb tuned just a 
bit high, D used together).  I use the Gb valve by itself a lot.  


A few players, such as Ed Anderson, went one farther with the above 
setup and tuned the second valve to C.  That makes for a lot of tubing 
on the side of the bell!


Back at the International Brass Fest at Bloomington, IN, in 1995, I 
heard givers of three different master classes describe three different 
double valve tunings as "more or less standard." 



Raymond Horton
Bass Trombonist,
Louisville Orchestra



Eric & Candice Swanson wrote:
> Keith Marr wrote:
>
>   
>> An ageing bass trombonist with no imagination needs to know:
>>
>> What are the advantages of having a D slide for the second valve on an independent set-up? I see Weril are offering it as part of the outfit with their Gagliardi GG295WL Bb/F/Gb/D which I'm considering buying as a back-up horn (Yes I have been warned the slide might need a set-up.).
>>
>>  
>>
>>     
>
> Keith,
>
> I never could figure out what these things were good for until I got a 
> horn (not my regular horn) that was built that way and tried to figure 
> out how to play it.  What I figured out is that you use either the F 
> attachment or the D attachment (second valve by itself pitched in D) but 
> never both valves together.  By using either valve by itself you can 
> play all the notes on the horn and never be blowing through both 
> attachments at the same time.  So it is less stuffy than most double 
> rotary valve horns because you are not blowing through both valves at 
> the same time, which is when most horns get stuffy.  However the weight 
> is an issue.  I don't recommend this setup.  If the horn is real stuffy 
> when playing low C and B, then I just would not buy the horn in the 
> first place.  There are others out there that play fine.
>
> If you try one of the Werils, check out the intonation before you agree 
> to buy it.  The ones I tried a few years back were so flat that I didn't 
> recognize the "Bb" that came out in first position because it was more 
> like an A.  I had to look to see if a trigger was stuck down.  Don't 
> expect too much from the slide, even after you have it repaired, and it 
> might be a usable back up horn.
>
> Eric Swanson
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