[Trombone-l] Bass Trumpets

[Walter Barrett]

Hey, Jim!

The older Bachs were indeed available in C or Bb, and you could also  
get them in C with a set of Bb slides. I got to play on one of those  
that Manhattan School rented for me to play when they did the Rite of  
Spring. (Did you play trombone on that, with George Manahan, Jim?)  
That was an amazing horn!

I have an early Elkhart Bach that plays pretty well.

I hear that the Selman is a copy of the Lidl, and plays about as well.  
Be prepared to have a repair guy go over the horn to tweak the  
mechanics that the factory didn't quite get right, but even with the  
extra repair $$, it'll still be cheaper than any other rotary. The  
Alex is pretty much the standard for rotary C bass, but quality as  
well as availability can be spotty. C or Bb? I don't think it matters  
much, as long as you put in the time and effort to be able to play it  
in tune. If you're going to get serious about orchestral playing,  
you'd probably want a Bach piston AND a rotary of some type. Fairly  
serious $$ for the 11 pieces in the orchestral literature that call  
for it.

On Jun 9, 2008, at 6:29 PM, jscot at ucalgary.ca wrote:

>> Gabe & listers -
>
> I would second the recommendation of the Mike Mulcahy CD - his  
> playing is
> fantastic on both the Bass Trumpet and on the Euphonium. The CD is on
> Summit records however, and he plays on an Alexander bass trumpet in C
> with a Bach 15C mouthpiece.
>
> The old Mt. Vernon Bachs can be great - the Met has a pair of either  
> Mt.
> Vernon or NY Bachs that if I remember correctly, can be tuned in C  
> or B
> flat. I've tried newer Bachs, and some are quite good, while some are
> awful. I played one at Manny's in NYC several years ago, where the  
> low B
> flat was more like a B natural, the middle one was OK, and the high  
> one
> was really an A. Good luck trying to find fingerings that work on that
> horn!
>
> I still kick myself for not buying an old Conn in another NYC shop  
> some
> years ago. It had a nice sound - slightly bright like you want from  
> a horn
> that has to fit into a trpt. section. The scale was good, and the  
> blow was
> fairly free - comfortable for a trombonist. They were asking $600,  
> and at
> the time cash was tight and I couldn't see an immediate use for it.
>
> The Getzens are OK, not anything to write home about, but user  
> friendly
> for the most part.
>
> I know that some people who play the instrument a lot like to use
> something like a Bach B flat for the Janacek - Sinfonnietta and for  
> the
> Stravinsky - Rite of Spring, where the part is scored low, and a  
> German C
> bass trpt. for the Wagner - Ring Cycle.
>
> My $.02 (CDN) = $.022 (US) these days.
>
> Jim Scott



Walter Barrett

"...French horns have about the same length of tubing as the human  
intestinal tract, and both frequently offer similar products."
	- Chris Waage

Alto, tenor, bass trombones
Bass trumpet, euphonium, tuba
Yamaha Artist/Clinician
http://www.walterbarrett.com