Page 1 of 1
Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:51 am
by alexwars200
Hello all!
I've been given an old 4 valve trombone, and I'm struggling to find information on it - it needs quite a lot of work doing to it as I believe there is a leak somewhere and all the slides are seized.
I know its a "Courtois" and it has 545 printed on the 2nd valve casing...
I'm just posting to see if anyone knows what key it is in and possibly when it was made - or any information about it that they know.
thanks in advance,
Alex
http://imgur.com/a/QzKEX
^here is a link to pictures of it
Re: Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 10:02 am
by Dan Schultz
Looks like a typical Bb trombone with the 4th valve function being to drop the open bugle to F. Measure from the receiver straight through to the end of the bell. If Bb, it should be about nine feet long.
Interesting horn. Apparently the 4th valve is intended to be operated by the left hand.
Being a Courtois.... surely there will be some interest among collectors.
Re: Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 4:15 pm
by alexwars200
So I managed to find a small bore trombone mouthpiece and put it against a tuner and it appears to be in C...
Re: Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:51 pm
by Dan Schultz
alexwars200 wrote:So I managed to find a small bore trombone mouthpiece and put it against a tuner and it appears to be in C...
That's not that unusual. Does it have a main slide you can yank out about 6"?
Re: Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:15 am
by imperialbari
The tuning slide looks like being long. And it is turned upside down in the photo.
Dual pitch C/Bb baritones were common in France. They were used in church contexts, so that players could use their band fingerings, when tuning to C and reading from the hymnals. Dual pitch valve trombones apparently were a little less common. Maybe because they are not quite as handy, when reading over the shoulder of the organist.
Klaus
Re: Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:53 pm
by alexwars200
I can only pull the slide out enough to get it to B... Oh well
Thanks for the replies though guys!
Re: Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:24 pm
by Dan Schultz
alexwars200 wrote:I can only pull the slide out enough to get it to B... Oh well
Thanks for the replies though guys!
Could be a high-pitch horn. It would be a simple matter to extend the main slide as long as there is enough 'pull' on the valve circuit slides to get them in tune.
Re: Information about an old valve trombone
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:23 am
by Art Hovey
Juan Tizol (composer of "Caravan") played a 4-valve C trombone when he was with Ellington. I think they are still common in Brazil. If I were a CC tuba guy and wanted an easy double I would want a horn like that.
My brother has a JW Pepper trombone bell with the same curved brace, made in PA.
-Perhaps a clone?