Double slide F bass trombones

[Tom Mason]

I believe that Doug Yeo had a Bach 50 bell and double slide at one time that was used as a contrabass trombone. If I remember correctly, it was a straight bell. (no trigger assembly). A picture was on his website as well. No playing experience on one except for the Mirafone.

Tom Mason

[iiipopes]

Actually, since the amount of slide extension is geometric and progressive as you go down in pitch, and not linear, you may not have as many slide positions.

If a Bb horn is @ 9 feet long, then 9 X 2^5/12 to get to F is @ 12 feet, or about 3 feet of extension, give or take, to get to 6th position. But if you're already down in F, which is that same 12 feet of tubing, then 12 X 2^5/12, which gives you the equivalence of F to C, the same perfect 4th down, or sixth position, is longer: 16 feet, which is about 4 feet of extension, and you run out of slide.

It's the same thing as when you trigger a "normal" F-attachment bone: the slide positions are longer, so that you only get about 6 usable positions with the trigger on, rather than 7 for a straight bone. There just isn't enough slide to go progressively lower without coming off the end of the socks.

Now, that said, the slide to get the B nat to F glissando has to be longer than just the F attachment length, or there simply is not enough tubing to get there. That's probably why they caution against trying to use it for anything else: the loop length is an odd length to start with, and that is compounded by the progressive nature of semitones to the octave, which doubles in length each time.

[tuba_hacker]

Here's a link on that subject on tromboneforum, see Gabe Langfur's reply on Shires. Maybe you've seen it.

http://tromboneforum.org/index.php/topic,24416.0.html" target="_blank" target="_blank

[UDELBR]

I believe that Doug Yeo had a Bach 50 bell and double slide at one time that was used as a contrabass trombone. If I remember correctly, it was a straight bell.

I'd think this instrument would be obscenely out of tune, as it wouldn't follow the usual cylindrical brass formula of "1/3 conical and 2/3 cylindrical".

Of course being a trombone, it's eminently tuneable though.

And of course, being played by a trombonist, it'd still be out of tune.