Information about an old valve trombone

alexwars200 · Post by **alexwars200** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:51 am

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

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 10:02 am

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.

alexwars200 · Post by **alexwars200** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 4:15 pm

So I managed to find a small bore trombone mouthpiece and put it against a tuner and it appears to be in C...

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:51 pm

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"?

imperialbari · Post by **imperialbari** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:15 am

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

alexwars200 · Post by **alexwars200** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:53 pm

I can only pull the slide out enough to get it to B... Oh well

Thanks for the replies though guys!

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:24 pm

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.

Art Hovey · Post by **Art Hovey** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:23 am

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?

TubeNet

Information about an old valve trombone

Information about an old valve trombone

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