My contrabass trombone obsession

[Donn]

Well, better that, than one of those cimbasso things.

[cambrook]

Once you have one it will be easy for you to make a valve section (to use instead of the slide) and then you"ll have a cimbasso too

[Three Valves]

Uh, Oh...

[Bob Kolada]

Once you have one it will be easy for you to make a valve section (to use instead of the slide) and then you"ll have a cimbasso too

Well then after a while you'll want two separate instruments so you'll get another bell section. Then "you know I really could use a Bb contra for large trombone choirs", followed by a valve section for that, followed by another bell. Then the crazy stuff starts showing up...

[Three Valves]

So a Wessex Mighty Midget is actually a compact BBb valve contrabass trombone??

[Donn]

Well, better that, than one of those cimbasso things.

They're the same thing, of course.

Apart from one of the two having the means to play in tune ... I almost hate to ask, especially since I guess you may be joking, but is that true? The typical valve "trombone", say King 3B, doesn't seem to be really interchangeable with the 3B slide trombone, for a player who gets a lot out of the latter. Apart from all the things you can do with a slide, there seems to be universal complaints about stuffiness. What's the contrabass trombone player's story on the cimbasso?

[Donn]

Right, I don't doubt it - that would likely account for every single case of trombone player dissatisfaction with the valve trombone. But of course that was my point. When 58mark has the contrabass trombone in hand, maybe at some point he'll have a chance to compare with a cimbasso.

[Bob Kolada]

https://www.dillonmusic.com/p-24826-dil ... mbone.aspx" target="_blank


Fwiw

[Wyvern]

That must have been expensive to ship.

Surprisingly FedEx prices to ship by air from Wessex UK for smaller horns (not full size tubas) are no more than FedEx ground within US. And usually delivery is next day.

[joshealejo]

May I ask how much are taxes in the USA? Here in Peru the ADUANAS always ask for high prices when something comes from other country. I have seen that people in USA buy from overseas with frecuency, It is not expensive?

[Dubby]

OK, Jonathan is going to cover the cost of repairs and get me the parts I need. That's exactly why I paid extra for the wessex instead of getting the Schiller, because I would have been SOL dealing with Jim laabs.

Here's to hoping for a decently quick turnaround so that the rest of us, and you of course, can get some videos of it in action!

[pgym]

It wasn't all in shipping. The leadpipe was very loose, which shifted during shipping and dented the bell. it was so loose there actually might be an air leak around it. Jonathan thought somebody got carried away with the buffer, and took off too much metal

one of the valves was way out of alignment, the slide needed a little help, the friction lock was so loose the horn would flop around even with the collar tightened all the way (more overbuffing), and the hagmann valves were rough.

Doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the thoroughness of the "inspection" that purportedly takes place before an instrument is shipped.

[Wyvern]

Jonathan would be better off keeping the Bell and slide, but coming up with an entirely new valve section based on more tried-and-true technology

We are going to be doing exactly that! These contrabass trombones in their current design are too prone to technical problems

[DouglasJB]

Would Thayer Valves or just standard Rotary valves have less technical problem?

[timothy42b]

How are the ergonomics?

It looks a bit nose heavy, which I find uncomfortable but doesn't bother some people.

[bort]

Heavy, yes... but unbalanced?

[rumhud]

I thought it felt really well balanced, too. I was also expecting it to be a lot more difficult to play, based on past contrabass trombone experiences I've had.

[Bob Kolada]

Can you tune the valves to C and D and just reach out for low G and Gb?

[bububassboner]

The first valve can be tuned to either D or C. The second valve can be tuned to either Db or Bb. That way you could do either F/C/Db/AA (I call this the American tuning) or you could do F/D/Bb/Ab (I call this the European tuning) you could in theory mix and match to an extent. The first valve slides do not fit into the second valve.

I actually learned the European tuning first as I started learning contra in Germany and that was the typical tuning. I do however find the American tuning easier on my brain. Certain big licks work better on one or the other so I just made it so you could have both.