Guide to Buying Your First Trombone.

The trombone belongs to the brass family. It is possibly the simplest designed, yet certainly unique instrument of them all. The trombone uses a slide to change from note to note, rather than valves. The 3 most common types of trombones are: the Bb “straight” Tenor, Bb/F-Attachment Tenor, and Bass trombone.

Straight Tenor

The “straight” tenor is the most basic of the trombone family.

Bb/F Tenor Trombone

The Bb/F is also a tenor trombone – though it has additional tubing in the bell section to allow for lower notes and more possibilities for alternate positions. When this trigger is engaged, it activates extra tubing within the main loop on the bell section of the trombone. There are two style of tubing – closed or open wrap. The open wrap is the most favoured choice as there is less resistance (impedance in air flow), and gives a better sound than the closed option.

Closed wrap – note the coiled tubing.

How do I know which one to choose?

A large factor in deciding on your trombone is choosing the size of the bore. The bore size is a measurement of the inside diameter of the tubing. This measurement is taken at the hand slide.

Small Bore – Normally around .500 (Brighter/punchier sound - student and professional “lead” trombones).

A student trombone is around .500”, which is considered “small bore”. This is the ideal choice for beginner, as it doesn’t take a large amount of air to produce a good tone and does not feel like it is sucking the air out of you. Trombones of this bore size lend themselves to a brighter, punchier sound. Many professional lead trombonists prefer this sound as it “cuts” through a big band, and blends with the trumpets and saxes far easier.

Medium Bore – Around .525  (A warmer and more feel – more air is needed as a result).

This bore size offers a warmer sound and a more feel, however more air is needed as a result. This can often be the best choice for the advancing player wanting to play in a variety of musical styles. This is because the sound is close to meeting the rich round sound of the orchestral large bore instrument, without using too much air or losing the “sparkle” of a small bore instrument.

NB: It is quite common for the possibility to have an “F – trigger” trombone at this stage.

Large Bore – Around .547 (Orchestral trombone - Very feel with a full/dark/round sound).

Orchestral and recently some jazz artists tend towards large bore as it delivers a large full round and dark sound and a very feel. It does require a strong player with developed embouchure and efficient lungpower to play, but the musical results are worth the extra practice needed.

Almost all large bore instruments will have an F trigger.

Bass Bore ­­– The largest bore of the common trombones, the bass trombone is a whopping .562. Why? The bigger the bore the bigger the sound… Bass trombonists favour the low register as opposed to the higher notes. With such a large bore the resistance level is low which allows for a very free blowing instrument. Much air can be pumped through the instrument, allowing the lower notes to have tremendous power and control. 

Bass trombones generally have two triggers putting them in Bb/F/D/Gb.  

The Bell

There are 4 different types of material used in making a brass instruments bell. Each material has a distinct influence on how the instrument will sound.

• Yellow Brass – (Roughly 70% Copper, 30% Zinc). This is the most common brass used in making brass instruments. It produces a clear, full and rich sound. Most student horns are made of Yellow Brass.
• Rose Brass – (Roughly 90% Copper, 10% Zinc). Also known as Red Brass, this material produces a warmer tone compared to Yellow Brass. Many intermediate trombone bells are made of Rose Brass.

• Gold Brass – (Roughly 85% Copper, 15% Zinc). Basically a combination of the characteristics of the yellow and rose brass bells for a balanced and flexible sound.

Silver/Nickel or Sterling Silver – Used primarily for professional instruments and some intermediate. It produces a very rich and brilliant sound.

What else do I need?

We here at Brass n Woodwind recommend the following accessories to keep your trombone in the best of health.

•  Slide cream and a spray bottle full of water (never slide oil – it just doesn’t work!).
• Tuning slide grease.
• A cleaning kit.
• A polishing cloth

For a very thorough guide to trombone cleaning/maintenance please see the following link.

http://www.trombone.org/jfb/library/jfb-keepitclean.asp