Tell me about B.A.C.Custom Trombones

[tbdana]

What do you know? Does anyone here play one? What do they cost and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

I'll tell you that Elliot Mason's sound on them is not the best to my ears, but that's a personal thing, and could have something to do with his mouthpiece. But I'm told they play very open in every range, and changing between partials is solid and easy.

What can you tell me? I know nothing.

[Fruitysloth]

There's quite a few threads already covering this. To condense things down: Some people stand by them, some people hate them, there's a bunch of us that can't justify spending that amount on a custom horn, there's some that can. I think they're cool looking for what they are, and some of them play pretty great, but your results may vary. Elliot Mason for sure has a unique sound, which I personally love, but he's going to sound like himself on anything he plays. Other forum members will chime in, I'm sure, but that's the whole spiel so far on here.

[harrisonreed]

I played on the Elliott Mason prototype horn and it was very easy to play, but quite large for the kind of work he uses it for. For my money, he sounds great on that horn. I might even have looked into getting one if the outer slide brace was made thicker.

I thought the construction was great. I didn't like the wire thin outer slide hand bracing.

Other than that one, I've liked zero BAC horns that I've tried, and some of the vanity projects they have done are not exactly my taste for aesthetics.

[Burgerbob]

Some of my very favorite sounds are on these horns. And some of them are... Not.

[Posaunus]

Other than that one, I've liked zero BAC horns that I've tried, and some of the vanity projects they have done are not exactly my taste for aesthetics.

Like Harrison, I've I tried one B.A.C. trombone that I liked - owned by their artist / rep (a fine trombonist) and "fine-tuned." Not for sale. Others I've tried - not so much. But I certainly have not done an exhaustive survey.

"Vanity projects" is good nomenclature. Sort of like designer underwear to me.

[mbarbier]

One of my students had their sort of Bach 42 type horn. I really didn't enjoy playing it.

It ended up having a significant build issue and they had a hell of a time getting it fixed as it ended up having pretty unusual sized parts and couldn't find a tech with the right sized stuff. I don't know how common that is across models (or was a tech issue in the area), but always has left me feeling wary about the brand.

[Finetales]

This is a big can of worms here on Trombone Chat...maybe one of the biggest?

I have played a ton of BAC horns. Trombones, trumpets, bass trumpets, marching brass. Here's what I'll say.

I've played the most BAC small tenors, and out of the couple dozens I've tried there were about 2 that I thought were actually good. There were a couple others that were decent, and the rest were different flavors of terrible.

I've played 2 BAC bass trombones. I was not a fan of the Reggie Chapman model. The non-custom model, Chinese-made, was one of the worst bass trombones I've ever played.

The Bb trumpets are pretty good. Not spectacular but I don't remember playing one that I thought was a bad horn. But why you would spend that kind of money on a BAC trumpet when Yamaha Xenos, Schilkes, Bachs, etc. all cost less and are better horns is beyond me.

The bass trumpet plays ok, but costs more than a new Bach and much more than a really nice used old MV or NY Bach. In no universe is that worth it.

The BAC marching brass is all Jinbao - they even still SAY Jinbao on the valve blocks. But naturally they still have the BAC markup. The least worth it of all time.

Some people make them work. But to me, all the big artists who play BAC make them work because they can make anything work.

[harrisonreed]

My friend had a Bb trumpet from them with the pigtail bracing -- it fell apart mid set. The bracing literally detached in three spots.

[Tbarh]

If Liberace was a tromboneplayer he would have playedBAC Horns…

[hyperbolica]

I've played BAC edited classics that I liked, but never anything made/designed by BAC. A 32H I had was very well done. A couple others I don't remember. These very likely were great horns before BAC got them. At least one of these I bought direct from BAC for a surprisingly reasonable price.

But I would probably avoid their custom stuff. Being good working with existing horns is different from being a good designer.

[RJMason]

The only professional players I know that still use them will sound good on anything and/or don’t know/care about trombone gear.

The best BAC horns are the ones I spent hundreds of dollars getting rebuilt by NYC brass techs in order to feel comfortable selling them to other players lol

[ncmusic]

I've tried their horns a few times at NAMM and really dug the Paseo Model, thought it was really easy to play and got a nice sound. Placed an order to do a custom build with them and am excited about it. I'm looking forward to building something with them and am very much hoping it'll be my go-to horn for a long time.

[Posaunus]

Not a popular take, but I've tried their horns a few times at NAMM and really dug the Paseo Model, thought it was really easy to play and got a nice sound. Placed an order to do a custom build with them and am excited about it. I'm looking forward to building something with them and am very much hoping it'll be my go-to horn for a long time.

Nick,

"Popular" doesn't matter much here. Honest evaluations and opinions based on actual experience and knowledge are much more valuable (and valued).

Good luck with your B.A.C. custom.

[JohnL]

Not a popular take, but I've tried their horns a few times at NAMM and really dug the Paseo Model, thought it was really easy to play and got a nice sound. Placed an order to do a custom build with them and am excited about it. I'm looking forward to building something with them and am very much hoping it'll be my go-to horn for a long time.

Looking forward to hearing your impressions of both the instrument and the process of acquiring it. That sort of first-hand information would be quite useful to anyone considering buying a BAC instrument in the future.

[pbone3b]

The best BAC horns are the ones I spent hundreds of dollars getting rebuilt by NYC brass techs in order to feel comfortable selling them to other players lol

[dukesboneman]

The horns I`ve tried have all underwhelmed me. Last Jan I ot to try one of the signature Christopher Bill models.
I thought the sound was very bright and had an almost brittle quality to it.
Not my cup of tea.

[deanmccarty]

I played on one of the early BAC .500 bore horns for a couple of years. I was actually his second customer. After the honeymoon, I found that it just didn’t have the flexibility that I needed. The sound just didn’t project like I wanted, and I couldn’t cut through when needed. When I moved to my current setup, it was a HUGE relief. Just wasn’t for me.

[Vegastokc]

If Liberace was a tromboneplayer he would have playedBAC Horns…

That is true - I've seen his museum.

[hyperbolica]

Is something up with the BAC site?

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[Posaunus]

All seems to be O.K. this afternoon.

https://www.coolisbac.com/

[xenethon]

After a year of trying a ton of trombones, none were to my taste as I love a bright sound of my jazz trombone and no other on the market were close to what I wanted to sound like. I decided to ask B.A.C. to make me a custom, sterling silver, .500/.508 trombone with a 7.75 inch bell. It does sound bright. Less than Christopher Bill's though as the bell is .5 inch wider. To make me blend with trombone 2/3/bass I added a carbon fiber slide, so I blend at lower volume, and stand out when I need.

The flexibility and free flow with my horn is amazing. I out blow the bass trombone in pedals, yet reach any high notes like a breeze.

If you get something custom, go to the manufacturer and try your finished horn there. And get them to redo whatever doesn't work for you. A custom instrument must be better than something standard, otherwise there is something you are not doing right.

It costed me 6.5k$, and I never regretted it. Ok, I did regret it the first 6 months, before I learned to properly maintain and lubricate the carbon fiber slide.

[walldaja]

I think you owe us a picture at least.

[xenethon]

Here it is, sorry for the delay

20241113_184948.jpg

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[JLivi]

Here it is, sorry for the delay

Sorry for the delay?!? It took 2.5 months!

That horn looks awesome, and I hope you love it. $6500 is a lot of money to drop on a horn. Let's hope you play that thing until you can't anymore.