Karl Bass Trombone for only 600 GBP? ($761 USD)

[i3est]

Does this Bass Bone Sound too good to be true?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Karl-Bass-Trom ... arl+Glaser

[RoscoTrombone]

My instincts probably say yes....an unheard of name will no doubt mean it's Chinese built with absolutely no idea of quality control.

There are some music shops who brand their own Chinese made bones....it could be Amazon themselves getting in on the market. It could be decent but could not...cheap enough to gamble I guess but also no chance of selling it on if it's duff.

I know a guy who bought a Gear4Music one for roughly the same price and he thinks it's great & does the job,maybe he got lucky. I also know someone who got an own branded one from a reputable shop,it had a Thayer valve on which didn't work right and the tech said it wasn't lined up correctly and couldn't be fixed so always beware.

Ross

[LeTromboniste]

Too good to be true, no, because it's probably not very good and probably worth exactly what the price is, that is to say not much. That's clearly a Chinese stencil instrument. Looks like a Yamaha 613 clone.

[ghmerrill]

Looks more like the 830 clone that a bunch of different people are selling in that sort of price range.

[Kingfan]

I found a Karl Glaser on Reverb that is supposedly made in Germany. Looks like the same horn. https://reverb.com/item/11832708-karl-g ... ccessories
The engraving could be a lie, though - Germany company selling Chinese stencils.

[TromboneConcerto]

I found a Karl Glaser on Reverb that is supposedly made in Germany. Looks like the same horn. https://reverb.com/item/11832708-karl-g ... ccessories
The engraving could be a lie, though - Germany company selling Chinese stencils.

Comes with white gloves... There's my red flag! Haha.

[JohnL]

https://www.musikhaus-schwanewede.de/ka ... ds:61.html

Karl Glaser is a registered German trademark. The instruments are manufactured in leading manufacturing plants in Korea and China. All products are subject to the strictest controls and are manufactured to a high standard of quality.

[brtnats]

It’s fine, with qualifications.

The instrument is a Chinese-made stencil of a Yamaha 613. I played one for many years as a double before switching to bass as my primary instrument. I would NOT want to use it as my primary instrument. I bought mine used for $500, and donated it a band director friend when I settled on a pro bass.

They play well within reason. Slides are not perfect, valves need a lot of oil, my valve screws would work themselves out sometimes. Not a very interesting sound, but completely playable in ensembles. Were it me, I’d spend the extra $90 and get the Mack Brass branded bass in order to work with a more reputable dealer.

[Tooloud]

...do not waste your money on that! A former trombonist from time to time appears as substitute at the orchestra. This guy once came to substitute on bass with a thing similar to the one mentioned above: Sounded like playing a small rusty watering can. We had to swap seats, so that he could use his Edwards on first (Apparently he had to practise a lot before the concert...) and I was happy playing bass trombone - as usual...

[Tremozl]

I own a Karl Glaser Bass Trombone. The supplier, a fellow named Domenik from a musichouse "lechrain", did not pack the horn adequately whatsoever and the bell was warped during the shipping. Got a good repair done on it for around $150 CAD but this is obviously not what you want to have happening with a brand new horn.

I would not advise ordering this line. The horn itself is reasonably good but is a bit of an older quality Chinese horn, by "Jinbao". Some of the newer stuff, or Wessex stuff, would be likely higher quality. Brtnats' feedback is pretty much spot on. It works well, especially for a beginner or hobbyist, but that's about it. And yea, I learned my lesson about who to order from.. from now on I just go to Jinbao directly, or Wessex. Some of the interim dealers are notoriously bad at packing.