Bach LT16M

[Leanit]

Bought mine new in 1981 as a kid (mowed sooooo many lawns). To this day it's the best slide action I've ever tried. Mine has the G bell, which I think might not be ideal, mixing light slide with heavy(ish) bell. Played it for a long time until believing I should love a Cleveland 2B Silver Sonic. That was a great horn, but a lot harder to play. Going back to the 16M from time to time, it would find notes more easily at light volume, but didn't always slot the higher register like I wanted. Switched to an H8 leadpipe and that helped a bit. Unloaded the 2B for a unicorn NY Bach and nothing compares to that. The 16M is still in the house and effortless to play, but isn't as rewarding as a really special horn. I should sell it on, but it's the only horn I ever bought new and it took forever to get as a little kid.

[tbdana]

I just realized how much I'm attached to my 16M.

When I have a choice at home to play any horn I own, I choose the 16M. When I need a horn that is completely reliable and not an adventure, I choose the 16M. When I do recordings of jazz tunes to measure my progress since my long layoff, I choose the 16M. When I want to make the most of a beautiful ballad I always, always, always play it on my 16M.

I play other horns when I have to; I play the 16M when I can.

Criticize these horns if you like but, to me, the LT16MG is the horn I play whenever I want to sound my absolute best. It, more than any other, feels like an extension of my body. It disappears when I play, and then I'm not even playing trombone, I'm just playing music.

This horn gets a bad rap IMHO.

[Bach5G]

I recently acquired a 16M from Noah/Brass Ark. It’s a 16 bell from the Corporation era in very nice shape with a LW slide from the 90s. I might take the slide into my gem of a tech to see if she can get me that last ~5%. It came with a Shires 2 leadpipe. It was owned by the late Randy Alcroft (see https://cherryclassics.com/pages/aldcroft).

It has that Bach sound in spades. The intonation quirks are there but that’s just a simple adaptation. Nothing to get hung about.

I’ve had some nice small bores over the years, including a couple of Williams (a Bob and a Donelson), a genuine Minick “100H” (and a Conn 100H for that matter) and a de Bruycker/Bach combo, and moved them all on. I’m pretty happy with this horn. I think it might be a keeper.

[LetItSlide]

My LT16M is the #1 horn I like to grab at home and play for a while, just for enjoyment.

[LetItSlide]

I switch between my LT16M and 891Z quite a bit. They feel different of course and sound different, at least behind the bell. It seems easier to vary the tone color with the 16, while the 891 seems to stay more consistently clear. When played softly, the 16 produces that warm, velvety sound.