TromboneChat

Has anyone else tried them? I just met Stan at the International Women's Brass Conference, and tried some of his horns. (all large bore Bb/F) I was impressed, the three I tried all felt responsive, the slotting felt secure, and the tone and response felt even through the registers. He is hand building them in his basement(!)in Cleveland, and is experimenting with various tuning slide, crook, neckpipe, and bell taper combinations. Horns are custom-built for each buyer; he also does modifications, such as fitting his (rotary) valve to an existing horn. He is a French Hornist, and worked for Conn back in the 90's developing the 2nd gen 88H. If I could ever be convinced to switch from my beloved 42B, I would definitely consider one of his.
I realize this sounds like an ad, but I was that impressed with the quality of the horns I saw as well as his willingness to basically continue the old tradition of R+D.

I'll be watching this thread.  Curious about those, too.

I went to school around that area of Ohio a few years ago, so a few people in the trombone studio had them. I liked them when I tried them, and the craftsmanship is as good as any boutique maker. They all seem to be built on an 88H frame, but I'm pretty sure at least the bells are original. Everyone I know that has them likes them a lot and still plays them. One is starting her Doctorate at Eastman in the fall and another is starting his Master's at University of New Mexico, for what it's worth.

I can't speak for his handbuilds, but a student of mine recently bought an 80s 42G with a Matras valve section. Amazing work, and a terrific sound. It does blow very big (pretty sure he used .562 tubes in the F section), so it's taken some getting used to. But I like what the new valve section did in opening up the sound.

Checked out his booth at the Midwest Clinic. Nice big sound that seemed pretty easy to attain. Seemed like a very high quality build, too.

Last I heard, James Box of the Montreal Symphony had dumped Courtois (who had been endorsing him) to endorse Stan Matras and help in developing a line of horns.

Does he have a website ?

I had no idea he was at MidWest and I didn't have a chance to explore much.

Maybe he will be at TMEA.

Maybe he will be at TMEA.