TromboneChat

baileyman wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 11:41 pmA blue one?

Crazy4Tbone86 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 2:37 pm I have a .547 bore Allora from the late 90's. At that time, they were only sold by The Woodwind and The Brasswind. Mine is a decent horn but has some oddities. I believe the slide was completely built by Courtois and the bell section has elements of both the 1990s Courtois and B&S instruments. The slide is almost an exact replica of a Bach 42 lightweight nickel slide and works extremely well. The rotary valve is very similar to a Bach 42 open wrap, but the casing is all nickel. The F-attachment wrap is the strangest part.....it has multiple pieces of tubing that are oversized. The S-bend is .593 inch (just like a Bach 42B) and there are other parts that have an inside diameter of .580 (instead of .562). The main tuning slide is actually interchangeable with a standard Bach 42. The bell flare is very heavy.....I have measured it at .035 inch thick, which makes it in the 20 gauge vicinity. It came with a Bam case.

In 2000, I was traveling through northern Indiana, on my way to Chicago. I stopped by the WWBW and tried a several horns and this one caught my attention. At that time, it fit my playing style better because I favored big and heavy equipment. I think I have gigged on it 20-25 times over the years, so it has more than paid for itself but it was never my "preferred horn." I now find it to be slow-responding, compared to my current preferred horns. I have considered taking the bell section apart, rebuilding the F-attachment with all .562 tubing and buffing the bell down to a more manageable gauge. We'll see if I ever get to that project.

To conclude.... I do not know who is making the current Allora models, but mine is decent. Considering that I paid less than $600 for it, the horn brought a lot of bang for the buck. The Bam case alone at that time retailed for over $250!