Brass Quintet Tenor Horn Recommendation

[lizard75]

Making due with a twenty year old horn I got when I started playing again as an adult (Jupiter intermediate series medium bore). I play jazz, concert, symphony, musicals, holidays, quintet, latin, pop, etc. I have a solid alto horn, so I would like to upgrade my tenor bone for my brass quintet specifically. My low register is not great. I know, long tones! Looking to try a .547 this time. Anything will be an improvement but would like something keep around for years to come. Online research has me in circles.

1. What is the best brass for a quintet? (mostly concert/classical). Yellow seems to be the most used and reliable, but gold and rose have their pros too. Current is yellow with no real complaints.
2. What brand makes the best horns for a small ensemble type situation like a quintet? Sounds like Bach is good for symphonies but I'm not looking to blow anyone out of the water and they have quality control issues. Conn might be better for quintets but has a thin bell and is rose brass? I'm not opposed to any brand at this point at the 5K max price. Have heard good about Getzen and Yamaha as well.
3. Will I notice that much of a difference with an open wrap (Bach42BOF) vs traditional? Currently using a modified open wrap.

Thanks for the comments. And, no, I don't have a local store to try out horns unfortunately or time to get to SLC for the ITF this year. Buying online and hoping for the best!

[BGuttman]

The answers to your questions are not easy to put in a short post. Maybe a good book?

The choice of bell material is entirely based on the sound you want to make. If you have no idea, yellow brass is the most popular. I have an inherently bright tone, so I generally play gold or rose to temper that tendency. There is no "right" answer.

Brands? If money is no object, then Edwards, Rath, or Shires. You really need to be "fitted" for these horns and just buying something "off the rack" may not be optimal. For us mortals, Bach, Conn, Courtois, Getzen, Yamaha. There are dozens of great used horns out there also. Again, there is no "right" answer.

Open wrap? Some people claim to hear the difference. I can't. If you aren't in the top tier players, you probably won't hear the difference either. Condition could make a bigger difference.

Get a horn and start playing it. Then learn to alter your sound to match the ensemble.

For what it's worth, my "go to" horn for most of the things you play is a Bach LT36G (convertible, although I rarely use the straight neckpipe). For symphony I have a Yamaha 682 with a Shires 1G bell (long, sad story).

[Fruitysloth]

For a long time, I used my symphonic setup for brass quintet, as did everyone in my group, so it sounded alright. If I needed to be more subdued, I would use a smaller MP, but keep the big horn. Now that I have slightly more disposable income, I’ve used a Bach 36, then a Yamaha 356R, then a Conn 50H. I don’t play with a brass quintet ATM, but if I found myself in one, I’d be looking for another full .525 horn, like a Bach 36, or a Yamaha 646 (I think that’s the right number).

[BGuttman]

@Fruity: Yamaha 646 was replaced by 684, which in turn was replaced by 640. All very good quintet or concert band horns. Also good for 3rd in Stage Band and good for pit.

[WilliamLang]

A medium bore tenor with a symphonic mouthpiece works really well in brass quintets, imho, especially with a symphonic-sized red brass. I find that the medium bore lends itself to a little more projection and zing when you need it - especially if your group is doing more holiday/commercial style playing.

The red brass bell and the symphonic tenor still give you the ability to blend and play the lower bass role with the tuba as well. that's what my last lesson teacher, Ben Herrington, played with Meridian Arts Ensemble, and he always sounded great and chameleonic partly due to his instrument choice (and top notch musicianship of course.)

If your group is focused on classical and contemporary repertoire, your larger bore horn of choice will work great.

I had a shires dual bore .525/.547 with a rotor and red brass bell for a little while that worked really well for quintet and show work - really gave me the ability to easily focus up the sound and was almost good enough for legit salsa work while still being useable in an orchestral setting.

[Posaunus]

In the "good old days" (decades ago), when part of my (meager) income came from playing brass quintets, I successfully used an Elkhart Conn 88H (0.547 in. "large" bore). Today, I might be tempted to use a recently acquired Conn 79H (0.522 in. "medium" bore). Any quality large-bore or medium-bore trombone (such as Conn 36) with F-attachment would work equally well.

There are lots of suitable trombones for this use available at very reasonable prices on the used market. I'd start shopping here on TromboneChat, where you are very unlikely to be disappointed by purchasing within the "brotherhood" - a lot less risky than buying on eBay, and less expensive than buying new.

[hyperbolica]

For quintet I generally use King 3bf, Conn 79h (vintage) or 88h with sl2525 slide. Don't get too hung up on hardware. Just about anything away from the extremes will work, but id get something with an f attachment. Quintet music covers a wise range of style, so you need something flexible. The 88h w/525 slide would be my desert island horn.

[MrHCinDE]

I quite like the combo of a .525“ slide with the bell section of a relatively light .547“ horn for this purpose.

In the past that would have been a lightweight rose brass 88HT bell with a Conn SL2525. What‘s great about that is easy access to leadpipes with small and large shank mouthpieces.

These days I would play my (fairly lively) yellow brass Bach 42 bell with an Edwards .525“ slide.

Both setups work great and have flexibility to swap out for a relatively inexpensive .547“ slide.

I also like a plain old 3B/F with a deeper mouthpiece on occassion.

For $5k you could probably get a great used 88h or Bach 42 with .547“ and .525“ slides (with some patience) and still have plenty of change for a used 3B/F.

[MStarke]

There are some variables to consider. E.g. is the 5th part on bass trombone, a smaller or larger tuba? What kind of repertoire do you play primarily?
I have been using two horns for quintet, depending on the repertoire, changing between Conn 88h and 6h.
Overall something in the middle might be great, as others have pointed out.

If you don't want to make it overly complicated, then just go with a .525 or ideally a not too "heavy" .547.
Many people here - myself definitely included - make it a little too complicated.
If you want to think about a mouthpiece, it's probably better to not go for the super large Alessi Mahler 3 piece.

Most of the well-known brass quintets have a regular .547 orchestral tenor.

[Matt K]

I’m agree with the medium bore options, especially slides that can have a large receiver. A 525 or 525/547 has the biggest range of colors of any slide imo because you can get such a huge difference between the large and small shank leadpipe options. A good small shank leadpipe can get you real close to the smaller bores and a good large shank leadpipe gets you so close to a large bore that it can be hard to distinguish if you’re playing blind.

The only caveat to this is that the Conn large shank slides, for which their Conn “X” is the only large shank pipe available off the shelf for the Conn is super open. I have a specific DE piece that works with mine and very little else does. I’ve gravitated towards a large shank Shires pipe on my medium slides for that reason. I have a Brad Close 36 pipe on order in large shank which I’m very excited to get my hands on (should be soon!)