TromboneChat

Hi All,
I was on the old board but haven't posted on TC. I bought a Shires Q30YR in 2017--when the parts were still being made in MA--and have been using it since, including in teaching my son during the pandemic. My son will lose his middle school-provided Jupiter intermediate horn in a couple of months, so I've been on the lookout for "deals." He's talented, has a great work ethic, and talks of at least the possibility of music school someday. The high school next year does not provide trombones for symphonic and jazz, only marching baritones.

Yesterday, I came across a Reverb listing that some of you may have seen--listed 24 days ago. Getzen was selling a 2022 show demo 4047DS, which they stated had the "ET" upgrades, except for the pillar bridge and Elk Head engraving. The original slide had been damaged in shipping, so they substituted an Edwards T-BCN in satin. I thought about it for 24 hours and convinced myself I wasn't going to find anything better at the just over $3,000 price, so I pulled the trigger and am EXCITED!

1. It was a 2022, so it has the sheet single-radius tuning slide bow and weighted bronze rotor cap of the ET.
2. It was a show demo horn, so I'm hoping it was hand-picked somehow.
3. It's got an Edwards slide (the one with the Bach-like crook), and I dig the "thrown together" look of the satin finish against the bright bell section.
4. Also comes with the Getzen 4047DS fiberglass case, and a Griego CS5.

I'm thinking my son is going to get the Shires, which he can customize however he wants, if he gets to that point someday. I think I may be keeping the Getzen!

Louis

The parts for Q series instruments were never made in MA. At a minimum, somebody in the MA factory checked the instrument before it was shipped to its' forever home.

That said, either instrument will do just fine for a high school, college, or beyond player. It's simply a matter of preference of playing characteristics

Hi BB,
If what you say about the original/"old" Q Series is true, then why, in 2017, did everything I read and heard about it--from this forum (in its former life), reviews, retailers, etc.) describe it as consisting of parts made in MA? It was described everywhere like that.

Here is one example: https://www.schmittmusic.com/blog/2016/ ... es-review/

Here is the S.E. Shires announcement: https://seshires.wordpress.com/2016/08/ ... -q-series/

"How do we do it? It’s international commerce at its finest. S.E. Shires fabricates the Q parts in Hopedale, Massachusetts, USA, then ships the parts to the Eastman factory in China where they are assembled, and then the instrument is sent back to Shires. The final finishes, quality checks and play-tests are then done in Hopedale before shipping to dealers. And that’s how you get a custom quality trombone/trumpet at a moderate price!"

Louis

All depends on how it plays with the unmatched slide. Buying demo instruments can be good or not. Good luck.

I guess I am putting some amount of faith in Getzen that they wouldn't just throw something together that sounded bad. I don't think it would be in their interest to do so, even if the used horn is discounted. Also, are the Getzen 4047ET and Edwards slides really much different? Getzen describes the 4047ET slide as having "Newly Developed, Enhanced Handslide Construction Techniques."

The 4047ET slide is also described as:

Solid nickel silver cork barrel assembly
Hand straightened nickel silver inside tubes (chrome plated with barrel shaped stockings)
Hand straightened, yellow brass outside tubes with nickel silver oversleeves
Large diameter, yellow brass end crook
Interchangeable sterling silver leadpipe

The "hand-straightened" tubes make it sound like Edwards might be involved.

I'm not a professional looking for a very particular sound. I just want good sound and relative ease of playing. The only "bad" sounding trombones I've heard were being played by "bad" players, so to speak.

Getzen slides are excellent. I have found no material difference in their construction from the Edwards side of the house. That said, the characteristics of the slides I’ve played have all been “Conn like” from Getzen and “Bach like” from Edwards. The tenons are also Conn on Getzen and Bach on Edwards.

I don’t think you’ll have reason to be disappointed.

Thanks for the input and vote of confidence. The slide does have the nickel-silver large squared-off crook. I'm all for "big" sound. Wouldn't want it to be so dark as to be "muddy," or so light as to be "tinny," but I don't think I have anything to worry about. Nearly all accounts of the 4047DS and ET seem positive. They both came/come with a large-bore, squared-off yellow crook, so the only difference in the crook is the finish. And I've got some mouthpieces to play around with too, if I decide to go in a certain direction.

In any case, the horn is supposed to be here Friday, and I'll report my findings after giving it some time--and me some adjustment.

Louis