Conn 36H Review

The Conn 36H has been a go-to alto trombone in the US for many years. While opinions on this alto can vary from one player to the next we have found that the right 36H can have a beautiful balance of true alto timbre with projection and responsiveness! At our visit to the Vincent Bach factory in February 2020 we had the opportunity to find one such 36H and now that we have spent some time with it in the shop we continue to love how it plays! Take a listen to our review and let us know what you think!
Find out more about this trombone at shop.schmittmu...

[@SilverKing3B]

From what you played, and done so very well, this horn sounded great! I played one of these a few decades ago, and didn’t care forw it. I preferred the Yamaha straight alto by comparison, which I now own. I also bought a lightly used Chinese alto bone with a customized lead pipe, which plays surprisingly well, and at a fraction of the cost compared to either the Yamaha, or the Conn. The slide isn’t quite as smooth, but I would put it at an 8/10. Thanks so much for these videos. They are informative, and you are a wonderful player.

[@nathanblackman1063]

I have not gotten the oppurtunity to try one personally but to me it sounds great, It's what I would expect from a good alto trombone. The Bb attachment is a bonus imo. But that price though, like damn. There are few positions professionally where the horn would pay for itself. It's still nice have though. Great review man!

[@adamzimmerman2464]

I bought this horn back in December of last year and I love it!

[@SchmittMusicTromboneShop]

The 36H has grown on me; it just took finding the right one!

[@Chazd1949]

Really beautiful tone. I have a Chinese-made alto (no Bb trigger) and it doesn't sound bad. It just more difficult to play in-tune than a regular tenor. I think Shires makes an alto also.

[@michaellarson7924]

Great tutorial Keith. I agree totally about achieving the right alto sound for the application you need. Finding the right mouthpiece has always been the biggest challenge for me. nice job!

[@SchmittMusicTromboneShop]

Thank you Michael! I hope everything is well!

[@harrisonreed8718]

These play significantly better if you leave the tuning slide in an the way. I cut each tuning leg down 3/8" on mine and the intonation is perfect except for the 7th (Db) partial, as you'd expect. You need to play long on the slide, obvs. Don't forget that the Bb valve is actually for lip trills. You can do your Eb lip trills on the alto side, and all the "tenor" lip trills on the Bb side. The Shires TIS ones obviously have the best intonation but the hand slide is far too heavy on them.

[@SchmittMusicTromboneShop]

Thanks for all of the insights!

[@BradenBrass]

Fugue in G minor. Nice! Leopold Mozart must sound great on that!

[@cssizforreal7554]

What mouthpiece would you prefer for the highest performance I know you said your using the Bach 7c but I’m still wondering what I should get

[@brianhedrick3003]

hey, I'm looking at buying a Q-series trombone and don't know weather i should get it with gold or yellow brass. I know the gold brass gives a darker sound, but a lot of people prefer the yellow brass. how should I decide? thanks

[@SchmittMusicTromboneShop]

That is a good question! What do you play for a trombone and mouthpiece right now, how long have you been playing and what settings (wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber group, solo) are you playing in? These can help give me a bit of an idea of what might fit best...

[@jmathesonjr]

Play a few of each and take the one that you like the best. Ordering one play unheard is a bad idea. Test the instruments you are interested in by running them through things you can play, want to play, and are having trouble playing. Then take the one instrument that does all of those things the best.

[@brianhedrick3003]

@@SchmittMusicTromboneShop thank you and I play a prelude trombone with a bach 5g and i've been playing that for almost 6 years and in need of a desperate upgrade. I play 1st in my high schools wind band and 1st in it's orchestra as well as lead in a trombone choir, all mainly classical and some solo's every once in a while.

[@brianhedrick3003]

@@jmathesonjr definitely, i've tried them all out, but it's hard to hear much of a difference when you only get a few minutes with each.

[@salt4858]

@@brianhedrick3003 Prelude with trigger? I have that one lmao but I'm getting an Edwards Alessi in a couple months

[@josephaumann849]

That does NOT sound like a tenor :)

[@SchmittMusicTromboneShop]

I'm glad you think so as well! As I said I have been a bit biased against the 36H in the past but finding this one has changed my opinion!

[@jessecohen4517]

Is a Bb attachment necessary?

[@SchmittMusicTromboneShop]

It depends on one's needs and their approach to certain ornamentations and musical settings. There are certain phrases in some orchestral, solo and chamber ensemble (i.e. trombone choir) literature where having an alternate for 6th position F and Bb can be advantageous (although most alto players spend limited time in this register); in addition certain period-appropriate trills may be made more accessible with either a Bb-attachment or a trill valve. With all of that said I think you will find many more straight altos out in the world versus Bb/trill altos; for many players the cost and potential drawbacks of a valve on such a small-bore instrument outweigh the benefits. As a side note, the 36H does a great job of balancing all of these ideas and this particular one plays great!

[@Juan_Bone09]

With Bb attatchment that 36h can be used like a small tenor trombone