Shires Q-Series Bass Trombone

[@musicofnote1]

I started my bass trombone journey in 1992 with a Bach 50OG. Hated it, but folks said: „If you want to be a pro, you have to play Bach.“ Well, in 2016 I’d had enough and finally sold those Bachs (also a 42GO) and bought a Yamaha Xeno 822G. Nice horn, but has a fatal flaw if you don’t play Yamaha mouthpieces - the mouthpiece receiver swallows such mouthpieces, they insert about 1.3 inches instead of only 1“ and the slots at both extremes get wonky. Makes a huge difference. I then went on a search for a new trombone that didn’t have this problem. The new Yamaha 835s don’t - Yamaha has fixed this receiver problem. But the vanila 835 (yellow brass, no detachable bell) just sounded awful. The 835GD (gold brass detachable bell) sounded better, but the upper register closed up on me, worse than my 822G. Then I tried a couple of Shires Custom horns, all of which were like playing through a wet blanket. No projection or real projection. I tried one Shires Q36GR, but the slide was in such bad condition, I literally could only play in 1st, maybe 2nd position and when asked about this, the techhie said „Well, you know how demo-horns are…“ In another store I tried another Q36GR and while the slide was still not great, it was a LOT better than in the previous store. I even switched slides with a Shires Custom and the horn responded exactly the same, just with a better moving slide. So I ended up buying this Q36GR - the techie „worked“ on the slide and it was a bit better „just needs breaking in“. I’ve had it now for 2 weeks and … finally found out what the problem was. My Yamaha 882G loved the Yamaha slide lubricant. This Shires didn’t. I don’t know how often I cleaned the slide, both inner tubes and outer tubes. Didn’t help. It maybe worked for a few minutes, then got sluggish again. Rummaging around in my trombone cabinet I came across two new bottles of Slide-o-mix Rapid Comfort (the all-in-one-bottle version), cleaned the slide again and applied it. WOW - a slide that works as well as the Xeno slide did. But more important, a much more uniform playing feel and sound over my entire range, no getting tight like my 822G did. So excerpts like Schostokovich 5 or Raum Concerto - the high g’s pop out with almost no effort - just another note in the middle of a phrase, showing that it hadn’t been me alone all this time. This Shires Q36GR is definately a great hardware upgrade for me.

[@TheCbone1979]

Is this a step up from a Getzen Custom ? I have the 3062 was also thinking of getting a bass with rotors.

[@paulcovert6406]

Yes I would say it's a step up. There is a difference in feel when you are switching types of valves but in terms of horn quality I like it much more.

[@LuisHernandez-bx9yn]

I have this horn what type of stuff do you do for the low notes because it’s a more effort.

[@paulcovert6406]

I usually do long tones on the trigger notes at different dynamics and really focus on getting a good air flow. You've really gotta drop your jaw and open up more than you would on some other horns. If you move enough air the sound is quite full.

[@musicofnote1]

I have the Q36GR - and find the lower register is much easier than my "old" Yamaha Xeno 822g. James Markey has several videos with exercises for the lower register. Check those out. I also found, as opposed to my old Yamaha, f-.trigger low f actually speaks better with the g-flat trigger in flat 2nd and the e below that works better also on the g-flat trigger. almost in 4th That being the case, the f-trigger c can also be played on the g-flat trigger in low 2nd and ... you guessed it ... the f-trigger b works for me better on the g-flat trigger, almost in 4th. Since I've only had my Q36GR for 2 weeks, that re-learning a lot of literature to take these into consideration AND/OR working out, where and if the "old" F-trigger notes are as good or not. I put in the work years ago to get a low C and B (just above pedal B-flat) to speak and sound good on the Yamaha - never did get them to speak well on the Bach - they are super on the Q36GR. If you have a solid double-paddle low D, support well and glissando 1/2 step at a time from D down through B, watching that you don't over relax but also keep the core in the sound. A little lower jaw outward motion for the lowest register does wonders - just don't overdo it.