Testing Out New BAC Custom Trombone Bells!!!

[@brucemangan3807]

Great demo video. It always helps people to hear differences in actual sound instead of nebulous adjectives in a description 👍🏻

[@colinchan7199]

Your use of the word nebulous is.. Nebulous. HAAAAA

[@brucemangan3807]

Colin Chan zing!

[@note2self88]

I dig your editing.

[@Ttomisabeast1581967]

BAC is amazing. Nothing but fantastic things to say about them. Bought my last trombone from them and they do exceptional repair/maintenance work.

[@danielward845]

I really liked the darker sounds.

[@chief2632]

wowie that nickel was so bright in the high register that I thought i was hearing a trumpet at first XDD You can really hear a difference between 6:39 and 6:47

[@bassbyrdtx]

Listening through my phone speakers… nickel silver takes us back to the 1920’s, great for a rep ensemble. Yellow and gold/rose has no discernible difference- modern small tenor sounds. Red immediately reminded me of Phil Wilson’s tone, which isn’t a bad thing, just warm and different from usual.

[@omaroliblish]

I'd agree the high copper lends itself to a more romantic sound but I sure love the bright sound of the lower copper. What a nice thought you had testing the horns.

[@garethwesleyevans]

The thickness of the metal also affects the sound. I've played very thin Rose Brass bells which to me seemed very bright and broke at loud volume easily. Where as some heavier yellow brass bells were muddier and held the tone at louder volumes.

[@alvarocerritos]

I have to admit, the red brass bell sounded the coolest on the camera!

[@eheveronsmith]

Oh man, at first the editing between horns was a little disorienting and silly, but then I actually found it really fun and helpful! Thanks for this. I was actually just at BAC a month ago, and got to play some of these (plus the sterling silver bell, and a WOODEN BELL!!), and man it's so cool to be there. Mike is incredible, as are all the craftspeople.

[@joshuanegron3497]

I have a 1956 Conn Coprion Director trombone and it is 100% copper, I love it.

[@austin5920]

Literally looking for this exact video to find my next horn, glad it was made by a good content creator such as yourself :)

[@billroeder3855]

Very useful demo. Really helped me narrow down my choice of metal for my next trombone. You definitely should do a series of videos comparing different aspects of trombone design while holding all the other factors constant, such as the bore size you mentioned. Also bell size, bell taper, tuning slide metal, slide metal, etc.

[@kurtgodel5488]

That was a cool demonstration! To isolate one item like that. You could hear the difference.

[@icemann6017]

I play a 1941 martin committee (its unlacquered raw brass, its probably yellow to my eyes) and i love it a lot. But being able to hear those differences with the metal side by side is amazing. I now know that red brass is something i should consider just from this video, thank you

[@Camerongriffin282]

Very Cool demo. Can't wait to see the next demo with slides! Thanks Chris for another Awsome video!

[@benwilliams5837]

My bass trombone is red brass and I adore it. It's like warm dark chocolate.

[@atogofundake]

It's amazing review!! I love gold brass sound!

[@papichulo6462]

Same dude i have a goldbrass yamaha horn

[@raulomargarcia]

Fantastic. Excellent comparison.

[@TheStickyKey]

I use a mouthpiece size of 19c for my small and large bore tenor. I think the horn does effect tone more than mouthpiece however playing comfortably comes down to the mouthpiece. Although my mouthpiece is so small that if I want to I can make my large bore sound like a small bore tenor.

[@AlexDoolittle104]

I thought it meant Boston Crusaders (BAC)... guess I really like Drum Corps!

[@classicaltrombone]

The founder marched Cru. No coincidence there! This one means Best American Craftsmen :)

[@Horn_Doctor]

:o) Boston Crusaders 98-01. Some great years there! :oD

[@Greenday4-121]

KulBro1 same. I hope they have a trombone in this year's show. I feel like the show this year SOS should have one.

[@Kovacebeast]

Mike talked at the Red Wing band repair program the year I attended. He said that it initially meant Bad Ass Crusaders, maybe just jokingly, around the time he started the company.

[@raymondfallon7429]

no wonder you got my trivia question.

[@kcwalkman]

Thank you Chris for being an inspirational musical artist. Been thinking about playing again. Thank you. -Chris Kansas City, Missouri. 😁

[@Horn_Doctor]

Chris! You should schedule a tour of the factory! We hope to bring Chris back to KC for a gig this fall! You'll have to keep an eye out!

[@kcwalkman]

Mike Corrigan That would be awesomeness extreme I'll see when I can get time to do that and let you know. I appreciate your sponsorship of Christopher Bill. He's a once in a generation musical artist.

[@ec-hi1br]

Thank you for this video. I’m very happy with my Bach Stradivarius model 42, because I have a warm sound and big bore. I play Latin Jazz and salsa. Thank you amigo !

[@markdatton1348]

Honestly I think youre good enough of a trombone player that the only difference between bells for your souns is how hard you personally have to work to get the sound, cause they all sound the same, but I aasume it was more difficult to get the opposite sound out of each bell.

[@hariboi8840]

I disagree with you. I myself had the chance to try out different trombone bells on the same instrument and the differences can be overwhelming. An instrument with a lot of nickel produces a short resonance and a quick and clear response, because the used metal is heavier. This means it takes a lot of power to play a note, but when it comes, it comes out clearly, and when you stop it, it stops as well. An instrument with a lot of copper does the opposite. The metal is light and therefore starts vibrating easily. Any dissonance will be intensified, because the filter, as which your tempered metal instrument serves, is barely existent. Instead, the metal swings easily with any tone and continues swinging after playing for quite a while, which leads to overlapping notes while playing fastly. The positive aspects of copper trombones, though, are their warm and dark sound, as well as the freedom to form the note how you like it. So, given you're quite a virtuoso, an instrument with a large amount of copper offers the most artistic possibilities for tonal expression. These problems/advantages cannot completely be compensated by exercising, because their constant is the metal. You can compare what I wrote to Chris' playing, especially 5:43 - 6:04, and 8:36 - 9:26. I hope I could make a point and what I had written was helpful.

[@thefunk731]

Hey Christopher, could you test the Rath R10, nickel silver Bell and the R1, yellow brass bell?

[@omaroliblish]

A hundred percent copper can be elector-plated with gold, so it will not oxidize.

[@syrodani]

Overall I personally liked the gold brass the best. Sound just feels really smooth and powerful. If i'd had to play jazz tough, i would play the nickel silver.

[@alefuentes9058]

I love the sound of red brass !

[@seanmoore1753]

Conn used to make a coprion bell. (100% copper) They made the bell by elctro-plating copper to a bell mandrel.

[@arnoutsmit8951]

I have one of those! 18H director from ~1965, plays wonderfull, love the warm tone it gives me.

[@averywise659]

About how expensive would a yellow brass trombone be from them? I didn't see specific prices on the website. Also, percussionist for 9 years now, but playing more and more trombone on a conn director because of your inspiration. I'd love to chat sometime to gain some of your wisdom

[@PhilipEdCarlson]

OK, I guess I've been away for a while... when did that valve trombone on the wall show up?

[@lucatripodi2129]

I call it in Italy “scaldabagno a pistoni”. Try to translate it....:-)

[@iandipuccio9426]

Valve trombone?

[@Aperson-gt9xd]

When is the composition competition video coming out? I have some questions I want to ask about the rules. Nice video btw

[@Chatroom64]

Hey, since when do you own a valve trombone?

[@TheAwesomeTan-vt9xc]

Are you looking to be sponsored by them?

[@papichulo6462]

I like the rose brass and red copper making a better low notes

[@RomeoTwoSix]

What handslide did you use for this demo? I’m really digging the silver bell, but maybe get it in a screwbell fashion, and then get a yellow brass flare for it to balance out if you’re not playing lead?

[@classicaltrombone]

I tried out the "Voyager model" which has a screw bell. I tested the yellow brass and stainless steel bells on that one :) As for the hand slide, it's a gold brass .500 bore (I wrote somewhere that it was yellow... it's gold with a nickel silver crook!)

[@ezralim8783]

First! Thanks Christopher for all these amazing uploads!

[@kylekain5241]

Did Paul the Trombonist have something to do with this excursion?

[@SammyBoe]

What brand is your valve trombone

[@levicockell6334]

Definitely Rose Brass on my Bass Trombone, personally the red brass doesn't give me those shivers, haha

[@Bardon222]

i just bought the BAC Artist Series Elliot Mason trombone!

[@classicaltrombone]

Let us know how you like it!

[@caseyanderson2553]

You mentioned "Silver Sonic" kind of briefly/in passing, but just wanted to clarify - where would you put sterling silver in the mix versus the various brass bells?

[@classicaltrombone]

If we're just going by copper content, it's all the way past nickel silver. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper (compared to 60% copper of nickel silver.) That said, it resonates very similarly. The guys at BAC mentioned they're one of (if not THE) only shops that can actually make a true silver sonic because they still make them by hand using the tooling from back when they used to be made. Unfortunately, silver is now SUPER expensive, so somebody would have to really want one for them to buy the materials to make it. (I hope someday somebody does!)

[@gwzipper1]

Christopher Bill pretty sure Conn/Selmer can still make them - or at least they could ten years ago. There are two ways to make them. One is electroforming, which isn't terribly difficult and was done right right down the road from the Bach plant at Anderson plating in Elkhart. The other way is traditionally brazed sheet metal. This second method is tricky, as it's quite difficult to get the braze to flow without melting the silver. I know a guy over at Getzen who can make a bell this way. Anyway it has little to do with the tooling, it's more about the craftsmanship.

[@hannastuij]

This was so helpfull and fun!

[@thomasfisher1829]

Wow, that Youngblood really punched on that nickel

[@colefambrough210]

Do the metal contents effect the range

[@professorseverustobiassnap1566]

Range depends on the player

[@julianangell342]

BAC counterweights are so gorgeous.

[@larrysmith6797]

"There's a new thing out called Food." - Don Rickles

[@monkeygenuis9297]

Really cool video.

[@jackburrows5850]

You got a valve trombone!?

[@williedmonserrat7147]

Great and Amazing Very Educating Video !. Greetings from San Francisco, Ca. Question :Where may we get these amazing charts , "Doxy" Andy Martin Transcription Brooklyn Romance No 2 Vocalise No 4? Looking forward for your reply .

[@wolverine843]

The Vocalise can be found in Melodious Etudes for Trombone by Rochut (it's a standard etude book) the Schumman should be on IMSLP for free

[@alvarocerritos]

Are Nickel-Silver and Sterling-Silver identical or different??

[@JarenTikka]

Ebomb bomd different

[@emorigami7108]

Interesting stuff!

[@BassboneNelson]

Is that a valve trombone I see

[@japscc]

Ty for the video I learned a lot ty

[@AstrinsSpaceship]

Look at all those trumpets This is a joke

[@kylekain5241]

Fun fact, trombone is Italian for big trumpet!

[@AstrinsSpaceship]

Kyle Kain cool

[@Collin_H]

Kyle Kain that’s not very fun...

[@GamerTime_2002]

i thought gold brass was 20% zinc and rose brass was 10% zinc

[@classicaltrombone]

It gets pretty confusing because different companies call them different things. From what I've seen in the trombone world, gold brass is the 20% alloy, red brass is the 10% alloy, and rose brass is sometimes 20%, sometimes 10% (at BAC it's 20%.) That's why I specified the copper content so there'd be no confusion about which alloy you're seeing/hearing! Doesn't matter what you call it!

[@riffraffradicalmarchingban4829]

Sorry, didn’t catch mouthpiece size / type / brand, thanks

[@classicaltrombone]

In this I'm using a Bach Artisan 11C on all of them, and the slide is just a yellow brass .500 bore!

[@ericdawson8576]

Better not go blowing a high BAC like that in a car or you'll be charged with DUI.

[@kcwalkman]

By the way Chris, Happy 26th birthday!🎉

[@classicaltrombone]

Oh thanks!

[@thermalkill]

Being a baritone player I prefer silver for my own and rose for trombone

[@atrombonist]

But those were all small boresize tbones right?

[@clonetrooper332]

a trømbonist yes

[@DaReal601]

He finally played a scale

[@KyokoKirigirie]

I'd get the nickel silver bell.

[@classicaltrombone]

Right?!?!

[@KyokoKirigirie]

@@classicaltrombone Definitely

[@raulomargarcia]

I vote Rose Brass!

[@melvinwoods5477]

Love you not like 😍

[@garethwesleyevans]

When you say "brass band" I think you need to listen to some UK brass bands. The trom section isn't as paint stripping as in the US. We certainly don't do marching band harsh like the US does!

[@larrysmith6797]

Are you embarrassed to be heard or embarrassed to be heard playing trombone?

[@matwar8487]

Valves 🧐🧐🧐

[@LazymanPlaysMC]

Blood Alcohol Level :)

[@gena1384]

All those fake-outs on the low notes lol

[@hughmongus9476]

They all sound the same

[@melvinwoods5477]

Love you not like 😍