Which trombone is better, the Bach 42BO or the Conn 88HO?

Oh God not another one of these.....

You will now get loads of puerile diatribe on how one is better than the other, with children slagging each others comments off.

Have a look through this forum for examples of this. If you want some informed, balanced opinion rather than a bit of entertainment I`d go over to the OTJ Forum http://forum.trombone.org/index.php and have a read/post there.

However, if you asked something like "what do you feel about the Bach 42BO or the Conn 88HO" you will get a better response than asking a simple which is better question.

Play both and see how they feel to you and what type of playing are you doing and what do other people you are going to be playing with using.

I play an old Conn 88H and love it.... wouldn`t trade it in for a new one. But just because it suits me doesnt mean that it is right for everyone, so there is no simple answer to the question.

What ElCid said. Same data, same rant, different horn. I played an older 42 for years, and loved it. I would never trade it in. Great horn, it fit me really well.

The key word here is "fit me really well". You have to find one that does the same for you, so don`t listen to how much people like their horns, listen to what you think about them.

Conn 88HO , just so you know, conn was first made trombones and nothing else but trombones, so they should know a thing or two about trombones and how to make them right while bach makes good trumpets

The trombone man returns!!

Humm...well, I personally favor the Bach series, because the trombone itself "fits" me, sort of...

with instruments and the player, its like Tetris,lets say you were one of the tetris pieces...and the only other piece that attaches to it evenly is the right piece...so something like that. It may be a Conn, Edwards, Bach, Holten, etc. but hey, you can never say which one is better...

bach 42b0

you shouldn`t really listen to me because i am an idiot anyway. i mean, to say one is definitely better than another when i can`t even play a Bb scale is kinda dumb

It depends who you are and what you want to play. Conn horns tend to be a little bit lighter and more brilliant, good for solo work, but maybe not quite strong enough for heavy orchestral parts. Bachs can be darker and louder, and my personal experience has been that they are uglier and harder to play, but some people like them, and even more people like having that brand name. I personaly would pick the Conn, but that`s a matter of taste.

Quote "maybe not quite strong enough for heavy orchestral parts"

Over in the UK you will find many players in the professional orchestras have been using Conns for many years and would not necessarily agree with your point there. But if the standard used in the US leans towards the Bach`s then you would blend better using the same style of trombone. I use an old 88H and the first in my orchestra (amateur) is also using a 88H.

One issue is the style of playing that is being undertaken and there are differences between the US/Europe in what is expected as the standard orchestral horn. And from what I understand the German orchestra`s may take a different approach as well.

Shame there are no simple answers

Conn not good for orchestra?

tell that to ralph sauer and teh LA phil bone section......

i love it...

Actually, I said that some people find Conn trombones to be a little too light and without as much power as they would like for orchestral playing. I realize that there are plenty of people playing them, which is great because they are fabulous horns. My point was simply that there are people who don`t feel that it is quite suited to heavy orchestral playing.

Like me.....

i have tried both bach and conn trombones and neither one compares to sound that comes from an edwards trombone. they are built to your style of playing and have interchangeable lead pipes to help you create a crisp sound or a mellow more deep sound. in my opinion nothing will compare to either a edwards jazz trombone of the tenor with an f attachment and yes even the mighty bass trombone.