Hey, I bought a bass trombone from that houstonbrass guy too! Are you satisfied with yours? I thought his advertising was kinda screwed up cuz it was brass in the picture but described as silver but I actually really like mine. The outside silver looks new but you can tell that it`s used cuz the inside of the slide was terribly gritty, my spit valve still lets out water that`s kinda brown-tinted. It sounds ok tho, I`m playing it in the University band here at University of Michigan. Anyways, your question, my friend from high school had a soprano trombone (slide trumpet) and basically yer not gunna be able to play that unless you can play trumpet. Knowing the slide positions for a normal trombone doesn`t really help cuz the slide is so much shorter on one of those that you have to learn it like new anyways. A tenor trombone is just a normal one obviously, a bass i`m sure you can figure that out, but i honestly haven`t heard of an alto trombone before, sounds kinda wierd.

Ok.

1. Maestro horns are knockoffs made in China. They are relitavely cheap, and not made very well. I friend in college bought one, and as soon as she got it, it had to go right to the shop to make it playable. It was pretty bad. The slide hardly moved, because the outer slide was way to smalle and the inner slide was way to big. The trigger mechanism was also really weird. When I tried to play it, I had to twist mw thumb around so I could activate it, and at that angle, it was actually painful.

2. The alto trombone is pretty common in the classical world. Especially back in the past when composers used alto clef a lot. Traditionally, bass clef was for bass trombone, tenor clef for tenor trombone, and alto clef for alto trombone. It`s basically a smaller trombone, usually in the key of Eb. They aren`t as common today, since most trombone players have much better equipment and a much higher range, so they don`t need the smaller horns to play in the stratosphere. But you do see them quite often in orchestral playing.

i can justify buying a alto but never a soprano. a soprano will NEVER have a practical application in the work that i do. so dont bother with that jupiter soprano, plus it plays like pooop

Word. I wouldn`t be able to think of a real world application for a soprano either. Except for sitting in my room and scewin` around.

But man, I would really like to get a good alto someday though.....

hey i am 13 years old and i play bass trombone double rotor and i even play contrabass trombone if you want one go to music123.com the brand is miraphone the price is $4500.

mirafone contra is sooo awkward to play. its just... bleh. never really happy with it.

actually its just the MOST awkward contra.. they all feel awkward to me. then i again i hate bass trombone.

well hate you to

ok, firstly, the trombone you bought is most probably made in india, it`ll fall apart with too much use. jupiter trombones are only good for beginners, nothing else. i have a bass, tenor and alto trombone and believe me, if you work enough on getting high notes on ur tenor trombone u won`t want an alto trombone

its not a tuba in disqise its a baritone in disqise. i kno ive tryed and it works

Ability to hit high notes is not the reason to play an alto trombone. It`s a different color. A lot of older music is written for alto, tenor, AND bass trombone. It`s not so much the range that they would use different horns, it`s for a completely different sound.

well technically a bass trombones second valve isn`t always Gb and F. the standard for the getzen/bach brands are either just have an F or have a D and F and the only note you really can`t get without a D attachment is the low B natural, which is in fourth with both triggers down

i play bass trombone in my school band in florida and i am looking for a new bass trombone with double rotors

whoever was speaking of getting an alto trombone so you could help your upper rage you are waisting your time/money/patience.

you might as well get a soprano trombone(slide trumpet) to increase your upper range.

Low B natural on a double trigger bass tuned to D is not in 4th. You have to remember that when you use the triggers, that adds tubing, so you have to move the slide further for each note. Naturally, a regular trombone has 7 positions. Add the F trigger, it becomes a 6 position horn. F is 1st, E is flat 2nd, Eb is flatter 2nd, and C is flat 7th. Add the second trigger, it becomes a 5 position horn. So, that low B natural is not 4th, after adjusting for the extra tubing, it is around 6th.

in reply to getting a good high register two posts above. a slide trumpet is not a good idea.

explain to me. why would
1)a different embochure
2) different mouthpiece
3) Drastically smaller bore
4) awkwardly tuned slide(i dont even know if they tune them)
5) and a different blow

help with your upper register?
i would think doing the normal things on trombone would help your upper register, not picking up a different horn!

also another response. MOST bass trombones the second valve is tuned to a Gb. RARELY are they still tuned in D. if both valves are depressed you can get a D. and that will put low B in 5 +/- however you tune it. eiether way nobody uses the Gb independently because of the total change in timbre, same goes for the F valve for some people(myself included, i only use the valves if i REALLY need then I.E. pedal register and fast passages)

the old holtons were tuned the latter, i think. i dont really know all that stuff.
anyone care to correct? erik?

Your absolutely right. I have students that have just recently purchased trigger horns, and they are sometimes confused when I tell them not to use the trigger to do things like play middle C in 1st instead of 3rd. The only time you see real professionals using their triggers is just what Mas said, playing fast, low passages. And on the bass bone, the addition of the second trigger is not to facilitate playing a scale without moving the slide but a couple times, it is to lower the range of the instrument and change that tambre.

Also, as for increasing the range, don`t bother with a soprano, that would be pointless. I`ve said it before, and I`ll say it again. The purpose of the soprano trombone is equal to that of a kazzoo. It`s a toy, not to be used in any realistic situation.

If there is any one instrument that can make us better would be tuba. Getting good at tuba helps us with airflow, which helps in almost every technical aspect of playing. Sound production, range, sound quality, volume, and consistency, all get better when you play a little tuba for a while.