Bach or Shires

[BassBoneBroden]

Hello everyone, I am currently selling/trading away my current horn, a Shires TBQ36GR, and I want to switch to thayers since I feel like I sounds better with them and I've been told I sound better with them. So my question is, if there is a different in Bach thayers vs Shires thayers. If anyone has any recommendations or tips, please let me know!

[Burgerbob]

There are a couple different versions of Bach axials- earlier O.E. Thayers and the modern Olsen axials. The Olsen valves are superior in most ways, but only when they are set up right- and Bach does that pretty rarely. Older ones are going to be pretty worn out at this point, the newest set was sold in 2014.

Shires axials are pretty good, there's a reason a bunch of the big orchestral players use them. I personally prefer the lightweight set.

[Matt K]

That’s putting a LOT of emphasis on the type of valve when there are a ton of other variables. Fortunately, with the Q series you can try a Thayer to see if it actually works better isolating other parts you are familiar with. Off the top of my head there are some pretty key differences between both the A47T and 42T, including: different leadpipe taper, bass crook, longer slide (shorter bell), different tuning slide taper, different bell weight, different bell construction (you have a two piece bell now, Bach are one piece).

If I were buying at the moment, especially mew, I’d either wait for a festival, go to a place with used horns like Brassark or Dillon, or maybe go to a factory. Edwards, Shires, and Thein all have really great Thayer models at the moment. I’m sure others do too I’m just not as plugged into that and tend to not gravitate to Thayers myself so I don’t pay as much attention. Given you already have a Shires you may find that the “ideal” setup is closer than you think, and may be able to avoid selling/buying a whole horn and can get away with tweaks.

[GabrielRice]

The axial valves on Shires Q series and custom series are different, FYI - the cores of the custom series are plated brass and the Q are stainless steel. Both are excellent, and I would recommend them over buying a factory Bach with Thayers - especially if you can't try it and have it checked over by a good tech.

[TomInME]

If you're still in high school, you should probably just look for a used Shires TBQ36GA to replace your rotor version. If you've got plenty of money, do the festival/factory thing, although you might want to find a mouthpiece you like first.