Shires .508 - .525 dual bore slide
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Bach5G
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Shires .508 - .525 dual bore slide
Has anyone tried one of these? Impressions?
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Matt K
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Re: Shires .508 - .525 dual bore slide
They are fantastic slides; massively underrated. I had a T0825GLW that I still kick myself for selling. If it was a T0825YLW I would probably still own it and may even still be in the Shires ecosystem for that size.
They're very easy to play and are a great balance with the otherwise "larger" bell sections that are endemic of the contemporary medium bore landscape. I sold mine because it wasn't as good at commercial stuff as a slightly smaller rhorn I had and I was doing more large ensemble playing at the time. Had I been doing more of what I'm doing now, which seldom emphasizes large ensemble playing and is typically chamber or some blend of commercial and classical, it may be my go-to slide. I have a Getzen 525/525 that I'm probably going to convert to this bore size, although it's going to be really similar since I have a Shires 7YLW8 bell on that horn.
They're very easy to play and are a great balance with the otherwise "larger" bell sections that are endemic of the contemporary medium bore landscape. I sold mine because it wasn't as good at commercial stuff as a slightly smaller rhorn I had and I was doing more large ensemble playing at the time. Had I been doing more of what I'm doing now, which seldom emphasizes large ensemble playing and is typically chamber or some blend of commercial and classical, it may be my go-to slide. I have a Getzen 525/525 that I'm probably going to convert to this bore size, although it's going to be really similar since I have a Shires 7YLW8 bell on that horn.
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timbone
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Re: Shires .508 - .525 dual bore slide
I would like to try that slide. An issue for manufacturing is designing an end crook to accommodate both bore sizes; if you think in Bach terms, compare a 16 slide to a 36 and you see what I mean. Generally the 36 will take 42 size barrels and hand grips. Having said that, intonation could be tricky too. How many of you have played a straight tenor- where the tuning slide is pulled out much further than "normal"- to be in tune? That has to do with slide geometry. I think Mick Rath did a dual bore too?
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Posaunus
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Matt K
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tejasbonedog
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Re: Shires .508 - .525 dual bore slide
I have a 3B Silver sonic that had a bad slide, so decided to replace it with a new one instead of repairing it. I'm used to a 36 in most of my playing and always felt a little crowded on the 3B slides(bigger hands etc). So I got BAC to make me a lightweight nickel .508/.525 dual bore slide. I wasn't too sure about the dual, since my only experience with one was with an old 2B Liberty I had played on the road for years-it always felt too small, but it was easy to carry lol.
Anyway, I really thought about it for awhile on what would work well with the 3B set up and I decided to at least try the dual .508/.525 set up thinking it would somewhat be a match for the original set up on that horn. The slide came out great after I made them rebuild it due to a notch in the end of the .508 tube-not sure if it was a defect or what, but they gladly redid it and the final version came out great!
I had them use a williams style curved hand grip on it too. The lightweight slide really helped with, not just the weight of the horn, but also the edge in the sound I wanted to have since it's a heavier SS bell. I prefer the lightweight nickel slide on my 36 too, as it really makes it feel more balanced in hand and tone.
I'm still just playing it mostly at home, with the exception of a few ska gigs, but I do like it-just need more time on it. I did need to push the tuning slide in a bit, but not all of the way in-I think with time, I'll zero in on all the finer adjustments and overall blow feel etc.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the horn and slide pairing-best of both worlds scenario-still maintains the .508 from the receiver end and open ups the last leg with .525. I know that King does make their own 3B+ horn(.525), and have never played one, but since I had an OG late 50's near perfect bell already, I saw this as an opportunity to restore and create a custom version for my own preferences. Like I said, I'm not really a dual player but I'm going to play it more and see if I become more accomplished with the set up? I forgot to mention, I had BAC make the slide wider than the old 3B, more like a conn 88h or 36-just fit my big hands and again, going with a lightweight slide was key for me-keeping it nickel also stays with the original slide aesthetic as well(altho original slides were not lightweight).
Anyway, I really thought about it for awhile on what would work well with the 3B set up and I decided to at least try the dual .508/.525 set up thinking it would somewhat be a match for the original set up on that horn. The slide came out great after I made them rebuild it due to a notch in the end of the .508 tube-not sure if it was a defect or what, but they gladly redid it and the final version came out great!
I had them use a williams style curved hand grip on it too. The lightweight slide really helped with, not just the weight of the horn, but also the edge in the sound I wanted to have since it's a heavier SS bell. I prefer the lightweight nickel slide on my 36 too, as it really makes it feel more balanced in hand and tone.
I'm still just playing it mostly at home, with the exception of a few ska gigs, but I do like it-just need more time on it. I did need to push the tuning slide in a bit, but not all of the way in-I think with time, I'll zero in on all the finer adjustments and overall blow feel etc.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the horn and slide pairing-best of both worlds scenario-still maintains the .508 from the receiver end and open ups the last leg with .525. I know that King does make their own 3B+ horn(.525), and have never played one, but since I had an OG late 50's near perfect bell already, I saw this as an opportunity to restore and create a custom version for my own preferences. Like I said, I'm not really a dual player but I'm going to play it more and see if I become more accomplished with the set up? I forgot to mention, I had BAC make the slide wider than the old 3B, more like a conn 88h or 36-just fit my big hands and again, going with a lightweight slide was key for me-keeping it nickel also stays with the original slide aesthetic as well(altho original slides were not lightweight).