TromboneChat

All I know is that they are pretty rare

Earl Williams trombones were hand made in a small shop. They are a little better than the "mass market" instruments, and for some people this is important. They will not prove a substitute for diligent practice, nor will the survive well in a school environment.

Earl died over 50 years ago and some others ran his shop for a while. They haven't been made for many years.

We have some modern equivalents to Earl's workmanship. M&W trombones comes to mind. Also, early Shires, Rene Haagman, Roy Benson (also no longer made), and Monette (there are 5 trombones in existence).

Scarcity

there's no lack of sentiment they play well and have a desirable sound, but the sheer high pricing I think really comes with the scarcity and famous people having played them.

Schmelzer was also inspired by Williams trombones.

From the archive of the old forum. I still go back every now and then and read the old posts. Lots of good info in there and it’s nice to see names that are no longer with us.

viewtopic.php?t=405

They're very rare, but they also play up to their rarity and to the hype. The two Williams I've tried are some of the best instruments I've ever played.

Since everyone knows they're both amazing and rare, they are priced accordingly. Same with New York Bachs, Conn Fuchs, and so on.

I've owned my Burbank Williams 6 (built for Slyde Hyde in apx 1964) for almost 20 years now. I think the design was quite a leap in modern small bore trombones. It has definitely influenced several of today's finest small bores - Rath, Shires, B.A.C., etc -- and of course the Kanstul 1606 and Schmelzers - maybe even the Minick .500 and Conn 100H. It's still a special design that has never quite been 100% duplicated. Perhaps not even by people who've had the tooling and blueprints.
Some say that Earl built all of his instruments from one giant gross of WWII surplus cartridge brass, which supposedly has more zinc (or tin or something) in it. I don't really know if that's true. It's ALL brass except for the handslide grip, slide ferrules & top ends of the tubes. Any silver you see on the bell section is matte chrome over brass.
In my experience, my 6 rewards a disciplined player with a great deal of flexibility, malleability of sound, and superior intonation. The slots are exactly where I want them, and are seemingly endless into the high range. Low range and pedals are big and open. To my ears, NO horn I've ever played blends with a big band as well as it does. It's bright and dark and everything in between, all in perfect balance. Projection is not an issue, but I wouldn't claim it's the best in that regard. It definitely out-projects my Lawler, judging by recordings.
It's not especially forgiving or what I'd call an "easy to play" instrument. It takes discipline to keep a good center to the sound, at times. I've never felt that I've gotten the best "ping" attack out of it. I think these things can be attributed to the very open design - Wider gooseneck, tapered & reversed tuning slide, broad-tapered bell flare. The lightness and lack of oversleeves on the slide, too, maybe...
My bell can have a tendency to get a little wild and over-vibrate at higher volumes. If you flick the rim, it just rings and rings. I've actually been experimenting with a Calderpips Tone Halo, which seems to rein it in a bit. I used to tape the flare about where a screw bell ring would go.
Did I mention it is SUPER comfortable to hold? The curved grip is nice, but the soft feeling chrome makes it even nicer. It's perfectly balanced at the slide lock, and I like the "feedback" I get from the (ribbed?) handslide grip.

It is still THE BEST overall .500 I've ever played. Some horns do some things better, but NO horn does more things better! So there you have it, FWIW.

P.S. Here's Rick Stepton and Conrad Herwig both playing Burbank 6's with Buddy Rich. Awesome sound!!!!

The Williams trombone—probably the greatest recorded sound I’ve ever heard. Decades ahead of its time, but in today’s freelance world? Too risky. I saw that a player on this forum grabbed a backup, but for me, the fear of damage was too much during my few years of ownership.

If your gigs are 20th-century style—sitting, maybe standing for a solo—grab one. But for modern freelancing? Keep it in the studio. It shines best when it’s your main horn, so if you're only using it for safer gigs, expect an adjustment period. These were built for a specific kind of player, 70 years ago.

Playing it with a jazz group at the Carlyle? Magic. At a festival with amps and electronics? A fight. The tone just doesn’t pop in those settings.

But if you can find one and have the cash, buy it, love it, and maybe get a copy made!

P.S. so comfortable to hold and play. Like an old friend, ergonomics are right. Imitators copy the curved grip but mismatch the proportions with the bell brace. Only thing better is a Minick .500

I moved to the west coast in 91. I’d heard about the Williams trombone and a; was fortunate to find a Williams and Wallace, and b; locate Art Pearlman in Carlsbad who was a Williams artist back in the 50-60’s. in his 70’s, Art was an amazing player; primarily a bass trombonist in Hollywood, at that time he was playing lead in Louie Belleson’s big band. Art would have me over to his garage and and I believe he had one of every Williams trombone, including a proto double valve bass that I saw. He was a very kind man, let me play everything, had great stories about the industry, his relationship with George Roberts (George gave him an Olds P62 I played) and Bert Herrick who was a leadpipe guru. Art had a Williams nine which is a medium bore trombone with valve and the “pigtail” wrap, which Zig Kanstul made later. I think it was the best horn I have ever played. I bought a w/wallace tis horn which ended up replacing my Bach 16. I have it tucked away with some other gems. I don’t know what makes these horns special but the spund and playability of these horns are outstanding.