TromboneChat

To my knowledge, nobody has ever made a soprano trombone that's not in Bb, apart from possibly a homebrew job (I vaguely remember TTF member Euphanasia making a G soprano out of a cornet bell back in the day?). But Carol Brass has gone ahead and made a soprano trombone in G.



What's really notable about this instrument to me (apart from the key, obviously) is that it clearly uses no trumpet parts, like most soprano trombones do. The slide is as wide as a tenor slide, and the bell is 6.3" with a big throat like a flugelhorn - in fact, I think they took the bell straight from their Phat Puppy pocket flugelhorn, Shepherd's crook and all. It's not surprising then that they basically call it a slide flugelhorn. While that's technically impossible with that much cylindrical tubing, thanks to the bell it does sound much more flugel-like than most sopranos:



It apparently also comes with a mouthpiece designed for the instrument, and it looks to be a more trombone-sized rim in the above video.

It seems like a weird choice to make a soprano in G, but at the same time soprano isn't a standardized instrument at all so it's not like they HAVE to be in Bb...the positions are very different anyway! And any soprano trombone that is actually designed with intent and not just with using student trumpet parts is automatically very interesting in my book.

I’m going to make one (when I gather enough parts)…

I have a Bach Flugel flare from their cornet wrap early flutes… was going to put a valve on it and make a Bach 4 or 6 size slide to fit. Put it near G to make the length and bell position work, but that will have to be figured out when I have any parts other than just the flare…

Cheers,
Andy

Hmmm

Is it a short alto? Or a long soprano? It's a major third above a typical (i.e., Eb) alto and a minor third below a typical (i.e., Bb) soprano.

When Conn built a saxophone between an Eb alto and a Bb soprano, they called it a "mezzo-soprano".

JohnL wrote: ↑Thu Oct 17, 2024 7:45 pm Hmmm

Is it a short alto? Or a long soprano? It's a major third above a typical (i.e., Eb) alto and a minor third below a typical (i.e., Bb) soprano.

When Conn built a saxophone between an Eb alto and a Bb soprano, they called it a "mezzo-soprano".

IMO, it's a soprano (or mezzo-soprano, if you like). It has a smaller sound than an alto, and definitely sounds like a higher voice. I think F/Eb/D for alto and C/Bb/G for soprano makes sense. Just like trumpets (with exceptions). Though, I do think an F soprano (same length as an F alto) is possible, just like Bb tenor/Bb bass or F bass/F contrabass.

Also, F "mezzo-soprano" saxophone should really just be called an F alto saxophone, the sound is much closer to alto than soprano. There are G mezzo-soprano saxophones which do sound truly in between.

elmsandr wrote: ↑Thu Oct 17, 2024 7:43 pm I’m going to make one (when I gather enough parts)…

I have a Bach Flugel flare from their cornet wrap early flutes… was going to put a valve on it and make a Bach 4 or 6 size slide to fit. Put it near G to make the length and bell position work, but that will have to be figured out when I have any parts other than just the flare…

Cheers,
Andy

Ooh, exciting!

I want one. (just as soon as I learn to play my tenor.) I'm pretty sure I'd have no place to play it except my basement though.

Interesting that it's tuning in slide (well, tuning in leadpipe) like Bb flugels. To me it looks a little awkward with the big loop pointing down, like it would be hard to hold. Depending on your body shape you could maybe rest it on your shoulder?

Does anybody know the spec. of the mouthpiece?

Tuning in the slide is way easier to fit in a horn like this than any sort of bell tuning. I *may* do a bell tuning like a trumpet bell tuning… just depends on on what I end up finding for bits… anybody got a wounded Bach 6 slide they are willing to part with?

Maybe I’ll dust off my spreadsheet and show my math… my rough estimate was just to make something that looked like a well proportioned horn and had a 7 position slide.

timothy42b wrote: ↑Fri Oct 18, 2024 6:23 amTo me it looks a little awkward with the big loop pointing down, like it would be hard to hold. Depending on your body shape you could maybe rest it on your shoulder?

The player's shoulders do appear to be a bit twisted (right forward, left back) in the video. Kinda the nature of the beast with that shepherd's crook; for most people, it's gonna be aimed somewhere around their collar bone.

The mouthpiece she's using looks rather "Chason-ish" (for lack of a better term).

I wonder how it would sound with a flugel leadpipe/mouthpiece?

That is really cool. The shepard's crook looks somewhat odd on it, though. I wonder what the mouthpiece size is. Maybe french horn/alto horn sized?