TromboneChat

Hi im looking at new horns and saw shires as a brand which im not really familiar with, any reviews on how it compares to bach or yamaha or conn? thanks

Shires is a custom maker of trombones, originally started by Steve Shires (who worked at Osmun Brass and later Edwards). Steve sold out to Eastman, a Chinese maker. Parts are made either in China (by Eastman) or Massachusetts (the Shires plant). There are several series:

Custom: a wide variety of bells, slides, leadpipes, valve sections, etc. to build your ideal trombone.
Q Series: Basically the Custom parts, but only the most popular.

Some older models may not interchange with the newer series.

There is no "student" or "step-up" Shires (those lines are the Eastman instruments).

Shires are top quality instruments at top quality prices.

Shires generally better than / more expensive than Bach / Conn / Yamaha.

At best, they are top of the heap.

I thought I read somewhere that Shires Q-series horns were made in China? Please correct me if I’m wrong

I’ve had two Shires horns, one was a Q series, the other was mostly custom on a medium bore slide.

My views are that of an amateur, just a disclaimer on that…

The fit and finish on both were impeccable. They are well built horns, beautiful lacquer, no solder joint issues, and two of the best slides I’ve ever had. Can’t say enough about the build quality.

Now the other half of the equation…to me they both played easily. The notes were predictable and very true to the ‘commonly’ used seven positions. The valves, both axial and traditional rotor functioned well. I didn’t like the axial, but that was a personal preference. It was made very well and was very open, two open for me and my amateur abilities.

I gave them both up, and this is why. My 60s-70s King 4BF and Elkhart 88H just have a more interesting sound. They have a depth of sound and a color that the Shires didn’t compare to. The Shires…well it just didn’t have it for me. This is completely subjective of course. Many players may have a different take on this as they have different and more talent than I possess and are potentially able to color the Shires horn as they like.

I also do believe that getting a fitting done would be the best option, as for me there are just too many options in the Shires line up to try them all. Maybe I just didn’t find the right combination of parts to work for me, maybe I wasn’t patient enough. In the end I felt the characteristics of a fixed horn were also easier to deal with.

Everyone wants something different I guess, but if you’re after a quality well built instrument Shires will most definitely provide you with that.

HornboneandVocals wrote: ↑Fri Oct 18, 2024 10:11 pm I thought I read somewhere that Shires Q-series horns were made in China? Please correct me if I’m wrong

The Q series horns are made in China to S.E. Shires designs. Final QC used to be done in Massachusetts, but now it's done by Eastman in California (Eastman owns Shires, Haynes, Backun, Willson as well as their own brand). The Custom instruments and components are all made in Massachusetts.

The Q series instruments are the most common configurations of the Custom instruments. In musical instruments as in other manufacturing, economies of scale kick in if you're making lots of something. Between the economies of scale and lower labor costs, Q series horns sell at about a 33% discount from the same Custom configuration. More importantly, because of production scheduling in Massachusetts, you may be able to get a Q horn immediately but a truly custom instrument could involve a significant wait (a year, or more) if the components aren't available.

The Q components are compatible with the Custom components, so you can tweak a Q instrument with a Custom tuning slide, etc.