Three Trombone Brands: Vincent Bach, Yamaha, and King

I stopped dead in my tracks. I had just heard the most appalling sound. I rushed toward the bedroom, and I stood in the doorframe. I knew what I was looking at, but I just couldn't believe it. Electrical wiring dangled from the remains of the wall, while dust and insulation filled the air in a thick smog. My bedroom roof had collapsed. Photos, books, and prized possessions, all destroyed in just one moment. Then the house began to shake, I jumped back, and the roof had finally settled on all of my belongings. At that moment I remembered that I was required to perform my senior recital the next week, and my trombone was in the bedroom! With great urgency I drove to the nearest music store to order a new one. I saw three trombone brands I really liked: Vincent Bach, Yamaha, and King.

Instrument tonality means a lot to me. When I play trombone, I want to play one that will best suit the type of music I play, and for me, it's classical. Vincent Bach produces their instruments with a Silver lacquer finish to produce a dark, airy sound. This leads me to believe that they focus on producing a "jazzy" sound. Plus, Vincent Bach's larger bell diameter would allow me to play louder and with a unique sound to stand out as a soloist. However, jazziness is nothing when compared to the traditional sound Yamaha has. They have produced a large bell trombone with gold lacquer finish that produces a vibrant, rich sound, which is perfect for blending with other members of a classical ensemble. I'd feel pretty comfortable playing a trombone with other people knowing I can rely on it to consistently sound good and blend in. Although, they are not as familiar with fast playing tonality as King is. They have produced their trombones with a design that would allow me to play faster pieces of music with a bright, vibrant sound, which is perfect for funk music. I also like the smaller bell King has, because it would allow me to easily adapt to any style of music, without exerting too much air.

I am almost constantly playing a piece of music, so the right mouthpiece would make playing easier, and sound in tune. King mouthpieces are generally very large bore, which would be good if I had a large mouth. It would be nice to have a mouthpiece that perfectly fits over my mouth. However, I have a slightly smaller mouth than what the King mouthpiece would allow me to play. I noticed that Vincent Bach mouthpieces are very small in diameter, which would definitely allow for me to play higher notes with ease. But, I hate having to play high notes. Plus, I don't think my desire to play would mask the fact that low notes are nearly impossible to play with a small mouthpiece. Yamaha lies right in the middle. I'd be able to play all of the trombone's note range: from high to low. However, this could cause me to become lazy with my practicing since I wouldn't have to work so hard for note accuracy and range. But, playing with good tonality from the start would also allow me to improve my fundamental skills as a musician, rather than just trying to sound "good enough".

I don't make a lot of money every paycheck, so the Vincent Bach would be a great choice for me. They are allowed more flexibility with their pricing, and they offer useful rent-to-own contracts, seeing as their trombone costs $1709. However, if I were to lose my job and were unable to continue paying for the trombone, I could go into debt, seeing as Vincent Bach does not have a financial forgiveness program. I noticed that Yamaha's trombones are rather expensive, which can seem impossible for the average college student to afford. So it is imperative that I check to make sure paying $2683 is going to beneficial to me. However, Yamaha would allow me to simply return the trombone with no interest charges if money became a concern, which could very well happen, because I am not guaranteed to have a job after the summer ends. King is the complete opposite from other brands. It is $940, about half the cost of the Vincent Bach, which makes it an ideal trombone for me because I would be able to save up the money to purchase it quickly. With King, there would be extra money in my pocket, which would allow me to purchase accessories such as mutes or tuners, helping me further my playing skills.

In the end, I decided that Yamaha was a perfect fit for me. The reputation Yamaha has with their adaptable, traditional sound is what really won me over, for I am constantly playing trombone and looking for new ways to produce quality sound. It wasn't the cheapest option available, but I decided the perfect fit mouthpiece makes up for the horrific price. Plus, when I went to pay for it, the cashier said that Yamaha was having a weekend promotion, so I ended up getting a free sheet music stand! I couldn't wait to perform my senior recital; I was ready, and I knew the audience would enjoy my performance as much as I had anticipated.