Posted by Mark Fabulich on December 02, 2000 at 04:42:36:
In Reply to: questions concerning Bass Trombones posted by Tim on December 01, 2000 at 17:45:23:
Hi. I am also a tuba/bass trombone doubler and have played the three Bach bass trombones, back to back, each with different valves on them. O.k. I have to tell you, I am more of a tuba player than bass bone, so if you are strictly a bass bone player your experiences to these horns might be different than mine.
O.k. that said, I play on a Bach 50BLG (10.5" bell, yellow brass) with independant standard rotor valves. I live in Switzerland and have been to see the Hagmann valves being built here in Geneva. It was there that they have two identical Bach 50BLG's, one with the Thayer valves and one with the Hagmanns. It was my experience that they both allow you to "open up" in the low range, unlike standard rotors, but I felt that I had MUCH more control over pitch, tone color, and articulation with the Hagmann valve. Also, the action of the Hagmann is much faster and more compact (not such a long throw). On the other side of the story, though, I've heard some really great sounds from bass bone players that play with the Thayer valves and they seem to like them very much. Personally, if I were in the market for a new bass bone, I would choose the Hagmann valves. I think they are 95% as open as the Thayer, they give you just a little bit of resistance to help you control the lower registers, and the action is great.
I hope I helped. Good luck and happy hunting!