Posted by Mike Solms on December 11, 2002 at 12:29:15:
In Reply to: Used BassTrombones posted by John Smith on December 10, 2002 at 13:21:12:
I'll offer a bit of a contrary opinion, here. If you are looking to play orchestral bass bone, you should consider a single rotor horn. There is an essay on Doug Yeo's website (Doug is the bass trombonsist of the Boston Symphony), www.yeodoug.com where he addresses this issue. He contends, and my experience agrees, that there is very little in the orchestral literature where the second valve is required. As an occasional bass 'bonist myself, I really appreciate the lower cost and especially the lower weight of the single-rotor models. If you don't play the horn a lot, the first time you play an extended gig with a two rotor horn will really tax your left hand and wrist. If you are looking to do big band playing, however, the second valve is really helpful.
My favorite single rotor horns are used Bach 50B's and Conn 72H's. Dillons has some of each right now. The a nice feature of the older single-rotor horns is that the valve section tuning slide pulls out far enough to give you an E.