Posted by David Carter on September 03, 2003 at 15:53:39:
In Reply to: My Flea-Market Adventure posted by Rick Denney on September 03, 2003 at 14:19:14:
1) student line trombones around here are worth about $150 street price. If your total investment, including repairs is less than that you've come out ahead. If much more it's better to keep on looking. you paid $59. If the slide is OK or only needs a little work you should have a good playing peashooter.
2) the Bach 6 1/2 AL is OK, an average size nowdays for begginer horns. Don't go much deeper on the small horn, although if you like larger mpcs, you could consider a larger rim diameter, eg. bach 4 or 3 with small shank. However to really play the horn well you have to develop a bone sound, and the embouchre to produce it. Larger than normal mouthpieces just move you away from the norm. The exception to this is if you only play the bone once in a while, you could buy a Doug Elliot mpc with tuba rim and trombone cup. This won't make a lead trombone out of you but would allow you to toot on it without disrupting your tuba norms. But if you decide to get serious about the bone it's best to just get used to a normal trombone mpc.
3) I haven't seen your tuba embouchre so its hard to say, most bone players play with more top than bottom, but a few reverse this. Usually the dominant lip uses more of the mouthpiece and usually that is the top lip. I find that the worst way to settle this is to worry about it. Dennis Wick in his book "Trombone Technique" recommends practicing flexibility exercises over the range of the instrument, and usually the mouthpiece will gradually move to where it works best. I tell students to listen for good sound and other fundementals and if the embouchre wants to change for the better let it. I've started with bone and added tuba as a double and it took some time for things to settle down so that the basis of the emobouchre is the same for each horn, I'm just adapting to a larger or smaller rim. HTH