With over 25 years in business building world class brass instruments, S.E. Shires Company is an established and industry leading manufacturer of professional brass instruments.
I have played bass trombone. I do not consider myself a bass trombone player. I guess my lungs aren't big enough or something. But it is really good going back to tenor as far as lung capacity and being able to push more air through the horn after playing bass trombone. That was my experience.
You have such a clean, big sound. It's almost hard to believe that you are playing on a small bore. Sounds almost like a .525 or something around that size.
I too just tried out and bought the Q36GR. I came from a Yamaha Xeno 822G (2015 - Friday) and a Bach 50OG (1993-2014). I hated the Bach, but the devise then was "If you want to be a pro, you play Bach". I loved the sound of the Yamaha and initially the response also - on a Yamaha 59L mouthpiece, the Yeo mouthpiece was too big for me. But then I got into non-Yamaha pieces and ... it fell apart. It appears, the engagement depth of the Yamaha receiver is much deeper than other trombones, so all non-Yamaha mouthpieces get swallowed and the response suffers. Yamaha has "fixed" this in their new 835 series. Well, I tried the 835 (vanilla) and the 835GD. The 835GD sounded different from my 822G, but nice. But the high register simply closed up on me. The 835 just sounded shrill, overly bright. I also tried the bog-standard Shires Custom with yellow brass Bach style bell. Very stuffy and the sound simply didn't want to project from the horn, which I found strange. And then came the Q36GR. A breathe of fresh air. Spent about 45 minutes comparing the Custom with the Q36GR, hoping I'd somehow adjust to the Custom, but... I didn't/couldn't. So I left the store without my 822G and with a new shining Q36GR and went on for a 5 day vacation near Donaueschingen, Germany. I play/-ed it in the AirBnB - with premission from the owner - and initially, despite fear of Buyer's remorse, it's proven to be just as great as in the shop. The Lebedev was one of the pieces I took with me, also the McCarty and the Elisabeth Raum concerto, plus a couple of standard excerpts.
Traded in my Yamaha Xeno 822g (with the typical too deep mouthpiece engagement problem) for a Q36GR. I also tried the Yamaha 835 (vanilla without detachable bell) and a bog standard Shires Custom To sayy I was disappointed with the Yamaha would be an understatement. As with the 835GD I tried a couple of weeks ago, the bottom was easy, but sounded nowhere as round, deep as the 835GD. But aas opposed to the 835GD, the basic tone was hards, even shrill, even at low dynamic levels. Then cam the Shires custom. The response on the Custom was like playinfg through a wet blanket and even though it had a yellow brass bell - the standard one - I didn't feel the sound wanted to project at all. Just fell out of the bell onto the floor. Then came the Q36GR - what a difference. Very easy response without me getting the feeling I'm falling into the horn. And the upper range slotted so much better than the 822g. Finally I can play the high gs in the Elisabeth Raum piece withou scratching them. Using a custom 1.5 leadpipe improved the higher regsiter even more, but lost a little precision. As you say in this video - the valves are amazing. No real difference I could tell between the open horn and a G-flat paddle or f paddle f, for example. Then, a wave of "Buyer's remorse" washed over me. So despite being on vacation in an AirBnB, I pulled it out and ... nope all there like in the sales room. McCarty pages 1 & 2 were a breeze. As was the first page of the Lebedev Concerto in one movement. Can't wait to get back from vacation to put in some real time on it.
A REAL problem we musicians have, is that we can not, in practice, try the instruments before buying them. In theory we can, in practice we can not. Usually companies tell the dealers that they HAVE to BUY the instrument to have it in their shop, but how can a shop afford having and paying for 30 models of professional trumpets ? and that's only trumpets... so a lot of of times companies have A TON of options BUT we, musicians, can not try them before buy them, so in reality we can try 2 models, then there are. in reality, 2 models for us, the clients, this is why i ask you, you could create a system of having 30 instruments moving from one dealer to another, when a person wants to try it tries it, and then, the one you like, you buy that model as a new one and is sent to your dealer as a new one from the factory. Do you have a system like that ? Thank you
I went to the music store, and tried two different Bach trombones, two different Yamaha trombones, a Conn 88, and two different Shires trombones. Spent a few hours trying to decide. Out of all of them, the Shires had the best sound, so that's what I got.
Hey Rob, Dave Smith here, your fellow trumpet player from MJHS and WPHS…..glad you and Dave Trigg have had successful careers 😎had some good times back in the day 🤓
Great comments for all trumpet players! I actually met you many years ago when you were freelancing in Chicago. I was visiting my friend, Marc Donatelle.Kee up the great work !!
Ma'am it's so interesting to hear you play. Your tone doesn't sound like trombone, but more like tuba instead. I also watched your video about different bell materials, and they sounded like a French horn! Very interesting
I think the boots looked hotter when playing the axial. There was a smoother legato if there was less articulation in the step and very little back pressure. Otherwise, I learned a lot. Great tone! Had me feeling so inspired. Thank you.
Interesting. The sound of the two tbones was different open and activated. Darker in the axial and brighter and more commercial Sounding on the rotor valve horn. Thanks for the comparison.
Hi! I have a Shires trombone and it has leadpipes. My original is at little bit brown colored at the end, maybe water contact, tell me if is this normal. I you wanna I can send you pic on mail.
I worked at Shires from the late 90's to 2007. I final'd most of the valve sections which consisted of painstakingly hand lapping the valves and slides in and making and adjusting the entire lever actuator assembly. Each one was a ton of work and I enjoyed doing it. Steve and Chuck were great and the place was totally deadly to be in, so you had to be careful. A lot of famous bone players visited from all over the world while I was there. All nice people. Cool job, but after hand pain became a daily thing, had to leave. Will always remember it tho.
Hello, what is your go to "left hand relief" device for the S. E. Shires / Brian Hecht Lone Star Bass Trombone Model? Brian tells me that he has been using the "Get - A - Grip" for ten years. I purchased the KUHNL & HOYER hand support, but I fail to see how to avoid all the extensions for springs for valve levers, and so forth. You must know someone besides Brian who has found a unique solution for the Lone Star Bass Trombone? I'm looking forward to a comfortable left hand. Thank you!
I’ve usually found rotors easier to control and more efficient. However, there are a few axials that I’ve loved. I’ve been playing a dependent Trubore bass trombone over the past few years. It feels very stable, and every note slots easily. All of the Shires instruments are great, and it just comes down to personal preference.
I agree with T-bone. EVERY video from S.E. Shires has the same problem. I just got done listening, or trying to listen to, two of your other videos. They are done very well! Great info, videography, the Trombones sound very accurate, clear, and with good volume. However...it is EXTREMELY, I repeat E X T R E M E L Y difficult to follow the information due to the (lack of) volume! The speakers are clear and have excellent diction, tempo and information, but are often unheard due to the (poor?) recording of their voice(s). PLEASE FIX THIS ONGOING AND ANNOYING SITUATION!!!
