110 Year Old Besson and Co Prototype G Bass Trombone 

And this is cleaner then the 20 year old trombone in my school band....

The sleeve of pealed cow I laughed so hard at that

6:20 you're welcome

Great, now lets not drop this one.

I feel sorry for anyone who ever had to play one of these

I have had the opportunity to play a G bass trombone - more years ago than I care to admit. It belonged to a fellow jazz trombonist who had it as a rather large toy. I don't know how old it was and don't remember if it had any counterweights but, by the sake token, it was quite comfortable to hold. I do remember that it played well although the use of the handle on the slide was a little disconcerting for a B flat tenor player like me.

I’m the owner of very fine 1929 King Liberty trumpet. Coming up on a 100 yrs. It was played and passed thru my mothers hands and three brothers. Me being the most accomplished, was given stewardship of it to keep and safe guard. It is displayed in a prominent place in my living room.

My Dad played one of these(n=made by SA) complete with case in Chelmsford SA band Thro from about 1939 -1962 his dexterity with the handle sometimes amazed me transferring from hand held to stick held .Quaver runs such as in Eric Balls 'King of Kings 'was good. But I believe the bottom range was not as low as the modern triggered bass trom. I must say he taught my brother & myself to play trombone & we played trombone trios in the band. I am now 77 & dad & Douglas are no longer here but I feel privileged to learned my music from this fine musician. I wish could have added a photo to show you the three of us in 1960 with the peanut shooter troms

I started my brass band career in Greenock Citadel SA Band (Scotland) in the 1950's and we had a fabulous G trombone player in a man called Bobby Hoey. I will never forget the sound of Bobby in full flight. I retired from banding in 2023. Thanks for the video, brought back many good memories.

Never seen one outside of your videos. Seems like a cool trombone though. 10/10 case too.

These are what we're played in brass bands by bass trombonist before triggers where a thing. The slide was longer to get the lower notes hence the handle. My uncle played one and called it a "Kiddie Shifter"

Used to have one borrowed from the Brunswick city band. Blew well and had locks. Made my hands smell so brassy afterwards.

That slide handle is attached to the slide via a U joint. Same joint used in automotive steering technology. Really cool..

Hi Trent. It may interest you to know that I use a G bass trombone regularly in my brass band (Liskeard Silver Band in Cornwall UK). The one I'm using currently is a very late model (1970s) B&H Imperial G bass with a D trigger to give it the same range as a modern bass trombone. I have been playing it non-stop for about 18 months now, before which I used an old 1938 model G bass that is fairly similar to yours. I'd say I can just about play it to the same standard as I can Bb trombone and have even used it in my University orchestra for certain works where it is authentic. The more modern example has a medium bore with a European (Euphonium) shank mouthpiece so it is easier to play in a modern setting, but it still has that characteristic G bass "punch" which is impossible to get with a modern large bore instrument. It also works superbly for the older brass band and Salvation army literature, less so for some of the more "boring" modern repertoire where there are lots of sustained notes. I'll have to post some videos or audio clips of me using it as I've never seen a video demonstrating the G/D bass trombone on youtube. Thank you very much for your videos as seeing your first one on this instrument was what originally encouraged me to try it out, and it's been a hell of a lot of fun!

Man, thanks for making these videos. I truly enjoy.

Friend tells me to hold her bone Me: is the slide locked? Her: idk Me: so you just carried a 5k dollar dollar across the entire building hoping the slide was locked? Her: pretty much yeah

Every problem you listed were characteristic of old trombones.

Congratulations in advance on 30k subscribers!

luv this. great video!

I own and play an 1874 Courtois G bass trombone that I bought in the UK for 40 pounds. A friend of mine brought it with him to the US packed in a small chemical barrel! It had no case but was in excellent condition; I adapted a traveller's golf bag to act as a case, and after some minor refurbishment it plays very well. The instrument itself is lovely; when combined with narrow-bore tenors or in an alto-tenor-bass setup it has a very incisive sound and "fills" very easily. If you listen to early British orchestral recordings - really, all the way through the 1940s - you'll hear a very characteristic trombone section sound using G basses that blends well with the narrow-bore trumpets used then (as well as the lighter piston-valve French horns used until the 1950s). Sheer volume is somewhat restricted, but boy, they can really cut through thick textures when needed!

I started playing in Brass bands in around 1970 (I was 12 or 13) and the G Bass Trombone was still very much in use. I recall a Contest I attended and pretty much all the Bass trombones were G basses with the "bog handle". However, the Bass trombone player in the band I was in (Chertsey and Addlestone) got himself a Yamaha Bb/F instrument a year or two later and the G bones seemed to be disappearing. I was still at secondary school at that time and I noticed the picture of a Bass Trombone in a new text book was of a "modern" Bb/F instrument. I seem to recall the Tuning slide of the F side was long enough that you could pull it out and drop to G, but I could be wrong.

I have my Grandfathers euphonium from the 1920s. Heand his identical twin played in the pit band. Its not in as good condition as this it leaks all over but still I love it.

Very neat that you caught the camera vibrating during the pedal tone. Thanks for the vids. Very interesting stuff.

I have a very strange rotary cornet that has European feel to it and looks very aged. It's very well made and the brass technician I talked to called it a piece of art, but it has no serial # no logo no marking whatsoever. Haven't found anyone who could identify it yet :/ so it could be my oldest but my oldest instrument I know the date of is a 93 year old Martin handcraft c melody sax.

very entertaining and fun thanks !

My oldest instrument was a Ditson Victory Boston, it was from the 1830's, thing was only worth $40 so i used it to create my duel belled trumpet, my oldest (surviving) instrument though is a Frank Holton Chicago Mellophone from 1906

Hey Mate, I've played a G Trombone before. It was a Salvation Army branded one. It was sitting in the instrument room at my corps. I thought it was great fun seeing as I've only played a Bb/F/Db

I actually have a Besson Oboe that is very very old. It's over 100 years old, as indicated by the fact that it is Triebert's système 3 style

Looks very interesting this old piece Never played any other than tenor trombones

We had a player in our community band that had a Quad Slide Contra bass trombone. Four tubes on the hand slide rather than two.

Played G Trombone with a few Brass bands back in the late 70's Loved it the Echo off the buildings on Parades let everyone know you had a G in the band was a big hit a concerts when playing the Beatles Hit When I'm 64 LOL

I have a 1917 German tenor trombone that also has a poor main slide seal. I think it is an iconic feature of many old trombones!

Cool find!

I used to play one in the 1960s. Progressed to a modern instrument on going to the Northern College of music in Manchester.

Besson....YES!! I have a Besson Meha Bb trpt that was manufactured in France in 1952. I bought it off a guy that was selling it for his dad back in 1988 (only paid $500). His dad even had it silver plated. Has a monster sound, great projection, and brilliant tone for lead playing, slotted well high C to above double C, and had extremely fast valve action. The only problem was the bore size. It is .471 with the lead pipe being .363 to .463. Needless to say, after a 4 hour gig it felt like I climbed Mt Everest!! However, IT'S A KEEPER!!

jeez with such a small bore I wonder how they expected anyone to get petal tones out

I have never seen one outside of your videos. It's pretty cool

Wow, that looks exactly like the one I tried to play back in 1963, bandmaster tried me out on that and a few instruments after moving up from the YP band also played 2nd trombone for a few years, baritone, then ended up on the 1st cornet for a while.

Been playing a GBass for, hellfire, 48 years now, the one I have now is 100 years old this year 2019 Still sounds cool and rasps wonderfully when I want it to. A 'bones a bone when all said. :) Right mouthpiece and a bit of practice

I've played a boosey and hawkes imperial G/D bass trombone, great fun.

I actually like the sound of this instrument. It might not fit into the modern concert band or wind ensemble that well, but I think it's an interesting color. Plus, the fact that it's in G would be a cool thing to learn!

That's awesome :) I actually have a Bb cornet that was owned by my Great Great Grandfather from around the late 1800s.

I love music and trombones especially (for obvious reasons, like Trent would say.) But I also have a huge passion for cars. When I saw the handle using a universal joint I was like whattttt.

+Trent Hamilton I know I'm a little late to the party here but I was lucky enough to pick one of these up off ebay recently! It's a Boosey & Co class A, serial no 81110, which a cursory googling tells me puts it at roughly the same age as yours. I too feel the wobble, particularly out in the nether positions. Here's a demo if you're interested: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CaYyL9RGxys.html

First time I ever saw a G Bass Trombone was in a Brass Band from Australia. The slide handle kicker didn't have the rotating feature on it.

I got to play one of these a few years ago as our band room happened to have one, felt very ill the next day so I checked and inside the slide was coated in thick green gunk 💀. Fun to use the handle mechanism nonetheless 😁

Wow. This trumbone is 118 years old and it looks better than my bandmate isaac's trumbone

What was the piece at the end of the video? Absolutely beautiful!

Hey Trent! I just had a quick question. Can you give me a little bit of information about your denis wick trumpet mouthpiece. Do you recommend it?

Ur my favorite tuber

Trent- How long is each section of that trombone? My favorite (which is in the shop getting new inner slides) trombone has a longer slide and shorter bell section than normal trombones, which makes the positions different too. It’s an H. N. White from the early 30’s. I couldn’t find a case for it so I redid one for it.

Fun fact: that funny little mechanism on the slide handle called a lovejoy.

That 110-year-old Trombone is in better condition then my 5-year-old Trombone.

My marching band went to a football game and the other band was out marching on the field. One of the other band's trombone players was swinging a g nass trombone around like it was nothing

I just realized that this horn isn't the usual G bass you show us!

I have a Besson and Co Prototype "Class A" Baritone horn but I can't locate the serial number to date it. I believe the person I bought it off said it was from 1910

Are eb tuba mouthpieces smaller than Bb tuba mouthpieces. I have a besson 17sb tuba mouthpiece that doesn't fit in a standard Bb tuba but it kind of fits in a sousaphone.

I have a G bass trombone from Boosey&Hawkes. Silver plated with engraving and embossing. From the sn I recon it was made in 1937-38.

Two of my trombones were made without any locks. I don’t have a problem with it but it makes other people nervous.

Great video and no I didn't even know it existed

Wow!!!

I have boought a trombone made in 1880, though it is just tenor. The case is nearly identical to the one you have presented in this video as well. I just have one question: would you happen to know where to purchase trombone a mouthpeices with a bore of a standard trumpet bore, but with a tenor trombone cup? The trombone has a extremely small bore size, even dwarfing my 1920s jazz trombone. I cannot seem to find such an unusual mouthpeice anywhere.

When I first joined a band in the 1980s we had a G trombone player.

Yes I use one regularly for the Salvation Army here in the UK. March with it too. - Class A Besson & Co "Prototype" 198 Euston Road LONDON. No. 6236. Looks almost identical to yours except there is I assume an aftermarket counterweight on the tuning slide. It does flex a lot, you have to really know the music you are playing because the book moves so much you can't focus properly on those runs of quavers. Really enjoy playing it though and like you said the slide is effortless. Kind of cool to know you are possibly the only person in the world at that moment playing G Trombone.

I bought one once. Like your Sousa phone shaped object of Indian manufacture you reviewed, it was an inexact copy of an old Benson. A complete failure as a musical instrument but it's role was to add some bling to a wedding band and any notes played were a bonus. I did find someone to buy it in spite of its short comings. I still see "too good to be true horns" on sale online. It's no fault of that Indian band tradition but those who buy low and sell them as real instruments are bound for some lower regions of the nether world.

Can you review the Cecilio trumpet

When are you going to do a trombone mutes video

But can you throw it on the floor like the plastic ones?

My great uncle had a friend who has a bass in g trombone

Did you ever get that tuning slide unstuck?

Cool historical piece! But it would be tricky to play, I imagine, because it is so fragile, it could come apart on you while you play. It's amazing how good shape it's in, considering it's been around for over a century. And considering the case is crap! Thanks for sharing this cool thing with us.

I played a bass Sackbutt. It had the extender handle. Interesting to play but it was a solid piece.

still in better condition than a high school band trombone

No wonder trombones are the oddballs of the wind instruments. That is why I wanted to play one

I recently got my uncles ytr 4320st. Its not super old, but it has little to no bracing. It also has a trigger.

Could you do a review of the large bore plastic trombone that have an f attachment?

Although I do not have a G bass trombone, I do have a tenor trombone from a very similar date as this. Its bell is very small, and the mouthpiece it is intended to be used with, as with yours, is very shallow. Further, like yours, it has no screw connecting the bell segment and the slide segment, and must thereby be held together while playing. Unlike yours, however, it has two metal spikes at the far end of the slide pointing towards the hands. The slide hardly functions anymore due to its age and prolonged lack of use, but I'm hoping to get it fixed up soon.

Trent, I played a G trombone for a short while (maybe a year or two) just over 40yrs ago. Back then it was fun to be the only player in the band on one instrument, and still is to some extent when I get to play Bass Trom. What I have noticed recently is the difference in the written music; Any time we play marches written for a G, the music sits very high on the stave whereas more recent music is written much lower, often down to the pedal notes. Just take a Bass Trombone "Favourites" book from your music cupboard and you'll see what I mean. Also I'm looking for some advice so will PM you tomorrow on Facebook. - Ashley ( - PNSAband)

If I took a shot for every time the letter “s” was said in any word, I’d die twice.

Definitely would play better if the slide was restored. That's like leaking valves when the platings worn off

I was more interested in the French horn trumpet thingy you had behind you on the right

My next to oldest slide trombone is a 1878 G Maj. Courtois, of beautiful museum quality. Bought it out of curiosity; What a narrow bored & original raw brass slide not enjoyable to play. Did play it once or twice around 2002, otherwise it resides in a display case because it is a visual work of art.

i found a really old dirty trombone is my grandpas poll barn i can't really read everything super clear on it but it says master model de luxe Charles f triebert paris i looked up the name and all i could find is a metal clarinet and a a trombone for sale on ebay but i couldn't find anything else and the only number on it is 82 where the serial number would be but could someone please help me find out what it's worth and more info about the guy that made it i can send pictures if you want.

I have a 90 year old Elkhart Trumpet but it's so badly tarnished I wouldn't play it. It's missing a valve top (I'm not a trumpet player so I don't know what certain things are called). Also valves won't budge and the thing where spit comes out is broken (it won't connect) and the mouthpiece won't stay on for some reason.

"My Heart Will Go In" on Trombone

Whats the intro song?

That moment when you play horn music on a trombone...

very nice, today's horns are well balanced and durable where these old beauties were compromised and nothing about them is secured haha! even the cases. but hey, you probably could have bought this in 1912 for just a few pounds new

hi Trent, just wonder if brass instrument will suffer from so call "metal fatigue"? like this 100+ yrs old trombone, is the tone getting worse as time goes by?

I've got an old J Higham G Bass; its in terrible condition. It doesn't feature the sophisticated connection from the handle to the slide that this Besson does.

I've played on a G baritone before for a bit. Really messed with my head, not realizing it was a G horn and coupled with the fact that I was transposing the music I was playing.

I have a 70 year old F.A. Reynolds trumpet that my great grandpa would have got after World War 2 that I want to learn more about

I am very surprised you think a G bass trombone is such a strange instrument. My Uncle played one in the Newton Abbot Salvation Army Band, UK, at least until the 1970s, possibly 1980s. In the 1970s I was a member of HM Welsh Guards on a Holton TR181 Bflat-F-Eflat double trigger bass trombone. (Although not strictly bass trombones, but wide bore tenor trombones, triggers were common well before then.) However, my colleague in the Irish Guards played a single trigger G-D bass trombone, not sure of the make. My Uncle also had custody of my Grandfather's Boosey Eflat bass trombone, at a guess the same age as your G, BUT it had no triggers, instead a unique experimental system of cords, springs and pulleys, which sent a slide out behind you when you played the usual forward slide. The idea being that it would shorten slide positions - clearly it never caught on, and only a few were made. It is now in the Salvation Army Museum in London. When I was about 10 or 12 years old he got it out for me to play(I have a photo somewhere). Also Douglas Yeo, Boston Symphony Orchestra, rtd, wrote an extensive article on it for the British Trombone Society. I bet you'd love to try that one!

the sound of this old trombone is not so bad.

My old brass band had one but it sucked. Now I find out these are worth a ton and it’s probably in the garbage.

I've never seen a trombone play a Mozart horn concerto...

Thicc trom🅱️🦴 lads

I think I’m I have one of those but a different version

Te Awamutu had a long term G trombonist until he passed away a couple of years ago. I think his was a b&h imperial. He was a clever and funny person. Can anybody tell us why the music for it is in the bass cleff? I don't know of any other brass music like that?

i have trumpet 50 years old from west germany (huttl)