Czech/German style valved bass trombone in F. This is a fun item to have in the arsenal, authentic to Czech orchestral repertoire such as Janáček or Dvořák. I have also on occasion pretended to be a cimbasso with it for Italian repertoire - it's substantially cheaper than an actual cimbasso! It takes a mouthpiece shank in between a bass trombone and tuba shank, and can be played with either - a bass trombone mouthpiece sits in deeply but securely, while a tuba mouthpiece sits in it further out equally securely. It musically works with either - more of a bass trombone sound with one; more of a contrabass trombone sound with the other. Note that it is built without a leadpipe by design. The valve bore is 0.555" / 14 mm and the bell diameter 9.4" / 24 cm - similar to a modern bass trombone. I do not know how old it is - no info is stamped anywhere on it; my guess based on style and condition is that it is from the first half of the 20th century, but it could be in reality be anywhere within or around that. A expert in German trombones might be able to pin it down more accurately.

It's in ugly but functional condition with a raw brass finish and a kranz, as you can see from the photos. The valves move freely, though with more noise than one would expect from modern rotaries, and are attractively laid out in the old German fashion. Valves 1-3 are tuned as normal; valve 4 is two tones, but has a tuning slide long enough to pull to a perfect 4th, making fingerings match the usual brass pattern. All slides move freely, with the exception of the 3rd valve slide, which has been stuck since before I bought the instrument. There is a working lyre holder, so this was evidently made with a marching application in mind - perhaps for the military in the region of modern Czechia? I have seen old photos of military bands from this region including identical-looking instruments. Comes in a Bach bass trombone gig bag, as shown in photos - will be posted securely with much soft packing.

Asking for £750 / $1000 / €850 plus postage and any duties (will calculate based on current location: Oxford, UK). No returns. Payment by PayPal preferred. Message me here or email <EMAIL email="d@dt79.co.uk">d@dt79.co.uk</EMAIL> for more details. Interested parties close enough to drop by are very welcome to try the instrument.

For comparison, Červený retails a similar instrument new for £1700. Note that sales of second-hand 4-valve F bass trombones are rare - the next likely won't be for years.

Full set of pictures here (can take more on request):

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