Sold: Schagerl Aurora bass trombone
- Burgerbob
- Posts: 6327
- Joined: Apr 23, 2018
Up for sale is a very neat instrument, made by Schagerl in Austria. It was formerly owned by Lisandro Laya, bass trombonist of Simon Bolivar Orchestra. I'd guess the manufacture of this particular one was early '00s.
There is NOTHING like this horn out there.
Nickel wide slide in .562 single bore, tuning-in-slide
Hagmann valve section with gold brass valve tubing in .605, nickel tuning slides
One piece 9.75" gold brass bell (including J bend), all the way from valve exit to flare
How do you characterize an instrument with specs like that? To start, not quirky. It's a different blow than almost anything I have ever played, but every register is easily accessed and has an even response and sound. It feels like playing the same instrument from top to bottom, which cannot be said for all basses. It is not the most open instrument of all time, despite some of the large bore sizes on the horn (the beginning of the J bend is quite large compared to a Conn), which makes it very simple to play if you can back off and give it some nuance. Due to this fact, it responds better with smaller mouthpieces- I have had great success with my Markey 85, but not nearly the same with my Markey 87, just a bit larger. Overall, and don't crucify me, it's more even and fun to play than a TIS Greenhoe. It's also quite light, 4.4 pounds all in.
The sound is quite different from most American instruments. To say Conn-like is probably as close as you can get, but that's a massive generalization. It's very warm, with a nice solid core in all dynamics. When played loud it gets a nice extra color to it in a bit of a German style, but not nasty- it matches tenor trombones of all sizes very well. I've played this in trombone duets, quartet and quintet, big band, and at work. In all cases it felt at home matching with American instruments of all types, while using a lot less energy than I do with my Bach. In chamber settings (trombone quartet especially), it felt very much at home providing a nice warm foundation with some clear pitch center to lock into.
The horn is in good shape- slide was just worked over by John Sandhagen, and I cleaned and re-lubed the valves with Ultra-Pure. Cosmetically there is plenty of lacquer loss and small scratches, as it was definitely a player in a humid climate for a long time (as evidenced by the case as well!!). Despite the flaws, it's still a looker, with that retro-future look to the valve wraps and gold brass tubing.
I'm selling this because I am still on the Bach train, and although this horn is great, it's VERY different from my 50 and too fragile to use at work (where I really enjoyed playing it). This sale will fund yet another 50 project, I think!
I'm thinking $4200 plus shipping. If there are more than a couple of these in the US, I would be surprised, and these are no longer offered with Hagmanns from the factory. I can include the original Bonna-style (not sure if it is a Bonna or not) case, but it's very tired.
There is NOTHING like this horn out there.
Nickel wide slide in .562 single bore, tuning-in-slide
Hagmann valve section with gold brass valve tubing in .605, nickel tuning slides
One piece 9.75" gold brass bell (including J bend), all the way from valve exit to flare
How do you characterize an instrument with specs like that? To start, not quirky. It's a different blow than almost anything I have ever played, but every register is easily accessed and has an even response and sound. It feels like playing the same instrument from top to bottom, which cannot be said for all basses. It is not the most open instrument of all time, despite some of the large bore sizes on the horn (the beginning of the J bend is quite large compared to a Conn), which makes it very simple to play if you can back off and give it some nuance. Due to this fact, it responds better with smaller mouthpieces- I have had great success with my Markey 85, but not nearly the same with my Markey 87, just a bit larger. Overall, and don't crucify me, it's more even and fun to play than a TIS Greenhoe. It's also quite light, 4.4 pounds all in.
The sound is quite different from most American instruments. To say Conn-like is probably as close as you can get, but that's a massive generalization. It's very warm, with a nice solid core in all dynamics. When played loud it gets a nice extra color to it in a bit of a German style, but not nasty- it matches tenor trombones of all sizes very well. I've played this in trombone duets, quartet and quintet, big band, and at work. In all cases it felt at home matching with American instruments of all types, while using a lot less energy than I do with my Bach. In chamber settings (trombone quartet especially), it felt very much at home providing a nice warm foundation with some clear pitch center to lock into.
The horn is in good shape- slide was just worked over by John Sandhagen, and I cleaned and re-lubed the valves with Ultra-Pure. Cosmetically there is plenty of lacquer loss and small scratches, as it was definitely a player in a humid climate for a long time (as evidenced by the case as well!!). Despite the flaws, it's still a looker, with that retro-future look to the valve wraps and gold brass tubing.
I'm selling this because I am still on the Bach train, and although this horn is great, it's VERY different from my 50 and too fragile to use at work (where I really enjoyed playing it). This sale will fund yet another 50 project, I think!
I'm thinking $4200 plus shipping. If there are more than a couple of these in the US, I would be surprised, and these are no longer offered with Hagmanns from the factory. I can include the original Bonna-style (not sure if it is a Bonna or not) case, but it's very tired.
- HawaiiTromboneGuy
- Posts: 1025
- Joined: Sep 03, 2018
That’s a beauty!
- BoomtownRath
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Oct 15, 2019
One lucky buyer out there!!
- Burgerbob
- Posts: 6327
- Joined: Apr 23, 2018
[quote="BoomtownRath"]One lucky buyer out there!![/quote]
Dang right!
Dang right!