I see Euro 2004 is in Germany and I got to thinking about touring about attending football matches and shopping for alto trombones, preferably smaller makers.

As far as shopping for alto trombones is concerned, any suggestions? Thein, I suppose, although probably well over budget.

I'm deeply in love with my Sonas Aural, handcrafted in a small workshop in the south of Spain. You can choose different bores, alloys, bell sizes (with or without krantz) and even install snakes on the tuning slide and slide crook. It's a gem that sounds really amazing, both for soloist and orchestral work.

You don't have to go to Europe for a "European style" alto...

[quote="hornbuilder"]You don't have to go to Europe for a "European style" alto...[/quote]

Yes, but the football is all wrong.

Helmut Voigt in Markneukirchen:

https://helmut-voigt.com/alto-trombones/

One note in advance: Many of the following makers are quite small, so you should better contact them in advance to align your visit and check if they actually have any altos available.

Ideas to visit in Germany in no particular order - I have played these instruments myself or heard/seen them in person or heard very good things about them:

- Helmut Voigt, Markneukirchen

- Jürgen Voigt, Markneukirchen

- HSM Brass, Markneukirchen

- Werner Schmidt/Schmidt Brass, Markneukirchen

- Thomas Jahn/Throja, Berlin

- Kromat, Wilstedt

- Lätzsch, Bremen

- Thein, Bremen

- Kühnl & Hoyer, Markt Erlbach

- Takao Nakagawa, Leipzig

- Leuchter, Herzogenrath

- Winfried Rapp, near Stuttgart

Some more in neighbouring countries:

- Adams, Netherlands

- Schagerl, Lechner, Haagston/Brassego, Austria

- Haag, Egger, Switzerland

There are certainly more which I have forgotten and some other builders that are interesting, but (to my knowledge) don't build altos.

Some honorable mentions:

- Meisterinstrumente Kroning, Chemnitz. They don't build altos yet, but they are very nice and would certainly be welcoming you and might have some interesting stuff to show

- Manfred Schmelzer, Mönchengladbach. No altos, but a really interesting line of tenors and basses

- Sandner, Markneukirchen - they are making hand hammered bells for manufacturers worldwide. Could be worth a visit

Some music stores that should have some selection, but typically the more standard models:

- Thomann, Burgebrach

- FMB, Gütersloh

- Bertram, Freiburg

[quote="MStarke"]One note in advance: Many of the following makers are quite small, so you should better contact them in advance to align your visit and check if they actually have any altos available.

Ideas to visit in Germany in no particular order - I have played these instruments myself or heard/seen them in person or heard very good things about them:

- Helmut Voigt, Markneukirchen

- Jürgen Voigt, Markneukirchen

- HSM Brass, Markneukirchen

- Werner Schmidt/Schmidt Brass, Markneukirchen

- Thomas Jahn/Throja, Berlin

- Kromat, Wilstedt

- Lätzsch, Bremen

- Thein, Bremen

- Kühnl & Hoyer, Markt Erlbach

- Takao Nakagawa, Leipzig

- Leuchter, Herzogenrath

Some more in neighbouring countries:

- Adams, Netherlands

- Schagerl, Lechner, Haagston/Brassego, Austria

- Haag, Egger, Switzerland

There are certainly more which I have forgotten and some other builders that are interesting, but (to my knowledge) don't build altos.

Some honorable mentions:

- Meisterinstrumente Kroning, Chemnitz. They don't build altos yet, but they are very nice and would certainly be welcoming you and might have some interesting stuff to show

- Sandner, Markneukirchen - they are making hand hammered bells for manufacturers worldwide. Could be worth a visit

Some music stores that should have some selection, but typically the more standard models:

- Thomann, Burgebrach

- FMB, Gütersloh

- Bertram, Freiburg[/quote]

That’s an excellent list, might visit a couple myself if I’m passing by sometime.

I’d add one suggestion:

Winfried Rapp in Schwieberdingen near Stuttgart. Compared to Winfried, some of the ones in the list are pretty much mass manufactured. He generally doesn’t have instruments standing around like in a showroom as they’re made to order for specific customer requirements and leave the shop once they’re finished. You might be lucky if he’s just finishing one for someone. He certainly does have an alto model of his own design and I’ve heard very good things about it.

And just for completion: Manfred Schmelzer is near Gladbach if I remember correctly. But I don't think he has any altos yet.

And for a geographic advise: If you're in Germany you can visit Lätzsch, Thein and Kromat together as those are pretty close to each other. Markneukirchen is pretty close to Leipzig, so that will work too. Leuchter and Schmelzer are also not that far from each other.

Great list, Markus!

I added Schmelzer and Rapp to my original post to make it easier to read. Thanks for the additions!