I wanted to ask if it is possible to interchange the slide of a Bach model 16 on the bell of a Bach model 36 and do the opposite. do you have experience with these adaptations? Thank you

Same connector but not compatible, the slide lengths and bore mismatch mean they do not work.

Like Aidan mentioned, it will fit but intonation won’t work without modification. At least one player here has made such modifications to get a 16 slide on a 36 with reported good results.

36 slide on a 16 bell would be super flat iirc. Even if it wasn’t the Bach small bore bells are a lot smaller than the 36. It wouldn’t be like the King 3B+, where making the connectors compatible would allow something reasonable out of the gate. A 16 slide on a 36 isn’t a huge stretch imo, again, if the lengths are adjusted correctly.

Could you explain to me in a little more detail? meaning you would need to make a change to the connector and it would work?

However, which slides, for example, are compatible with the 2 trombones? Let me explain better, a smaller slide on the 36 and a little larger on the 16.

thank you and sorry for my english.. <EMOJI seq="1f605" tseq="1f605">😅</EMOJI>

The bell 3b Is same Bach 36... Size 8

[quote="Antonio1976"]Could you explain to me in a little more detail? meaning you would need to make a change to the connector and it would work?

However, which slides, for example, are compatible with the 2 trombones? Let me explain better, a smaller slide on the 36 and a little larger on the 16.

thank you and sorry for my english.. <EMOJI seq="1f605" tseq="1f605">😅</EMOJI>

The bell 3b Is same Bach 36... Size 8[/quote]

Any Bach slide from a 39 (the alto) through a 36 will fit on any of those bell sections. So a 39, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, 16M, 36 are all nominally "compatible." However, it won't work because they are all different ratios of length between the slide and the bell section.

The most notable here is obviously the Bach 39 slide. If you put that on the 36 bell section, you'll be able to make noise but I can't even guess what key you'd be in. Db-ish? Likewise, if you put a Bach 16 slide on a 36 bell, you'll either be extremely, extremely sharp or flat. I can't remember which way. If you put a 36 slide on a 16 bell, same problem but the other way around.

Or put more simply: With one combination, you'll almost be playing a trombone in "B" and with another, you'll almost be playing a trombone in "A".

What I was saying is that you may make something custom. A tech can adjust the length of the bell or the slide to be shorter. Making it longer isn't really feasible. I know of at least one person who has done something similar, but I've never tried and imagine making it work would be much trickier than on other systems where the bells are more similar.

I happen to very much like horns "in between" what is commonly thought of as a small bore and medium bore. The Bach ecosystem doesn't make this easy. While you are right that, on paper, the bell section seems similar between a King 3B and a Bach 36, the only real similarity is the span of the end of the bell. Most of the rest of the bell is actually quite different, including the lengths.

King 3B and 3B+ have a much smaller throat and a more gradual taper than the 36. The 36 is actually identical to a 42 bell (same mandrel and everything), except for that last .5". With King instruments, the slides do not natively match. The slide tenon (the part that goes in the bell) and the slide receiver (the part on the bell section that accepts the slides) are both different between the 3B and 3B+. However, if you were to swap out the receivers, you would find that the bell sections between them are essentially identical. Therefore, a slide from a 3B or a 3B+ would work with the same tenon, because the lengths are correct for the slide, bell, neckpipe, etc. If you were to take my King frankenhorn and put a Bach 36 bell on it... I would bet an that it wouldn't work well at all.

If your goal is to have a Bach 36 with a smaller slide, your best bet is probably to try to get something from perhaps M/K drawing and swap out the upper slide with a 500 or 508 bore upper inner/outer. They can make a slide of a custom length, so you could have it be made to 36 length no problem. I play a similar horn myself, a 500/525 franken King and I love it.

Can I ask why you want to do this?

Thanks for the answer to my question...

my question starts from the fact that I have a Bach 16 and I would like to get a 36 and I wanted to understand if it was possible to interchange, the 16 trombone sounds good but I would like an instrument with a little more body/harmonics, this is to make it more versatile also in other contexts.. the slide of 36 seems a bit heavy to me which is why I was thinking of something slightly lighter. thanks again

I might suggest making your Bach 16 bell section modular and getting a slightly larger bell for 7.75" or 8". There are tons of good examples out there. O'Malley will make you a 6 bell in both of those sizes too.

so Mattia, as you say, could a personalized slide be created? the important thing, as you say, is to respect the lengths so...

it would be interesting to have a 36 bell with a lighter slide..

ok, I didn't read the last message...