Does Hornguys still sell Shires trombones?

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ThePousane
Posts: 29
Joined: Feb 18, 2019

by ThePousane »

They have an old site that has all the configurations and parts one could build a trombone with, but the new website doesn’t seem to have them.

Old site: http://w.hornguys.com/lgtbnshires.php

New site: <LINK_TEXT text="https://www.hornguys.com/collections/tr ... s-e-shires">https://www.hornguys.com/collections/trombones/s-e-shires</LINK_TEXT>
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by Burgerbob »

I'm not sure they have anything right now.
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WGWTR180
Posts: 2152
Joined: Sep 04, 2019

by WGWTR180 »

Everything has changed with Shires.
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brtnats
Posts: 341
Joined: Apr 26, 2018

by brtnats »

[quote="WGWTR180"]Everything has changed with Shires.[/quote]

I’d like to hear more about this.
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WGWTR180
Posts: 2152
Joined: Sep 04, 2019

by WGWTR180 »

Google. You'll get the full story.
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JohnL
Posts: 2529
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by JohnL »

[quote="WGWTR180"]Google. You'll get the full story.[/quote]
Well, Steve Shires is completely out and is busy (and hopefully happily) building French horns in Vermont. His level of involvement with the S. E. Shires company had been diminishing for a while. Is there something more going on?
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Bach5G
Posts: 2874
Joined: Apr 07, 2018

by Bach5G » (edited 2020-01-26 1:10 p.m.)

[quote="WGWTR180"]Google. You'll get the full story.[/quote]

All I see is that they do not appear to sell Shires trombones anymore. Is there a story behind this?

And I don’t see HG listed on Eastman/Shires list of dealers. The answer appears to be “no”..

Is it simply Eastman preferring to sell through larger dealers?
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JohnL
Posts: 2529
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by JohnL »

[quote="Bach5G"]Is it simply Eastman preferring to sell through larger dealers?[/quote]
Could also be a decision that was made on the Hornguys end of things. I looked around a bit but did not find any information one way or the other.
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bbalika
Posts: 35
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by bbalika »

Check out the Brass Exchange or contact Eric Hand from Brass Gurus if you’re interested in Shires parts.
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tbonesullivan
Posts: 1959
Joined: Jul 02, 2019

by tbonesullivan »

Hornguys sells what they want to sell, and they are also based in the "LA Area", where the type of trombones that people like are different. They aren't a huge shop, and it could just be that Shires wasn't a good thing for them anymore.

There's a lot of the back end in selling instruments that we don't get to see. Some companies have requirements of how many or how much of your inventory has to be theirs. It may be that to sell the shires trombones, you also had to sell shires trumpets, and all the accompanying Eastman by Shires and Eastman instruments.
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mbarbier
Posts: 367
Joined: May 17, 2018

by mbarbier »

I was just in there last week and it was a bit barren on a lot of their trombone stuff (which is pretty abnormal). Robert said that they're doing a big inventory overhaul on the trombone side of things, so it could also be related to that as well.

they've stopped carrying certain makers in the past when they felt the quality dropped and picked them back up when they felt the issue was resolved. I'm not saying that happened, I've got no clue- but they've not hesitated to do so in the past.
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Bach5G
Posts: 2874
Joined: Apr 07, 2018

by Bach5G »

“It may be that to sell the shires trombones, you also had to sell shires trumpets, and all the accompanying Eastman by Shires and Eastman instruments.”

Hmmmm ...
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JohnL
Posts: 2529
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by JohnL »

I notice that the seshires.com site doesn't list Ferguson Music/Hornguys as a dealer, either.

No Shires dealer in SoCal any more. There's a Q Series dealer in Fresno; for the Custom Series, it's either the SF Bay Area or Mesa, AZ.
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mrdeacon
Posts: 1225
Joined: May 08, 2018

by mrdeacon »

[quote="mbarbier"]I was just in there last week and it was a bit barren on a lot of their trombone stuff (which is pretty abnormal). Robert said that they're doing a big inventory overhaul on the trombone side of things, so it could also be related to that as well.[/quote]
There's a lot of assuming going on in this thread. I'm more inclined to trust mbarbier and Robert then the rest of this thread.

There's a million different reasons for them having little Shires inventory or for them to stop carrying them. I won't believe any of it unless it's first hand info from someone at the shop or second hand info from someone talking to someone at the shop.
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Jimkinkella
Posts: 286
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by Jimkinkella »

I was there a couple of weeks ago and everything was still boxed up from the move to Pasadena.

To echo mbarbier, I was also told by Robert that they're reworking a bunch of stuff right now.

If you're curious, shoot them an email, they're nice guys.
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timbone
Posts: 240
Joined: Apr 30, 2018

by timbone »

Steve wants brand exclusivity first. If he can't get that or exclusive terms that will usually determine what he is selling.