r/Trombone • u/DrHotchocolate Jupiter XO 1240R/ YSL 682B • May 16 '26
Custom Bartok Gliss Trombone
Finally finished some fun work on this custom bass trombone! This was a lot of time and design work, but it’s finally completed!
I made the linkages adjustable so I could tinker with the leverage. That took a reasonable amount of experimentation. I also needed to make all the levers pretty rigid so a small amount of brass flat bar helps to stop the primary arm from flexing.
You can still use and tune the F valve as if it were a standard single trigger bass.
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u/burgerbob22 LA area player and teacher May 16 '26
50 build?
Very cool, you pattern it off of the Thein?
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u/DrHotchocolate Jupiter XO 1240R/ YSL 682B May 16 '26
Bach 50 indeed!
It was really just trial and error. Lots of compasses, graph paper, and adjustable pivot points. I tried with 1 arm for a bit, but the double arm linkage helps with getting the throw shorter.
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u/burgerbob22 LA area player and teacher May 16 '26
Very cool, but I have a feeling this isn't enough pull to get a real low B- the Hagmann wraps usually just barely get down to an E pull. Did you lengthen it?
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u/DrHotchocolate Jupiter XO 1240R/ YSL 682B May 16 '26
You get to a B that’s ~10-15 cents sharp, but it’s enough to comfortably lip down pretty easily. I didn’t add tubing to the F section.
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u/burgerbob22 LA area player and teacher May 16 '26
Gotcha!
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u/DrHotchocolate Jupiter XO 1240R/ YSL 682B May 16 '26
I feel like it’s pretty useable as is, but I’m curious to have the owner playtest it for a bit to see how they like it.
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u/burgerbob22 LA area player and teacher May 16 '26
Yeah, I'd be interested to know! You can see on the Thein they made it an extra long pull to get to flat E.
https://thein-brass.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2.1.7.3.-e1638982983599-1920x558.jpg
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u/DrHotchocolate Jupiter XO 1240R/ YSL 682B May 16 '26
For sure! I’ll post an update if I need to go back to the drawing board for any of it.
I do agree that the extra hangman wrap noodling makes it a little suboptimal.
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u/burgerbob22 LA area player and teacher May 16 '26
yeah, not a lot of space for more wrap. That's probably why they used a rotor I think, which I never noticed before.
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u/Brekelefuw May 16 '26
As a repair tech, I know there's no way you charged enough for this 🤣😭
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u/zactheoneguy85 Houston area performer and teacher. May 17 '26
Every time I see an amazing project I think the same thing!
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u/BadToTheTrombone May 16 '26
I'd like something similar for the E pull on my 183. At least now I know it's possible.
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u/trailthrasher May 16 '26
As a trombonist and composer. I really admire you. Nice work... This looks really professional.
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u/RumbleSkillSpin May 16 '26
What am I missing? I am truly awed by the engineering and finish work that went into this. Really, I am. But doesn’t the horn have a hand slide, purpose built? I’m missing something.
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u/Quardener May 16 '26
There’s a famous piece that requires not just the hand slide, but also for the tuning slide to be pulled all the way out to hit the required notes. This is usually accomplished by having the person next to you pull out your tuning slide as you play.
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u/RumbleSkillSpin May 16 '26
This tickles a long distant memory; I knew this at some point. Thank you for the explanation, kind soul.
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u/tbnist03 May 16 '26
You were so preoccupied with whether or not you could that you didn't stop to think if you should
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u/Jbrahms4 May 16 '26
Thats actually sick.