The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra trombone section have been playing on Rath trombones for 8 years now (see the British Trombone Society Article from 2012 below).
I have a R4, an R12 and an alto, the number of which I am not sure as my eyesight is not as good as it used to be and the numbers are very small, it being an alto. If we had to play soprano trombones I would probably keep losing it!
In 2019 I was lucky enough to be invited to help at the first ever Rath Day. The event was a great success with over 80 people in attendance, Dennis Rollins gave a fantastic performance with a new group consisting of harp and bass as well as an array of electronic pedals. This was bookmarked at the end of the day by Robbie Harvey who talked us all through basic improvising as well as demonstrating his wonderful sound and fluid playing. Mark Frost entertained us with some great subterranean tones and a chat about different bass trombones (all Rath of course) and both Black Dyke trombone quartets (young and slightly less young) amazed us with their range and versatility. Mick and his staff were on hand to let people try out the various trombones currently in the catalogue and Tim Sidwell gave a very professional and composed maintenance demonstration (The Great British Slide Off?!) The tenor trombones of the Black Dyke Youth Quartet bravely did a blind test of the R4, the new R6 and a well known trombone from the USA. Interestingly, the players individual sounds were far more recognisable than the different instruments, which not many people identified. Brett Baker, Paul Woodward and myself took the reigns of the huge massed forces at several times throughout the day, raising the roof with the numbers, if not the music, of 76 trombones. Massive thanks to Mick, his staff and all the participants for a fantastic day out.
The Rath of Robb (first published in the BTS magazine 2012)
When Donal Bannister left the BSO several years ago the commerce in interesting second hand trombones in Dorset dwindled to almost nothing. As Principal Trombone of the BBC NOW he now has a lovely house in Cardiff which he has extended to cope with his family and a collection of instruments to rival the Bate Collection at Oxford University. I can only mention this if you promise not to tell his wife who thinks he has sold them all!
Seeing an opportunity for market growth (and having seen what our banking sector has managed to do with my endowments and pensions there is no point relying on them to remedy the current economic climate) I began to hang around the musical instrument section of Ebay to an extent that, quite frankly, became a little obsessive. Who would have thought there were so many duff trombones out there in the ether. How successful I became at finding them!
Actually, after over two decades of playing the same few instruments it was great fun turning up at work with the latest “best thing since sliced bread”, although, to be truthful, I have often wondered what the best thing was before that. Donal’s successor, Robb Tooley, seems to have a good knowledge of trombones. Having recently moved down from the cut and thrust of the London freelance scene he obviously has a great depth of experience. Not only that but his trombone was made up of at least two others and he has appeared on a tv quiz show – what a pedigree!
So, although I was not at the point that I would have presented a business plan to Lord Sugar I did have a collection of trombones I was happy with. I was still using the tried and tested favourites at work but now played on a variety of makes and models in the various education ensembles, brass groups and big bands I performed with which made life much more interesting. At this point Robb threw a very large spanner in the works. Having mentioned that he was thinking of buying a new trombone for use in the orchestra to replace the “meccano” mongrel he was playing on, he suggested trying out the Rath trombones at Packers of Taunton. We popped in on the way to Bristol and Steve Herbert, the brass specialist, helpfully guided us through the process of comparing the various bells, slides, tuning slides, valves and lead pipes. As Robb was in more urgent need of a replacement instrument I left him to fiddle with his bits (are you sure that is OK Ed.?) and went to peruse the rest of the shiny and enticing trombone stock. Steve made a note of our preferences for future use and off we went to work.
A few months passed and the memory of the Raths diminished slightly as I regularly surfed “The Bay”, as I understand it to be known by the internet intelligentsia, for interesting bits of old brass. Robb was still keen to get a new hooter though and contacted Chris Beaumont at Raths who brought a car full of trombone goodies for us to try at The Lighthouse in Poole, our regular venue. We tried out all possible combinations of material, leadpipe and configuration, one playing while the others listened. I advised Robb on the quality of sound of each variation and he advised me to stop splitting notes to at least give him a chance of making a judgement! After a few hours Robb had decided on his ideal setup and I was hungry and confused. A toasted sandwich made all the difference and I not only found a set up I liked but also decided to have a go on the alto that Chris temptingly removed from the case and tantalisingly assembled in front of me. Is “La Senza” a Rossini overture? I tend to find that altos are more variable beasts than tenors and have played on a B and S, Miraphon, Conn, Latszch, Yamaha and a cheap Chinese copy. The Rath is lighter in sound than a Conn and the other Germanic type designs but has the intonation of the top end Yamaha models. I played as many excerpts as I could remember, a few tunes and really enjoyed myself. Robb kept hold of his chosen selection of pipes, bells and whistles and we bade Chris farewell.
Robb spent a few weeks trying out the Rath R4F with the BSO, comparing two lead pipe variations in that time, and took the plunge and bought it. From a section perspective I have to say that he sounds great on the instrument. So good in fact that it convinced me to try one in the orchestra and Chris sent down the configuration that I had preferred on his visit. After a week or so of trying that setup and also swapping sections with Robb I decided to change the slide and drove to Packers where Steve again was a great help – letting me have one of the slides from his stock and organising both the return of my original to Raths and restocking the shop so he could maintain a full selection.
I am now very happy with my R4, the craftsmanship, build quality and finish is superb and easily compares with any other manufacturer. Even other brass players have commented on the quality of production (Michael Rath’s, not mine!) Praise indeed. But trying to explain the difference between it and my traditional 8H and 88H is not easy. I had used a late Elkhart 8H for many years, tactically avoiding having to learn to use a plug. Even my spare was a 1970s 8H. About ten years ago I decided I needed to start using an F attachment and Packers let me trial three 88Hs, all of which were good but inevitably very different to my Elkhart straight and I ended up playing the chosen 88H all the time, once I had got used to the extra resistance of the valve. However, more recently I began to suffer from tennis elbow caused by overdoing the home DIY (do you get DIY elbow from playing tennis?) I began using the 8H again which solved the problem and so my R4 is a straight tenor to replace that. The 8H feels like it has a huge dynamic range and a wide variety of colours whereas the 88H feels tighter and and more focussed. The R4 is more like the 88H in that it has a beautifully focussed sound and feels pure, clean and velvety at quieter dynamic levels – the production is very responsive. The difference between the R4 and 8H at higher dynamic levels is marked – the 8H feels like it has a “slot” for the fortissimo range whereas the R4 moves more gradually through the dynamics. Although the 8H feels like it is projecting it is losing some of the energy in the feedback it is providing the player whereas the R4 appears to project more of that energy. Of course these observations are possibly unique to me and may well change over time (stories of “blowing an instrument in” suggest, at least, that it takes some time to become accustomed to one.) Even quality instruments such as these have different strengths and weaknesses – as do most of us that play them – and it is the balancing of these that is the real challenge in finding an instrument. It is clear that I will need to play a straight to minimise injury and the R4 is a great successor to my well worn 8H. I will be adding an R4 valve section to my shopping list for the odd occasion when it is absolutely necessary and so I can keep that side of my technique going.
I have really enjoyed this adventure in trombone experimentation and must thank Donal for unwittingly setting me on the journey, Robb for egging me on and the rest of the section, Kev Smith and Andy Cresci, for suffering the consequences without complaint. I can’t wait to tell them the Rath alto is arriving this month…………….