I’ve been playing Edwards tenor trombones exclusively since I bought my first one in 1994 while I was in school at the University of Northern Colorado. Their instruments have given me the consistency I require while allowing me to make custom adjustments to fine-tune my setup. When I recently switched to the Alessi Model T-396-A, I felt it brought my playing to a complete new level.
This trombone, while being a departure from the modular selection of Edwards equipment I’d been used to for years, is almost infinitely customizable with the combined use of the Harmonic Bridge and Harmonic Pillars. There is almost no end to the different sounds you can achieve with this instrument and you no longer need to exchange a lead pipe, bell, tuning slide, etc to get the desired result. This is the most efficient horn I’ve played and it makes my job of playing principal much easier. On top of this, it allows enough flexibility to be used as a soloing instrument. Playing a recital or soloing in front of an orchestra with this trombone has been fantastic.
[ilink url=”http://www.edwards-instruments.com/trombone/tenor/t396a.php”]For more information and to inquire about purchasing a T-396-A, please visit Edwards Instruments.[/ilink]
[quote style=”boxed” float=”right”]I hope to have some photographs of this remarkable instrument in the near future.[/quote] In 2009 I starting playing on a Kruspe from the turn of the 19th century. I acquired this amazing instrument after the passing of Milt Stevens. He bought it from Eugene Watts in the early 1980s, but never played it in the orchestra. He had been hoping to have it restored so that it could be his primary alto. When I started using this horn in the orchestra, I received several comments about great its sound was and have been using it ever since.