Jurgen Voigt J-173 F Contrabass Trombone

Item Details

This beautiful instrument is a contrabass trombone by Jurgen Voigt (say "Your Gehn Foagt").  This trombone is pitched in low F, about 4 meters long.  Custom built by Jurgen & Kirsten Voigt & Co. in Marcheukirchen, Germany, this is a rare horn, and this model has seen some innovation since its introduction.  

A Tour

The hand slide is .570"/.610" (14.5/15.5mm) and is made of all nickel.  The mouthpipe is a press fit, and has an XL contrabass size recevier.  The water key is activated by a button on the slide hand brace.  The button connects to a wire inside a guide tube and that connects to the water key for quick remote control action.

The bell connector nut is shaped in an artful ergonomic way for a comfortable grip.  The slide hand brace is curved, and an auxiliary thumb rest is made from wood and steel.  The thumb trigger is also made of wood.  Both trigger paddles are adjustable.

The dual rotors are made in Switzerland by Reneg Hagman.  They are very light and move very quickly.  The Hagman design allows a very free blow through the rotors, almost straight through on the open side, and a gentle curve out the back and activated.  Lubrication is easy.  The cap is press fit, and any oil can be dumped inside as necessary.

The rotors are tuned to C/Db/A.  This may sound like nonsense to some, but the scale patterns on this trombone are the same as on most any modern bass trombone in Bb/F/Gb/D.  Even before you learn the note names, you can play scales on the Voigt with the same familiar patterns you use on your bass trombone.

The bell section, made of brass with nickel trim, has a reverse tuning slide and a large 11" (280mm) diameter yellow brass bell.  Other diameters or gold brass bells are available by special order.  This bell is fairly light, it's resonant, and in the traditional style the rim is folded back into a small bell kranz, called the "Selmer rim" by Voigt.  The tuning slide features a flat plate brace with the Voigt insignia.  All the tuning slides have nickel silver inside tubes as well, a nice touch.

A new transportable soft case is included as well as a Josef Klier contrabass trombone mouthpiece.

Approval

This is a great contrabass trombone - always one of my favorites.  The slide is light and fast, the rotor activation is effortless, the grip is nice, making the horn fairly comfortable to hold and swing around.  The response is fast, easy, and generally even all the way to the very low range.  The tone is really big but clear, projection is good.  The open C harmonic is big and open.

This Voigt was the basis of the design of the Kanstul contrabass trombone.  The Voigt is lighter with a clearer tone than the Kanstul, and some closer attention to detail.  It's worthy.  German craftsmanship: life is good.

We recommend a Horn Guys or WoodwindDesign stand for this instrument.