Bach Mercedes Mt. Vernon NY Tenor Trombone Used

Item Details

This is a Bach Mercedes model tenor trombone made in Mt. Vernon, New York by the Vincent Bach Corporation circa 1958.  This model was developed as a lower cost version of the Bach Stradivarius model 12, which was developed in the late 1930's.  The Mercedes name was used for several models over the years, mostly sold as intermediate instruments. 

This Mercedes looks to be a clone of a Bach Stradivarius model 12, except the Mercedes is built of all brass with no nickel trim.  The bell is one-piece 7.5" like a Strad.  Maybe it doesn't have the same annealing treatment as the Strad bell?  Sometimes you're going for a price point.  Sometimes you're training new factory people.  In either case it's nice to have a lower priced offering to work with.  The Mercedes is one way to do that.  The hand slide looks the same as a 12 slide, but with no nickel.

This is from the collection of Los Angeles trombonist George Thatcher, who also played a Bach 12.  It's been sitting in the case for a long time.  Photos were taken upon arrival here, and since then it's gotten an ultrasonic cleaning and hand slide tune-up by Brass Mavens in Whittier, CA.  It'll be a bit shiner and fresher and mechanically perfect when you next see it.

Condition:  slide action is good, chrome plating is 100%, no dents or damage, lacquer is very worn, with lots of tarnish and blemishes.

This is a nice player, from an era when all the Bach instruments were something to behold.  It plays pretty much like a Bach 12.  You can definitely take it to a gig.

Includes original hard case which has been cleaned and de-stinked, and Giardinelli 3D mouthpiece.  There's even a little cloth bag of herbs in there to keep the case interior fresh.  Not weed, just regular herbs from the kitchen.  Proprietary from Brass Mavens.

.500" brass hand slide, 7.5" one-piece brass bell

Biography of George Thatcher

George Thatcher, 1953-2024, trombonist, performed as a Hollywood freelance recording and symphonic musician, whose career has transverses a wide variety of styles as well as a number of continents. Since returning to Los Angeles in 1988, Thatcher has recorded for such motion picture luminaries as John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Randy Newman, Thomas Newman and Danny Elfman, on such film as Jurassic Park, Anastasia, Men in Black and the Shawshank Redemption. He records for television, advertising and records, having performed with such artist as Barbara Streisand, Natalie Cole, Neil Diamond, and Frank Sinatra. Thatcher's orchestral associations include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Long Beach Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, the Pacific Symphony, and @the American Ballet Theater, San Francisco and Kirov ballet companies. His work abroad includes positions of principal bass trombone with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, principal bass trombone with the National Symphony Orchestra of the S.A.B.C., and principal bass trombone with the Orchestra Sinfonica Municipal de Caracas. Thatcher records for Raptoria Caam Records as a solo artist and as principal bass trombone of the Viklarbo Chamber Symphony. An active symphonic soloist, Thatcher recently performed Maria Newman's Concerto for Bass trombone and Orchestra (Peccavi) with both the Viklarbo Chamber Symphony and the Occidental-Caltech Orchestra in Los Angeles. He also appeared as soloist with the Eastern Sierra Symphony Orchestra, the Palisades Symphony and the Chamber George Thatcher Orchestra at St. Matthew's, and has been featured at many well known music festivals nationwide. On the jazz scene, Thatcher has toured extensively with famed trumpeters Harry James and Al Hirt. While residing in Johannesburg, South Africa he recorded two original solo albums for the S.A.B.C. Thatcher's later compact discs include "Even Call Girls Get the Blues" and "Terrorist".

-Rene Laanen