MK Ralph Sauer Trombone Slide Brace

Item Details

Trombonist Ralph Sauer and his section mates in the Los Angeles Philharmonic were fans of the vintage Conn trombones that featured a tuning mechanism in the hand slide.  Though the older Conn hand slides tended to be weighty, the projection and stability was captivating.  They wondered if the extra bracing on those hand slides was part of the magic of the older horns.  The trombone slide is one of the longest un-braced tubes of any brass instrument, and even trumpeters find that one or two braces on their own tuning slides can make a huge difference in the response of their instrument.

Ralph and Gary Greenhoe worked together to design this small brace to gently nestle in between the hand slide tubes near the end crook.  The weight is negligible, but the response is astounding.  Projection and stability are improved, helping you to create the classic orchestral wall-of-sound brass timbre.  For a time the LA Phil trombone section had matching "braced" slides.

Three sizes are available:

Narrow - for small bore trombones with narrow slides: King 2B, 3B, Bach 12, 16, etc.

Medium - for Conn 8H, 88H, 62HI, Getzen Bousfield, Shires T25, T47, Yamaha 882O

Wide - for Bach 42, 50, Conn 62HCL, Getzen 3047, 3062, Edwards, Shires TW47, B62, Yamaha 882OR