Bach Stradivarius 42BOS Tenor Trombone, Silver Plate, B-Stock

Item Details

The Bach Stradivarius 42B is a large bore symphonic tenor trombone made by Vincent Bach Corp., located in Elkhart, Indiana, USA.  They are part of Conn-Selmer, Inc., makers of Conn and King trombones.  The Stradivarius is Bach's professional line, and the 42B has been the standard trombone for symphonies and bands since 1952.  The Bach one-piece bell with its hand hammered construction and proprietary annealing process is the envy of other makers.  This is the standard for a fine trombone bell.  The hand slide is hand fitted and ready for smooth action.

A silver plated trombone is really rare.  You see silver trumpets, but not many trombones like this.  And I rarely ordered them, but whenever we did get a silver trombone, it was always fantastic.  Including this Bach 42BOS.  The response is amazing.  It's lightning fast, has a clear center, flares easily and gets that edge you need when trombones must sound loud.  A player with a light touch could be more easily heard.  A strong player, like second line guys, would simply slay. Might have to call a burn unit.  If you remember the classic crisp tone and barkability of of an old Conn 88H, this is like that.  I think it's simply the fact that there is no coat of clear paint on a silver trombone.  It's all metal, and it all vibrates. 

Specs

• .547" wide brass slide with nickel trim, hand fitted
  
• open wrap F-attachment, minibal linkage
• 1-piece hand hammered brass bell, 8.5"
• silver plate finish
• Bach 6-1/2A large shank mouthpiece
• cleaning rod
• new style Bach hard case
• Horn Guys 1-year warranty, excluding finish

This One

• purchased from the Bach factory
• B-stock: blemish in the silver plate finish at joint between tuning slide and neckpipe, minor marks at bell flare, photos 6 and 7.  I polished them a bit but they are still visible
  
• slide is good
• no dents, no scratches
• no solder overage
• overall alignment is good
• barkability +2

Related Things...

Polishing Tips for Silver Instruments: 3 Levels

• distilled water and soft clean Superslick cloth
• Blitz Metal Cloth with anti-tarnish treatment
• Wright's Silver Polish or MusicNomad Silver Polish and a soft clean Superslick cloth

Recommended Lubricants for the Bach 42BOS Trombone

• Hand Slide

• Bach Slide Cream (included) or Trombotine
• Yamaha 1021P or Slide-O-Mix or Superslick Silicone, on top of the above cream
• Superslick spray bottle with distilled water

• Tuning Slides

• Bach 2942 Slide Grease or La Tromba Slide Grease

• Linkages & Rotor Bearings

• Hetman Bearing & Linkage or Superslick Key & Rotor Oil

• Inside the rotor - drip down the connector

• Hetman Rotor or Ultrapure or Al Cass

• Cleaning rod (included)
• Slide-O-Mix Cleaning Sheath: Large
• Superslick Spray Bottle
• Superslick Trombone Cleaning Snake
• Superslick Brass Mouthpiece Brush
• Horn Guys Pocket Screwdriver
• Superslick Silver Polishing Cloth
• 2mm hex wrench
• Protec L204 leather mouthpiece pouch

Recommended Care & Service for the Bach 42BOS Trombone

• Daily

• Rinse and wipe the mouthpiece clean
  
• Add fresh hand slide lubricant as necessary
• Spray distilled water on hand slide
• Wipe down instrument after handling

• Weekly

• Oil rotor & bearings & linkages
• Rinse hand slide in cool water, clean with snake and Slide-O-Mix system
• Add fresh hand slide lubricant
• Check tightness of waterkey, cork, linkages and rotor screws

• Before Vacation or Days Off

• Oil rotor & bearings & linkages
• Rinse and completely dry hand slide inside and out to prevent tarnishing from interior moisture.  Idle hand slides should be dry.

• Annually

• See your local technician for an alignment and dent check, and an ultrasonic or chemical cleaning

One Last Thing for Bb/F Trombones - Pass It On

While I think of it: It is not necessary to hold the trigger paddle down when pulling the tuning slides on a trombone.  More importantly, if you are pressing the trigger while your opposing force is pulling a tight tuning slide, your trombone might break.  The physical stress on that small solder joint between the trigger pivot bridge and the main bell brace can be too much over time.  That joint will break if over-stressed.  I have seen it happen too many times, and it makes a sad day.  A good trombonist habit for life is to remove  your thumb from the trigger paddle if you're pulling tuning slides.  Then the breakage will never happen.

Yes, our school band directors worried and warned us about pressure release inside the F-slide loop.  Nonsense.

Enjoy...

-SF