Yes, it's true, I am reviewing another musical instrument. I was given this trombone for Christmas and I am trying to master it.
So what is a trombone? There are several types of trombone but the one I have is the one that most people would recognise, a standard tenor instrument.
I have had other instruments by Stagg and have found them to be great value, well made and suitable for student to intermediate players.
If you were to assess my playing skills on a scale from 1-10 I suppose I would come in at about -3.
It's a tricky instrument, the theory, from my physics lessons thirty five years ago, is that the longer the column of air in a tube, the lower the note. As you will know the trombone has a slide that can be extended to lengthen the tube to create lower notes. Using the mouthpiece you pucker up into the brass player's embouchure and parp into the mouthpiece, as though you were trying to continually spit a hair off your lip. by adjusting your embouchure you can play a harmonic series, simply by tightening and relaxing the tension in your lips .
If we are being technical, and sometimes we are, the harmonic series is a set of notes played at intervals of fifths. Once this is mastered we can try to move the slide so that this set of notes can be played at different pitches, but the hard but is that, the longer the tube, the more air you need to blow to fill the column of air. This makes the trombone unsuitable for anyone with lung power problems, although it would be very good training for athletes who rely on their breathing.
So what is this instrument like?
It comes in a hard ABS plastic case and is stored in two pieces. when assembled it would be too long for a sensible sized case so there is a screw thread on the end of the slide section so that it can be separated. At the end of the slide is a rubber foot so that it can be rested on the floor and a water key, better known as a spit valve. the act of blowing damp breath into a cold metal tube causes moisture to condense and this can lead, after extended periods of playing, to a bubbling sound as the moisture collects at the bottom of the tube.
The other half of the trombone is a U shaped pipe with the bell at one end and the connector thread at the other. Both these sections slot into snug compartments in the case to protect them from damage.
Playability.
Well, it certainly exceeds my skill level. On a good day I can get a scale out of it before I go blue. On a bad day it sounds like my late father after a lunch of sprouts and baked beans washed down with Guinness.
I blame my hankering on a young man called Ian Hamilton, no not that one, a boy who went to the same school as me. We both wanted to play brass instruments, preferably the trombone but the school only had one. We drew straws, I lost and got the Euphonium, he got the trombone. That was in 1975 and I still haven't forgiven him. Bastard!
He turned out to be a pretty good player but heart was never in the B flat euphonium, my efforts resulted in me being forced to practice in the shed at the bottom of the garden. Now I wish I knew where he lives, I would go round there and play at him. hopefully it would make him feel guilty.
I enjoy trying out different instruments. The bagpipes were a great idea as my neighbours are for more accepting of any other instrument I try. The brass family is loud but not as loud as the pipes so they are greatly relieved when it is time to practice the 'bone, taking the view that it is far more easy to ignore that the pipes.
Summary
Stagg make a good basic instrument at an affordable price. A top flight trombone will carry four or five figure price tag. You can pick up the Florian Stagg trombone new for under £100, making it staggeringly god value for money. It is another example of an instrument that can be tried at a reasonable cost.
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
