Michael Rath R10 - Brass Bell

Prior to returning the instrument to Rayburn Music, I was able to confirm most of my early impressions of this instrument as an extremely versatile and lyrical horn suitable for virtually any commercial application.  The horn was especially well-suited for the Dorsey-style playing of our miller show, with a gorgeous, velvety dark tone and very pronounced and even slots up to high F.  

While the blow was fairly compact, I would not necessarily characterize it as a pure projection or directional horn.  It can certainly, under the right prodding, be convinced to get a lead sound (depending on one's taste's), however, for one (like me) who is required to play just as much Buddy Rich-style lead as Dorsey-style playing, the overall horn is possibly not the best solution.  But for all-around commercial playing, one should, based on the unique and gorgeous sound alone, pass on an opportunity to try the rose-brass Rath medium bores  at your earliest opportunity.

Given the quality of the rose-bell R10, I was anxious to try the yellow brass version of the same horn.  With the graces of Rath Trombones, my friend Jose Vidal at Dillon Music in New Jersey shipped me a sparkling new yellow brass R10.  I had the chance to play this horn full-time in several different scenarios for a couple of weeks, and I would like to post my notes from my trials with it.

Straight out of the box, this horn again has the same dark, extremely smooth medium/compact body sound.  The partials slot on this horn a bit firmer than average, resulting in a horn that articulates beautifully in the legato style; in fact, as with the rose brass horn, elegant and flowing legato playability is in my opinion where this horn truly shines, and is indicative of what I am beginning to recognize as a consistent characteristic of Rath trombones.

It has indeed a more compact blow (especially above second-ledger-line "F"); in fact I told Chris Beaumont it was initially as if I was blowing into resistance up high.  I later disassembled what exactly was occurring later, which was that the sound of the horn was not what I was accustomed to experiencing with a more directional horn, and I was blowing it like it was a medium-bore Bach.  

Uh-uh, can't do that.  After a week or so of full-time playing, I learned that you blow the Rath R10 brass like it's a thoroughbred King 2B, and what you get out of it is a decidedly non-King fairly broad, dark, Earl-Williams-6-ish sound with solid overtones, but a compact enough body that can, with proper pointing of the airstream, be easily projected in big band lead situations.

As with the rose R10, this horn is built for the rigors of the full-time professional player.  All of the bracing is heavy duty but not heavy.  Appears to me as if some computer modeling was used to determine the stress points in the bracing, and to add integrity only when it had the maximum bracing and stiffness benefit, and then not an ounce more.  The finish is exquisite, all of the solders were clean, consistent and complete.

The slide, as with the rose horn, is just as advertised, "arguably the fastest slide available in the current market".  I judge slides for two factors: speed and smoothness, and I give both of the Rath slides I tried a 9.5 for smooth and a 9.5 for speed, which is as good or better than any slide I have tried (I've never given "10's" as I am waiting for someone to develop a frictionless electromagnetic slide, and giving a "10" might delay the development...).  I found that a light superslick/formula 3 treatment worked best with these slides; they were just about as good dry as they were treated.

All in all, this is an instrument that resembles most closely a vintage Earl Williams model 6, with the exception of the Rath having a more focused blow on top and a bit less variety in tonal palette (in that it is somewhat difficult to make the Rath sound "nasty" - which may well be a *good* thing for most players!).  

It is a thoroughbred jazz horn that does exceptionally well in the complete spectrum of settings any modern commercial player is likely to encounter, and really shines in jazz solo work, small jazz group situations, chamber music settings & commercial studio work.  It is one of the best horns out there on the market, and could possibly be the best overall answer for versatile players who perform in a variety of situations.

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I would like to thank Jose Vidal, Dillon Music and Michael Rath Trombones for the opportunity of playing their fabulous instruments. I have received no compensation in exchange for this article, and the opinions expressed are my own; I encourage the reader to try the instruments described themselves by contacting a dealer or visiting the manufacturer's booth at a trade show.

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