My favourite thing about the Schagerl Kissbone is the flexibility of sound. It can adapt to such a great variety of style and expression; high or low, loud or soft, mellow or edgy, sparky or noble. The sound is dark and with brilliance at the same time.
I work with symphonic, jazz, pop and experimental contemporary music, and wanted to see if I could find a trombone flexible and versatile enough to do it all. For me, the Kissbone is it! I no longer feel the need to switch equiment for different styles or settings.
I hesitate to call it an “all-round” trombone though, because this might implicate that compromises have been made, sacrificing some special qualities here and there to make it work well enough all over. The fact is that the Kissbone acts as a specialised instrument in such a wide scope of sound colours, styles and settings.
The Kissbone has a great range, and responds really well all over. It has a rich, full bodied bass-register as well as a juicy and brilliant high register when needed. It can play super loud without sounding forced, and super soft with great comfort.
The Schagerl F-valve is the best I have tried, with its consise action and almost equal resistance to the open-horn. This makes legato and intervals between registers very smooth, and maintaining the same sound quality is easier.
The craftmanship of Schagerl is really impressive. The first moment I tried a Schagerl trombone I noticed the special quality; hand-crafted and with great care for every detail. It is a pleasure and an inspiration to work with such an instrument.
Ole Jørgen Melhus – trombone player Nordic Brass Ensemble und Trondheim Symfonieorchestra
