They both sounded wonderful but I personally thought the M&W sounded the best! It seemed to have a clearer and fuller sound but you played the other one awesome as well!
2:03 M&W 210-2R .508" (7.75" red brass bell) 4:47 Lawler .500-.508" (7.5" Z-5 bronze bell) 5:54 Lawler (8" Y-2 yellow brass bell) 7:06 Commentary/Impressions Thanks for posting this review - nice playing! These horns are both on my radar for the future. Is that a Lawler model 1 or model 2? Also, which leadpipe is in your M&W and what mouthpiece model did you use for this comparison? FWIW, about the slide noise: I have a few M&W large tenor and bass trombones with brass outer slide tubes. In my experience (including a Bach LT12), those lightweight nickel-silver slide tubes just tend to be noisier than brass. Maybe the yellow crook on the Lawler dampens the sound or Roy uses a different preparation/buffing/cleaning process in the outer tubes. Even with outstanding alignment, my M&W slides needed to "break-in" for a month or two before reaching their current smooth, quiet state. My Bach LT12 slide was always a bit noisier than other horns, even after years of use and cleaning. You could have someone "tickle" your outer slide tubes again, polishing them further inside. Honestly, the sound is probably largely made by the tiny bit of buffing residue left behind (even after cleaning) from the initial polishing of your outer slide tubes, since it's a new horn. That's typical & will be gradually removed gradually with frequent cleaning using a clean cheese-cloth rod. M&W recommends using a small touch of trombotine, then using Yamaha slide lubricant over that until you clean it. Trombotine might make it a bit smoother/quieter for longer. However, I still just use the Yamaha stuff, since I like to wipe the inners off and re-apply fresh lube before playing and after every ~2-3 hours of playing. What method have you found works best?
Appreciate your comment. To answer your earlier questions, the Lawler Model I'm playing is the Lawler Model 2. Also, quick update since this video was made, I've actually returned the dual bore slide for a straight .508 (he calls it twin bore) slide. Still nickel outers & yellow end crook but definitely happy I went back to what I was comfortable with in the .508 size and even gave me a threaded lead pipe whereas my dual bore was not. As far as the M&W lead pipe I'm not sure what was in it as it was unmarked and was fixed so not removeable. Would have to ask Matthew Walker what he puts in his .508 M&W slides for lead pipes. :) The believe the mouthpiece I used for this video was my AR Resonance 25.40 with an S back bore. As far as slide lubrication, I agree with you that I prefer the Yamaha slide lubrication (purple label) for everything now. Just works!
Just so you know, when you play Sentimental, you are playing a wrong note. After the high C#, the next note is B, not C natural. I really like the sound of the M&W. Nice horn! I also know Matt Walker. Nice guy and a very fine orchestral trombonist in his own right.
Thanks man! I actually never purchased the M&W. The one in the video was a rough draft horn Matt Walker sent me to try before buying and I ended up going with the Lawler Model 2R which I still have to date and love! TBH the M&W was great but had an unfair advantage at the time as I tend to favor the .508 slides and the Lawler in this video was a dual bore slide (.500/.508) which I later swapped out to a straight .508 and now the Lawler is perfect horn for me! Wanted to buy a medium bore M&W from Matt but he ghosted me after I didn’t buy the small bore in this video. :( As far as the mouthpiece I use, for lead playing, I typically will play on my Griego Oft Small Bore/Alto trombone mouthpiece I tried at MidWest and loved it but it’s a bit on the small side. Also have a Pickett small bore 6 Rim & 6 Cup mouthpiece I use on my medium Stephens Brass trombone but thinking I want to make a trip to Greg Black’s shop in NC and pick one out. Tried a 5G Greg Black at Dillon music in NJ a few weeks ago and loved it! Now I want to truly get fitted for one and see if I still end up in a 5G.
Sorry for the late reply. Don't check TH-cam as frequently as I should. I love the AR mouthpiece because it has a unique clarity to it that no other mouthpiece I've played has. It's not bright/dark or anything just cleans up the fuzz I have in my sound and attack is way more present than on a traditional mouthpiece. Definitely something you'd need to hear in person to understand. :)
The mouthpiece I used was an AR Resonance 25.40 with a S back bore. From what I've heard from other M&W players & Matthew Walker himself the slide noise is only temporary and after a break in period of a month or so it probably sounds as quiet as the Lawler. I just like that the Lawler had no break in period. Ready to go out of the box. :)
You sound great Lance!
They both sounded wonderful but I personally thought the M&W sounded the best! It seemed to have a clearer and fuller sound but you played the other one awesome as well!
2:03 M&W 210-2R .508" (7.75" red brass bell)
4:47 Lawler .500-.508" (7.5" Z-5 bronze bell)
5:54 Lawler (8" Y-2 yellow brass bell)
7:06 Commentary/Impressions
Thanks for posting this review - nice playing! These horns are both on my radar for the future.
Is that a Lawler model 1 or model 2? Also, which leadpipe is in your M&W and what mouthpiece model did you use for this comparison?
FWIW, about the slide noise:
I have a few M&W large tenor and bass trombones with brass outer slide tubes. In my experience (including a Bach LT12), those lightweight nickel-silver slide tubes just tend to be noisier than brass. Maybe the yellow crook on the Lawler dampens the sound or Roy uses a different preparation/buffing/cleaning process in the outer tubes.
Even with outstanding alignment, my M&W slides needed to "break-in" for a month or two before reaching their current smooth, quiet state. My Bach LT12 slide was always a bit noisier than other horns, even after years of use and cleaning.
You could have someone "tickle" your outer slide tubes again, polishing them further inside. Honestly, the sound is probably largely made by the tiny bit of buffing residue left behind (even after cleaning) from the initial polishing of your outer slide tubes, since it's a new horn. That's typical & will be gradually removed gradually with frequent cleaning using a clean cheese-cloth rod.
M&W recommends using a small touch of trombotine, then using Yamaha slide lubricant over that until you clean it. Trombotine might make it a bit smoother/quieter for longer. However, I still just use the Yamaha stuff, since I like to wipe the inners off and re-apply fresh lube before playing and after every ~2-3 hours of playing. What method have you found works best?
Appreciate your comment.
To answer your earlier questions, the Lawler Model I'm playing is the Lawler Model 2.
Also, quick update since this video was made, I've actually returned the dual bore slide for a straight .508 (he calls it twin bore) slide. Still nickel outers & yellow end crook but definitely happy I went back to what I was comfortable with in the .508 size and even gave me a threaded lead pipe whereas my dual bore was not.
As far as the M&W lead pipe I'm not sure what was in it as it was unmarked and was fixed so not removeable. Would have to ask Matthew Walker what he puts in his .508 M&W slides for lead pipes. :)
The believe the mouthpiece I used for this video was my AR Resonance 25.40 with an S back bore.
As far as slide lubrication, I agree with you that I prefer the Yamaha slide lubrication (purple label) for everything now. Just works!
Nice job Lance!
Can’t wait to see more videos!
Just so you know, when you play Sentimental, you are playing a wrong note. After the high C#, the next note is B, not C natural.
I really like the sound of the M&W. Nice horn! I also know Matt Walker. Nice guy and a very fine orchestral trombonist in his own right.
Great sound, lance. Are you still using the M&W? What mouthpiece do you use?
Thanks man!
I actually never purchased the M&W. The one in the video was a rough draft horn Matt Walker sent me to try before buying and I ended up going with the Lawler Model 2R which I still have to date and love!
TBH the M&W was great but had an unfair advantage at the time as I tend to favor the .508 slides and the Lawler in this video was a dual bore slide (.500/.508) which I later swapped out to a straight .508 and now the Lawler is perfect horn for me!
Wanted to buy a medium bore M&W from Matt but he ghosted me after I didn’t buy the small bore in this video. :(
As far as the mouthpiece I use, for lead playing, I typically will play on my Griego Oft Small Bore/Alto trombone mouthpiece I tried at MidWest and loved it but it’s a bit on the small side. Also have a Pickett small bore 6 Rim & 6 Cup mouthpiece I use on my medium Stephens Brass trombone but thinking I want to make a trip to Greg Black’s shop in NC and pick one out. Tried a 5G Greg Black at Dillon music in NJ a few weeks ago and loved it! Now I want to truly get fitted for one and see if I still end up in a 5G.
I’m using a Bach 6.5 AL on a Bach 36 Tenor but I’m looking for different mouthpiece, what do you like about the AR Resonance mouthpiece?
Sorry for the late reply. Don't check TH-cam as frequently as I should. I love the AR mouthpiece because it has a unique clarity to it that no other mouthpiece I've played has. It's not bright/dark or anything just cleans up the fuzz I have in my sound and attack is way more present than on a traditional mouthpiece. Definitely something you'd need to hear in person to understand. :)
Nice, Lance.
What mouthpiece are you using?
I'd also be concerned about the M&W's slide noise.
The mouthpiece I used was an AR Resonance 25.40 with a S back bore. From what I've heard from other M&W players & Matthew Walker himself the slide noise is only temporary and after a break in period of a month or so it probably sounds as quiet as the Lawler. I just like that the Lawler had no break in period. Ready to go out of the box. :)