I am a professional euphonium performer playing in a brass ensemble and found I couldn't blend with the French Horn when I played the Euph. I resisted trombone for 40+ years so never learned slide technique. The TR395 has been a perfect horn for me since it allows me to play classical music in my brass quintet, to double jazz charts in the New England Wind Symphony, and also to play in the pit band for my school musicals. The horn plays well in tune, but is somewhat stuffy when played through the valve section. I am learning slide technique as I go, but can drop back to the valve section on technical passages. The bore is small, but the bell is very large allowing good projection if you are careful. I find that I can get a nice smooth tone (Dorsey style) but also can play with an edge when needed. For a Euphonium player, it is a revelation, however, that you really have to blow this horn with a strong center to get a decent sound, since underblowing causes a muddy, out of tune sound. For the player who has not learned slide technique, I cannot think of a better instrument.

This looks like and proves to be an awesome instrument. It is a great combination of the valve trombone and the slide trombone. As a player of the baritone, marching valve trombone, and slide trombone, this instrument would be the perfect instrument for me to use and i wouldn't have to keep switching instruments. I give this instrument 5 stars and I highly recommend it as an instrument that a beginner, entry level, or professional trombonist should have.

I love this model!

This is a very good instrument especially for those learning to play trombone because it allows you to play a note on the valves so you can hear it then match the sound with the slide. I also play french horn and it is great transition for keeping my left hand in condition for playing horn. Also I play mellophone for marching and because you can use either hand on the valves it allows me to switch among the instruments with ease. The slide is also very light and very responsive as well as the valves.

I play both valve & slide trombone professionally & tried this horn out in a local shop. I prefer a smaller horn for jazz playing which is what I do the most, both lead & solo/improv. I found the horn to be fairly heavy, but weight-balanced so it's not too much of a problem, but it was still a heavy horn. It played well and has a darker, richer tone than I would prefer as well, as it has a sizable bell and larger bore, so it takes some air to push through it. Also, if you plan to use both valves & slide simultaneously, you'll have to become fairly ambidextrous & learn to play the valves using your left hand - you can't flip the bell, it's designed for right handed slide playing only. That alone seemed more time & effort than I was willing to invest for the thrill and novelty of playing it. I think they should come out with a lighter horn and make the valves such that you could play either left or right-handed. Other than that it's a well-constructed nice sounded horn.