Top trombonists converged on the Holme Valley at the weekend to celebrate 20 years of trading by one of the world’s leading manufacturers of the instrument.
Mick Rath, of Rath Trombones, numbers musicians from around the globe as friends and customers. His customised trombones are highly prized by professional and amateur musicians – and he regularly hosts international players at the firm’s Honley factory.
In the last year alone he has supplied trombones to the Jools Holland Band, David Whitehouse, of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Corpus Quartet and the Count Basie Orchestra – customers embracing all musical genres.
For the 20th anniversary event, Mick and his family were entertained by Soul Tubes – a trombone quintet which includes leading female player Carol Jarvis – and the Dennis Rollins Velocity Trio, lead by Doncaster-born Dennis Rollins.
Mick has come a long ay since launching a trombone repair business 20 years ago.
“I was working for a French horn manufacturer and thought that I could make really good quality trombones better than anyone else,” he said. “I am a real stickler for perfection and always say that my name is my word because of the care we put into each and every trombone that leaves our Yorkshire factory
Mick started repairing trombones for other people from a small factory in Bradford – in the heart of brass band country – where he moved after meeting his wife, Nicola. Later, he set about designing his own trombone, refining it constantly until he was happy enough to put his name to it.
Going into manufacturing was a tough call given the small UK market and lack of machinery to create trombones.
“I had to make some of the tooling myself and even though we are now a larger operation we still use it and train our own team of engineers,” he said.
To widen his market, Mick took the brand abroad to international music exhibitions where he quickly established a reputation for manufacturing world class instruments. The firm now exports to customers in markets including the USA, the Far East and Europe via a network of international distributors, many of whom also helped him celebrate the anniversary.
As well as professional players, amateur musicians have aspired to owning a Rath trombone.
Said Mick: “People have often been bought Rath Trombones as leaving presents by grateful colleagues or family or cashed in a savings plan to treat themselves as they slow down their careers.”
Selling trombones to music teachers and educators at music colleges and universities also prompted the firm to begin making an entry level instrument for students.
“There was an obvious gap in the market between trombones for professional musicians and aspirational players, so we developed the OO range,” said Mick. “Launched onto the world market three years ago it has dramatically increased our turnover and now accounts for about half the number of trombones that we make and export.”
To mark the firm’s 20th anniversary, Mick is working on the Pro Range Anniversary Model which will combine the sound beloved of musicians and fans and include design detail reflective of 21st century trombonists.
“We export about 75% of all instruments that we make here in Huddersfield,” he said. “To remain at the top of the tree and attract new customers we have to evolve the brand. Hopefully, this new trombone will be a fitting reflection of our 20th anniversary.”
