This is a phenomenal trombone. It is made by Conn, who are a great trombone manufacturer. They've been making quality trombones for intermediate to professional players for a long time and have a great reputation. This is a tenor trombone that has a great sound. One of my favorite features of this trombone is that it isn't too heavy on the low end. Thus, you tend to not get the extremely brassy, low end sound that is the common idea of a trombone. This instrument is great for players with a lot of technique and range. It sounds great for long legato passages, has a very smooth glissando, and the slide operates like a dream, assuming you keep it in shape. Tone wise It actually tends to stray away from the abrasive, unless you deliberately are trying to accentuate that aspect of the instrument. For the most part, assuming the player knows what they are doing, the horn is smooth and rich, sounding pleasant and melodic without getting too much noise. I found that playing parts for concert band and a jazz big band on this trombone were equally impressive. This demonstrates the enormous range of the instrument. I didn't want to put this down the first time I started playing it, mainly because it was so superior to my original trombone. The only issue I found with this trombone was the price, even though I saw it on sale, it was over two thousand dollars. I would almost always opt for buying it used if possible, it'll still be really expensive but I think that the quality will still be the same and it's the best way to afford this instrument. I don't know who is buying new trombones these days (except for maybe schools and institutions of that nature) but I certainly can't. If you can realistically afford this, definitely look into it, it's a high quality instrument.