Instrument Sizes
Sackbuts come in several sizes. According to Michael Praetorius, these were:
| Voice | Praetorius' name | Praetorius' pitch | Modern pitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| alto | Alt oder Discant Posaun | D or E | E♭ |
| tenor | Gemeine recht Posaun | A | B♭ |
| bass | Quart-Posaun or Quint-Posaun | E and D | F(quart) and E♭ (quint) |
| double bass | Octav-Posaun | A (octave below tenor) | B♭ (octave below tenor) |
The pitch of the trombones has (notionally) moved up a semi-tone since the 17th century, and this is explained in the section on Pitch.
Because the tenor instrument is described as "Gemeine" (common or ordinary), this is probably the most widely used trombone.
The basses, due to their longer slides, have a hinged handle on the slide stay, which is used to reach the long positions.
The giant Octav-Posaun / double bass trombone / contra-bass trombone in the style of the those made in 16th/17th centuries is represented by only a few existing instruments. There is an original instrument made by Georg Nicolaus Oller built in Stockholm in 1639 and housed in the Musikmuseet. In addition, Ewald Meinl has made a modern copy of this instrument, and it is currently owned and played by Wim Becu.
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