S.E. Shires Co.
Purchased and returned a Shires TBCH
Purchased a Shires TBCH in August 2025 through Music & Arts, shipped directly from the Shires factory. The instrument arrived safely, but the slide had a noticeable catch from the very first day. I played it for several weeks hoping it was just break‑in, but it never improved. After consulting several colleagues, I contacted Shires and drove the horn to their Massachusetts factory.
Shires told me they would have a replacement slide ready “in perfect condition” in case the original couldn’t be fixed. When I arrived, the replacement slide was actually in worse condition than the one I brought—something their own repair tech acknowledged. They worked on my original slide for a couple of hours, and while it felt slightly better, the issue returned within days.
Music & Arts then offered to send the trombone back to Shires for me. Unfortunately, they didn’t ship it for two weeks until I called to follow up. After that, another four weeks passed with no instrument returned and no resolution.
The one positive: Music & Arts ultimately offered me a full refund on a Custom Series instrument even though I was past the return window. I appreciate that.
Overall, this was a disappointing experience with Shires’ quality control and repair process. For a premium‑priced instrument, I expected far better.
