I've been giving these two a go, really struggling to come to conclusions on which is best for me. I can get them for similar prices (around 7 aussie grand), XO might be slightly more. Was initially looking second hand but the used market here is deserted and I can overspend slightly rn. I've been able to take the XO home so I can keep trying it, can't borrow the Shires but I can probably buy and return if it isn't working for me.

Context

I'm a jazz bass trombone player in Melbourne, Australia. However, I do want some versatility because I do arrangements of stuff other than jazz. Note however, since I'm only playing jazz live and recording everything else, I do have the ability to mix the sound however I want.

I'm not a "professional" and I'm not actually studying music performance at university. This is just like a huge hobby of mine that I persisted beyond high school, I guess. It does occasionally tie in to my actual focus as a game developer, but not predominantly. It's another one of my skills I wish to nurture.

I've been playing Bach bass bones for the past 5 years. Don't remember the one I had for the first 2 years, it was a double trigger that belonged to my high school (it's in this old arrangement). More orchestral, it sounded great but had to push it. The triggers kept falling off. I found an old single-trigger Bach, been using it for the past 3 years. Was in rough shape, had to be serviced. It's sounded fine, but one trigger isn't really cutting it. Before I was on Bach, I think it was an old Conn for 2 years, which was when I started.

Right now I'm looking to find a forever-bone that will last me as long as possible.

My thoughts

I was initially leaning toward the XO, then started leaning toward the Shires, and now I'm just really not sure. I found the XO sounded a bit prettier (mostly above the stave), and needed a bit more air. Shires felt easier to get a sound with more "kick", more jazz-ready. It felt like it had more nasal and lows frequency presence that the XO didn't have, the XO has a "rounder" sound I think. I could go either way, honestly, but I haven't been able to test it in the context of a band.

When I'm trying to get the heavy pedals out of the XO I think it can sound as nice as it does on the Shire, it just takes more support. But the Shire wasn't too far of from the prettiness of the XO, it just feels like it probably needs more work to get there. Then again, I could be completely speaking out of my ass.

I've never found any double-trigger bass trombones particularly comfortable, neither of them feel like they'll cause issues after I get used to them.

Guys at Ozwinds said there were a couple questionable decisions they found in the XO's design (I hear they're not very common around here) but overall it's probably gonna be fine.

There's endless online praise for the Q series bass bones, but it's hard to find much of anything on the XO. I've found these reviews from Schmitt Music Trombone Shop on the Shires and XO, this guy clearly knows far better than I do, but these feel like he's evaluating them relative to their price at their particular shop, which I can't know. He seems pretty whelmed by the XO, whereas the Shires has much more enthusiasm 😅. Same story in the comments.

The question

Do you guys know much about these two bones? Any concerns/anecdotes from you or people you know? What should I be looking out for here in particular? What prices would be good for these? Sorry for all that text, cheers for your time.