Sackbut used as a clash until the Renaissance, when it became consonant in compositions, which went hand-in-hand with the widespread use of meantone temperament. During the 17th century, Well temperament began to become more and more popular as the range of keys increased. Temperament affects the colour of a composition, and therefore modern performances, typically employing equal temperament, may not be true representations of the composers' intentions. These old tunings are the result of the natural harmonic series of a brass instrument such as the sackbut. As the bell is smaller than a modern trombone, the harmonic series is closer to
Sackbut the sources: it is either derived from the Middle French "sacquer" (to pull) and "bouter" (to push) or from the Spanish "sacar" (to draw or pull) and "bucha" (a tube or pipe). The term survives in numerous English spelling variations including sacbut, sackbutte, sagbut, shagbolt, sacabushe, shakbusse and shakbusshe. Closely related to "sackbut" was the name used in France: "sacqueboute" and in Spain, where it was "sacabuche". These terms were used in England and France until the 18th century. In Scotland in 1538 the slide instrument is referred to as "draucht trumpet" (drawn trumpet) as opposed to a "weir trumpet"