Breaking in a new slide

JLivi · by **JLivi** » 2019-04-30 12:00 a.m.

A student of mine purchased a brand new Conn 88HO over the weekend and he is worried about the scratchiness of the slide. I told him not to worry about it and that the slide needs to break in. It's also worth mentioning that before he left the shop they ultrasonically cleaned the horn for him just to get any residue out of the horn from the factory.

Here are a few notes I told him:

It takes 1-2 weeks to break a new slide in

You should be wiping it down with a cloth before and after you play the horn

A little slide oil (he's using ultra pure) goes a long way and you should always spray with water

For the time before, while it's breaking in, oil the slide every day. Once broken in 1-3x's/week is fine

Am I missing anything else. Do I have all of this right? The last new horn I bought was going into freshman year of high school almost 20 years ago. I was too young and dumb to know or remember anything :-)

Any other advice I can give this student? Thanks!

Burgerbob · by **Burgerbob** » 2019-04-30 12:03 a.m.

No water necessary if he's using the Ultra Pure right.

I would make sure to clean out the outer slide with a cleaning rod and cheesecloth as well, that's where a lot of the nasty will reside.

JLivi · by **JLivi** » 2019-04-30 12:31 a.m.

[quote="Burgerbob"]No water necessary if he's using the Ultra Pure right.

I would make sure to clean out the outer slide with a cleaning rod and cheesecloth as well, that's where a lot of the nasty will reside.[/quote]

I'm not too familiar with ultra pure. Interesting that you don't need water. I use yamaha on all of my horns.

I have to check out the horn and use my cleaning rod. I assumed the ultrasonic cleaning would do some good, but then again if I bought a new horn I wouldn't have that done. I would just clean on my own.

Burgerbob · by **Burgerbob** » 2019-04-30 2:13 a.m.

I use Yamaha too, and have never used water with it.

Ultrasonic is great, but it's always best to get in there with that physical method!

Inspector71 · by **Inspector71** » 2019-04-30 7:31 a.m.

I would recommend using Trombotine for the break-in period. The cream will act as a cleaning agent to collect the residue from the break-in. The residue is then easily swabbed out of the inner and wiped off of the outer. I would also recommend swabbing everything out and reapply every day after use. After the slide is broken-in, use any lube you wish.

$0.02

cigmar · by **cigmar** » 2019-04-30 8:06 a.m.

[quote="Inspector71"]I would recommend using Trombotine for the break-in period. The cream will act as a cleaning agent to collect the residue from the break-in. The residue is then easily swabbed out of the inner and wiped off of the outer. I would also recommend swabbing everything out and reapply every day after use. After the slide is broken-in, use any lube you wish.

$0.02[/quote]

+1

JLivi · by **JLivi** » 2019-04-30 8:37 a.m.

[quote="Inspector71"]I would recommend using Trombotine for the break-in period. The cream will act as a cleaning agent to collect the residue from the break-in. The residue is then easily swabbed out of the inner and wiped off of the outer. I would also recommend swabbing everything out and reapply every day after use. After the slide is broken-in, use any lube you wish.

$0.02[/quote]

I have used that in the past after a ultrasonic cleaning. Maybe I’ll give my trombotine to this student and let him give it a whirl. Thanks!

baileyman · by **baileyman** » 2019-04-30 8:40 a.m.

I find old Bach slides smooth out pretty well if I let them run dry a bit before clean and relube. But their chrome has a bulletproof reputation, so this may not work for Conn.

ddsbstrb · by **ddsbstrb** » 2019-04-30 9:17 a.m.

Interesting thread, btw! I just picked up my brand new Conn 88HTO last Friday. I think Mike has some great suggestions. Owning about 8 trombones, currently, it has been a long-time since I received a "new" trombone. Most of my "fleet" are those gently-used models, which were already broken-in by the prior owner/owners.

I have been using my cheese cloth and cleaning rod, on a daily basis. I use the Yamaha Slide Lube on all of my trombones. I do notice some green and a little black color to the cheese cloth. The slide has been just a slight bit, noisy. I think I still have a tube of Trombotine over in my studio.

I usually like to put the slides in a tub, with some Dial Dish Soap and lukewarm water, and scrub the outer slide with the snake brush. I plan on doing that, later today.

Thanks for all of your suggestions! :good:

Denny Seifried

JLivi · by **JLivi** » 2019-04-30 6:07 p.m.

Well, I found out what happened to this kid's slide. We go to the same repair tech, and it turns out that he did 2 things.

1) started by using rotor oil on his slide and when it wasn't working he then used ultra pure and that combination didn't quite work out for him :-)

2) he leaned on the horn and put his body weight on top of the slide, and bent one of the stockings.

SMH. Kids these days...am I right? Although I can't get mad, because I definitely did some dumb stuff like that when I was 13-14 years old. I even do dumb stuff now at 32!

Bach5G · by **Bach5G** » 2019-04-30 7:09 p.m.

At age 64, I had to write Yam to tell me how to lube my bass bone.

Doug_Elliott · by **Doug_Elliott** » 2019-04-30 7:45 p.m.

I don't believe that leaning on a horn would bend one of the stockings.

Bonephilly · by **Bonephilly** » 2019-04-30 7:50 p.m.

Return the trombone if you buy it new and the slide catches. I don’t believe in a break in period. A trumpet player would return his trumpet if the valve catches after oiling, so why can’t a trombone slide be a 10/10 out of the box? Come on trombone players! Stick up for yourself and hold manufacturers responsible. I bought a new Bach a couple years ago and returned it because the slide was scratchy. It came back much better.

norbie2018 · by **norbie2018** » 2019-04-30 7:56 p.m.

I recently bought an Edwards and the slide was perfect - no break in necessary.

JLivi · by **JLivi** » 2019-04-30 8:01 p.m.

[quote="Doug Elliott"]I don't believe that leaning on a horn would bend one of the stockings.[/quote]

It it wasn't a stocking and an outer section. I really don't know. I don't know why I said stocking :-)

brassmedic · by **brassmedic** » 2019-04-30 10:22 p.m.

[quote="Doug Elliott"]I don't believe that leaning on a horn would bend one of the stockings.[/quote]

This.

brassmedic · by **brassmedic** » 2019-04-30 10:27 p.m.

I almost never ultrasonically clean the outer slide. It etches the surface of the metal and makes the slide really scratchy. If I do have to ultrasonically clean an outer slide, I polish the inside after cleaning it. I would never just throw it in the tank and give it back to the customer like that. That could be part of your problem.

BGuttman · by **BGuttman** » 2019-04-30 10:37 p.m.

[quote="JLivi"]Well, I found out what happened to this kid's slide. We go to the same repair tech, and it turns out that he did 2 things.

1) started by using rotor oil on his slide and when it wasn't working he then used ultra pure and that combination didn't quite work out for him :-)

2) he leaned on the horn and put his body weight on top of the slide, and bent one of the stockings.

SMH. Kids these days...am I right? Although I can't get mad, because I definitely did some dumb stuff like that when I was 13-14 years old. I even do dumb stuff now at 32![/quote]

I guess this is really "breaking in a new slide"! :tongue:

ddsbstrb · by **ddsbstrb** » 2019-05-03 6:56 p.m.

I switched to Trombotine for the past several days, on the new 88HTO. I have been picking up some green/black on my cleaning rod of the outer slide and about the same color from the rag I use to wipe the inner slide. I cleaned the slide in Dawn dish soap a couple of days ago.

I still have a couple of bottles of Wright's Brass Polish. Would that be another option for the outer slide, after a little more playing time with Trombotine? I have used Wright's in the past about once a year on my commonly played trombones. Even though messy, it always seemed to the make slides very fast and smooth.

ZacharyThornton · by **ZacharyThornton** » 2019-05-03 7:55 p.m.

Break in periods aren’t a thing in modern horns from my understanding. Take it back to the dealer and make them get the slide up to snuff.

Tooloud · by **Tooloud** » 2019-06-13 12:12 p.m.

[quote="JLivi"]Well, I found out what happened to this kid's slide. We go to the same repair tech, and it turns out that he did 2 things.

1) started by using rotor oil on his slide and when it wasn't working he then used ultra pure and that combination didn't quite work out for him :-)

2) he leaned on the horn and put his body weight on top of the slide, and bent one of the stockings.

SMH. Kids these days...am I right? Although I can't get mad, because I definitely did some dumb stuff like that when I was 13-14 years old. I even do dumb stuff now at 32![/quote]
Put him on a recorder!!! Or he may become a percussionist.... :weep:

Sniffynose · by **Sniffynose** » 2024-02-12 11:26 p.m.

Just picked up a 1976 King 2B liberty and it’s practically new. Looks and feels like it was not played.

I feel like I am just ‘breaking in’ the slide for the first time!

Coffin case is immaculate also and doesn’t smell at all which is a huge bonus any very rare.

Let’s see if the slide changes in a few weeks

CharlieB · by **CharlieB** » 2024-02-13 6:33 p.m.

<I>SMH. Kids these days...am I right? [/i</I>]

Might not be the student's fault...........

I had a brand new Conn 6h with the same problem. Both stockings were not axial with the slide tubes.

Factory quality control oversight..

A good slide tech diagnosed and then "straightened out' the problem.

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Breaking in a new slide