Trombone Care Tips

Assembly

Assemble your instrument so that the bell section is over your left shoulder. The hand slide should be at a right angle to the bell stem for the average adult, young children should make sure that the hand slide is a comfortable distance from the bell brace for the left hand position. Make sure you tighten the bell to hand slide fastening nut until it is snug and secure; please do not over tighten.

Hand-slide oil vs. cream

Slide cream and water is recommended for mature players. A proper way to apply slide cream is to pull the inner hand slide almost all the way (but not actually all the way) out, only apply cream to the very bottom edge of the inner slide. Any cream applied above the stocking (the bottom of the slide that is a larger diameter) will not affect the hand-slide because it does not touch the outer slide. Once cream has been applied use a squirt bottle with water to help lubricate the slide until it needs to have the cream reapplied. Popular slide creams are Trombotine or Superslick.

Please do not use standard cold cream; this product often gums up the hand slide. Another product currently on the market is Slide-O-Mix; many trombonists prefer this to slide creams.

Tuning Slide Grease

1. Remove the slide and wipe off the old grease with one cloth.
2. Apply a bit of slide grease to one end of one slide tube.
3. Insert only this side, and twist the slide as it is pushed in. This will evenly distribute the grease to all parts of the slide.
4. Repeat with the other slide tube.
5. Once both slides are greased, insert the slide as normal and use the clean cloth to wipe excess grease away.

A slide grease that works well is Super Slick or Holton. Vaseline should not be used for slide grease; it is a corrosive to the brass. An indicator of Vaseline use is darkened or black inner slide tubes.

When storing an instrument for a long period of time clean the hand-slide and store it dry. Grease the tuning slide(s) well. When installing the slide(s) prior to storage do not push it/them all the way in. Leaving a small gap makes the slide easier to remove if they do stick.

Maintenance

Moving the tuning slide at least once a month will help prevent it from becoming stuck. Brass sticks when bare brass (no grease/oil) is in contact for extended periods of time. Also very dirty grease that is left sitting can also cause stuck slides. If a stuck slide is discovered have it repaired by a technician soon. Do not attempt to remove the slide.

We recommend that your instrument be taken to a professional repair technician at least once a year for general maintenance and cleaning. Doing so will prevent costly repairs that arise from lack of professional repair attention. A qualified technician can often discover a problem that you have learned how to overlook, play through or are not aware of. Regular maintenance and professional chemical cleaning will also help prevent and retard red-rot from eating through a brass instrument.

Please do not use lotion silver polishes on your instrument. The lotion can make a mess and harm your instrument. If you use a treated polishing cloth for any finish make sure it is for the proper finish. For example a raw brass cloth can scratch and harm the lacquer finish on your trombone. One of the best ways to keep your instrument finish looking nice is to wipe off your fingerprints after every use. A clean non-treated cotton cloth works well for this.

Case

Make sure the case is secure. Check all the hinges, latches, and handles to see if they are solidly fastened to the case and they close the case securely. Make sure that the instrument does not move around inside the case.

Please do not sit, rest feet on or otherwise apply pressure to the outside of an instrument case. This can damage your case so that it does not properly protect the instrument.

Carry the case so that if it does open accidentially, it will open toward your body, not the drop on the ground.

Emergencies

Also a word of caution, rubber bands can eat silver plate, so it is best to avoid any use of rubber bands on silver instruments.

Broken solder joints should not be ignored, have a qualified technician repair it properly as soon as possible.

Never use pliers or hammers on your instrument. Improper use of household tools is a common cause of unnecessary damage to an instrument.

The Final Word: