New Rath R900 Slide is Awfully Tight

[StevenC]

My new Rath R900 has arrived. The slide seems awfully tight. It does not fall on its own, and it does not move easily. It occurs to me that I have never bought a new trombone before. Is there anything I need to do? Is there a break-in period? So far all I have done is wipe the slide clean, apply my usual tiny dab of cream, single drop of silicone, and spray with water.

[braymond21]

Take it to a tech. A lot can happen in shipping and it might just be a quick fix. Usually, I expect most instruments to not be ready to play out of the box, especially coming from the factory. I have to do some sort of work on 9/10 instruments that come through my shop before putting them up for sale. If it needs something major, you could contact the seller and work with them to get it fixed or replaced

[hyperbolica]

I've found that new instruments with slides or valves need to be cleaned and broken in. I'd clean the inside of the outer slide with a rod and cheese cloth and Dawn with warm water. You'll probably get some black sludge out for several passes. Be careful not to bang the rod on the inside of the crook, as you can cause damage. Maybe send a snake down to clean the crook. Maybe also use some isopropyl to dissolve stuff the soap doesn't get. This assumes the slide is straight to begin with.

Rotary valves can be trickier, depending on how tight they are.

Good luck with the new axe.

[GabrielRice]

A new slide should not behave that way. Don't do any more to it than you've already done, and contact the retailer you bought it from.

[Posaunus]

A new slide should not behave that way. Don't do any more to it than you've already done, and contact the retailer you bought it from.

[StevenC]

A new slide should not behave that way. Don't do any more to it than you've already done, and contact the retailer you bought it from.

Yeah, this sounds reasonable. I spoke with them in a web chat. Now I've sent them an email with pictures of the slide. There is nothing to show. I don't see any dents, but the lower tube moves with difficulty. I think I'll still shoot some water into the outer slide.

Ideally, I'd play test the specific trombone I buy, but that is not how the current bass trombone market is working.

[hornbuilder]

Sounds like a straightness issue. Do you have a trusted tech that could check it?

[StevenC]

To update you on the state of my Rath R900. The vendor asked me to bring the trombone to my local tech, which I had already done. The tech found the dent that I had missed. There was a little dent in the lower tube. They fixed the dent without charging me, so I did not have to get the estimate the vendor asked for.

The trombone and I are happy now. Oh I still need to get used to the second valve. Since the orchestra where I play needs me on bass more often than they need me on tenor, it was about time for me to get a second valve. My Holton TR183 has served well, but there are passages that are better with two valves.