Clean those inners

[CharlieB]

I had been playing the same (very good) trombone for eighteen years.
Then the intonation got quirky and the partials wouldn't stack.
No damage, no air leaks, and only this horn. ???????? Frustrating.
It was my fault.
I had been meticulous about cleaning the outer slide and crook, and the outside of the inners, but lately (dunno why) I had not cleaned the interiors of the inner slide tubes.
Sighting through them, they looked pretty good.......misleading.
After a good cleaning and polishing, the problems went away.
Amazing how much problem was caused by such a small amount of schmutz.

[Nolankberk]

I was having intonation issues until I cleaned mine out as well, it gets nasty in there

[tbonesullivan]

I run a Brass Saver brush through my inners at least once a week. "stuff" can build up very quickly.

[ssking2b]

I run a Brass Saver thru mine every day. I don't like any build up.

[ghmerrill]

Just look down those inners every once in a while and you'll start cleaning your slide a lot more frequently. From my perspective, they almost never look "pretty good" unless I've just cleaned them.

[baileyman]

Yesterday I had a rattle in my slide. What the heck? Upended the outer and knocked it on the floor a bit--nothing. Still rattled around 1-2. Took it off again and a Phillips head hex bit came out! Must've gotten caught in the mouthpiece shank in my pocket.

[DaveAshley]

And the slide crook, too! It’s a reservoir for all kinds of stuff.

Snake the outer slide with some white vinegar from time to time…

[Kingfan]

Bought a King 3B off a guy who was retiring from music. I played with him weekly, and he said he practiced daily. This is what i found.

slide cleaning 2.jpg

[Mamaposaune]

Bought a King 3B off a guy who was retiring from music. I played with him weekly, and he said he practiced daily. This is what i found.
slide cleaning 2.jpg

Uuuggg! Hope you got all the gunk out of the inners and outers, and poured in some isopropyl alcohol afterwards before playing it.
Didn't Bill Watrous get something similar out of Kai Winding's horn during a gig? I remember him saying the blob sat on the floor for a few moments while everyone just stared, and then it started to wiggle...

[izMadman]

I run a Brass Saver thru mine every day. I don't like any build up.

I couldn't be you, at least space the Brass Saver every couple of days, too much work for me.

[tbdana]

Didn't Bill Watrous get something similar out of Kai Winding's horn during a gig? I remember him saying the blob sat on the floor for a few moments while everyone just stared, and then it started to wiggle...

Watrous told a lot of stories. Maybe half of them were true.

[tbonesullivan]

Didn't Bill Watrous get something similar out of Kai Winding's horn during a gig? I remember him saying the blob sat on the floor for a few moments while everyone just stared, and then it started to wiggle...

I seem to recall hearing a story about how Kai Winding had to borrow a trombone because some gunk came off and clogged his slide. Ahh.. the good old days.

Before a doctor actually confirmed that having a healthy bacterial / fungal ecosystem in your slide could actually cause respiratory illness. I keep em clean, and I try to always brush my teeth before playing and rinse out well. I have enough trouble keeping the goo out without adding potential food sources to the mix.

[Macbone1]

Simplest thing for me is one of those silk cloths on the end of a weighted string that are sold to use on woodwinds.
Buy the smallest one, it will work great on anything from a bass trb to a 2B. Quick, easy and thorough. You may have to add some string to make it long enough.

[Posaunus]

The HWP Brass-Saver can be pulled through the inner slide (even the upper, with leadpipe) without doing any harm. It may take a couple of passes (wipe the brush dry between passes) to remove all the moisture (and gunk) - just look inside the slide to enure it's shiny and dry.

The best thing about the Brass-Saver is that you can similarly pull it through the entire outer slide - including the slide crook - to ensure removal of most moisture and any "debris." [I follow the Brass-Saver with a Slide-O-Mix towel sheath to ensure total dryness.]

I follow this hygiene protocol (often daily) regularly for each of my trombones. My slides are superb!

[harrisonreed]

An alternative method to cleaning the inners:

[media]https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxSo999PAvLo ... ure=shared[/media]

[OneTon]

Dat gross.

[ssking2b]

The HWP Brass-Saver can be pulled through the inner slide (even the upper, with leadpipe) without doing any harm. It may take a couple of passes (wipe the brush dry between passes) to remove all the moisture (and gunk) - just look inside the slide to enure it's shiny and dry.

The best thing about the Brass-Saver is that you can similarly pull it through the entire outer slide - including the slide crook - to ensure removal of most moisture and any "debris." [I follow the Brass-Saver with a Slide-O-Mix towel sheath to ensure total dryness.]

I follow this hygiene protocol (often daily) regularly for each of my trombones. My slides are superb!

Excellent! I do the same and my slides are to die for!

[Posaunus]

The HWP Brass-Saver can be pulled through the inner slide (even the upper, with leadpipe) without doing any harm. It may take a couple of passes (wipe the brush dry between passes) to remove all the moisture (and gunk) - just look inside the slide to enure it's shiny and dry.

The best thing about the Brass-Saver is that you can similarly pull it through the entire outer slide - including the slide crook - to ensure removal of most moisture and any "debris." [I follow the Brass-Saver with a Slide-O-Mix towel sheath to ensure total dryness.]

I follow this hygiene protocol (often daily) regularly for each of my trombones. My slides are superb!

Excellent! I do the same and my slides are to die for!

A fellow anal-compulsive!

[But the protocol works! ]