Slide on Vintage Olds

[dprice23]

Hi everyone,

I'm playing again after 30 years off. I bought a 1959 Olds Studio trombone to start with. It wasn't as cheap as some similar horns I saw, but it was coming from a shop that assured me it was professionally serviced and in great shape save some cosmetic denting.

Well, there is some denting on the inner and outer slides. It moves with gravity and doesn't catch, but it sounds scratchy. I don't feel a lot of resistance, but I'm not used to a good slide anymore either. I took it in for service, but no improvement.

I do have a few more days to return it, so my question is should I? Is a silent creamy slide realistic in my price range (under $1000), or is this about what I should expect?

[ghmerrill]

I think that depends to some degree how much confidence you have in the service you just got. Some years ago I bought a 1947 Olds Standard (off Ebay, for a song) and the inners were a bit bent. But the guy I took it to is known as something of a slide expert (in addition, his son is a professional trombonist, and he'd done excellent work for me previously), and he pretty quickly straightened the inners and removed a couple of small dents in the outers. I guess the only reason I wouldn't send it back, in your situation, is if I had a high degree of confidence that someone could put the slide in order without significant expense and/or major alteration. So ... "Do you feel lucky, punk?"

[Posaunus]

$1,000 is a lot for a 1959 Olds Studio. I purchased a 1954 Studio a few years that was "professionally serviced" for a lot less. The slide was good but not perfect. A trip to Bruce Belo for a standard "slide job" did the trick, though. This 70-year-old trombone now plays like it's brand new, and makes regular appearances with my Dixieland group!

[JohnL]

I took it in for service, but no improvement.

You took it in to the same shop you bought it from?

Does the slide have any perceptible catches?

How do the stockings look? Any significant wear? Crustiness?

[Doug Elliott]

My Recording has never felt "silent & creamy" but it doesn't bother me.
I agree that $1000 is a lot.... for that, the seller should cover the cost. See if you can get that to happen instead of returning it. By all reports I've heard, Bruce Belo is the best.

[OneTon]

I owned a Studio that Sam Burtis, of blessed memory, sold me. They are professional trombones, will cover a lot of parts, and you can put a lot of air through them. I took it into a local technician to adjust something else. He told me that he could help the slide. And he ruined it. I replaced the inners and outers and had the outers replated by a great technician in Ohio. It cost about about $600 15 years ago. In good condition and the “new” slide, it was worth about $700. Above that, it is how bad do you want it? If you had trouble finding a buyer, it could go down to $400. On the other hand, if you find a good one, it isn’t that unreasonable to pay $1000 when compared to new ones.

Slide technicians may not always take out 100% of the dent. They prefer to keep the tube as round as possible. The inners may be that octagonal business with flat sides, and the clearance between the inner tubes and outer tubes was loose from the factory. Technician’s don’t always take out dents on inner tubes. If the inner tube is round, the dent doesn’t affect form, fit, or function. Good technicians “do no harm.”

If you clean it with dish soap, apply Yamaha Slide Lubricant, some sprayed on water, and it feels good and lasts through a rehearsal with only a little more water or lubricant applied, it may be okay. Contrary to Duke Ellington, in this case, if it sounds bad it may still be good.

If you can’t suss it out, the technician Doug Elliott talks about can.

[dprice23]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I decided the horn wasn't in $1000 condition, so I am returning it. I found a b-stock Getzen 351 for much less. Fingers crossed!

[imsevimse]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I decided the horn wasn't in $1000 condition, so I am returning it. I found a b-stock Getzen 351 for much less. Fingers crossed!

Good decision. $1000 for that horn is to much. I've won auctions on several Olds on eBay and think they usually are not much sought after. If I renember correctly I've never payed more than $400 and the slides on those horns have not been bad.

/Tom

[Mamaposaune]

Good decision. I agree $1000 is too much for an Olds Studio, unless it sat in a storage room for 50 years and was in brand-new condition.
Not too many years ago I sold an Olds Recording that was in great shape with a near-perfect slide, advertised for $750 if IRC, it sold eventually but took awhile.