TromboneChat

So I’ve been able to get a few practice sessions in since coming back to playing and I noticed how much play there is in my slide in terms of tolerance between the stockings and the outer slide. I’ll fully acknowledge I don’t have the chops to tell what’s me and what’s not, so I don’t know if it’s affecting how the horn plays. I’ve never noticed this in any other horn I’ve owned.

Any test I can conjure up at home to check if my slide is within common spec?

You need side to side play for your slide to work properly. The stockings at the end of the inner slide are raised and make contact with the outer slide there. The rest of the inner slide doesn’t really make contact with the outer slide, hence the play. Without play, all the metal would be touching and nothing would move smoothly. When I would take my slide to my guy and watch him work, the first thing he would check is to make sure there WAS play. Granted this is referring to the slide together and near 2nd position.

If you’re not complaining about the action, then the play is probably fine.

If you’re worried about compression, you can check pretty easily. Take the outer slide and plug both holes. The outer slide should fall fairly slow. The slower it falls, the better the compression. A faster even fall is bad. You can also plug just one end and blow in the other to check for a leak. If there is a leak, you’ll hear hissing from the spit valve.

Some slide have larger tolerances than others. Especially older slides. Very tight tolerances are a pain for maintenance because a little out of spec means a big functional problem.

What brand is the slide? Has it has any of the tubes replaced at any time??

How are you measuring this "tolerance"? Just eyeballing it isn't going to tell you anything. As mentioned, it should take a few seconds for the outer slide to fall to the floor if you plug both inner tubes and let it fall. If it just freefalls, you don't have good compression.

brassmedic wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2026 10:45 am How are you measuring this "tolerance"? Just eyeballing it isn't going to tell you anything. As mentioned, it should take a few seconds for the outer slide to fall to the floor if you plug both inner tubes and let it fall. If it just freefalls, you don't have good compression.

It’s noticeably “wiggly” even at the stockings. I’ll check how the slide falls tonight and see if anything is actually leaky the best I can.

hornbuilder wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2026 9:37 am What brand is the slide? Has it has any of the tubes replaced at any time??

It’s a Schmelzer. I don’t have another trombone with me to compare, but it was immediately noticeable opposed to me never noticing in the past. Not saying it’s bad, just wondering if there’s a general test. I’m going to keep playing and practicing and if it goes away then it’s just me

FullPedalTrombonist wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2026 11:43 am
It’s noticeably “wiggly” even at the stockings.

That's not an accurate way to measure it.

I plugged both ends of several slides and they all fell slowly. Most of my stuff is 60=90 years old, but the 20-30 year old stuff wasn't much better.

Schmelzer has a good reputation. I wouldn't worry about it unless there is a concrete playing problem.