Trombotine question

[Tbarh]

I know that a common method with slide o mix is to wipe off the inners Before spraying with water after the lubrication is worked into the outer slides.. Would that be a good method for trombotine also..? I have noticed that i can get all slide to work fairly well with slide o mix while trombotine are best on a select few... Maybe i am doing it wrong?
Thanks!

Trond

[Posaunus]

I suggest wiping off most of the Trombotine from the inner slides after working it onto the outer slides. Biggest mistake I've seen is to leave to much on the slide, which results in sluggish action.

But I prefer using Yamaha Slide Lubricant or Slide-O-Mix Rapid Comfort. Use just a bit on stockings and a bit at mouthpiece end of slides, work it in, perhaps a fine spray mist of distilled water, and start playing. No wipe-down required until you clean your trombone and return it to its case.

[mrdeacon]

No not really. Maybe on a brand new slide or if the slide is being picky I might... There's a trick to getting it just right.

You really should be using a small amount. It's just a smidge. If you're using more than a smidge it's too much. Sometimes even just a smidgen does the trick!

[GabrielRice]

I have been dismayed to find that the Yamaha slide lube I loved is no longer working since the change in packaging in the last year. Slide-O-Mix does not work for me (something about my body chemistry I think), so I have been using Trombotine recently on both my fairly new Shires slide and my vintage Bach and Conn slides.

Steve Shires has told me he believes most people make the mistake of using too LITTLE Trombotine, not too much. I have found the best way for me to be as follows:

After cleaning the slide, including a thorough swab of the outer tubes, I put about 3/8" of Trombotine on my finger - yes, that much! - work it a bit to soften it, and then apply to the stockings.

Then I work the slide - each tube individually and also fully assembled. One of the things I've seen Steve do is turn the slide upside down - parallel to the floor but with the mouthpiece side down - and work it that way as well, letting gravity help distribute.

Then I wipe off the inners and do it again. I'll probably spray some water sometime in there.

Then I wipe off the inners a cesond time, work it again, spray water, and start playing. If it's still a little gummy I'll repeat the process.

The point is to have a good coating on the inside of the outer slide and a thin film on out stockings.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

I have heard of trombonists using that technique before. Years ago, a friend showed me how he would intentionally put too much slide cream on the inner slides. After spraying with water and working the inner and outer slides together for a minute or two, he would wipe off the inners. He would repeat the process a few times until there was no sign of cream on the inners.

I told him that I would get the same result and save a little money by just starting with a small amount of slide cream. He would argue that his system got the slide cream in all the “nooks and crannies.”

[Bonearzt]

I have been dismayed to find that the Yamaha slide lube I loved is no longer working since the change in packaging in the last year. Slide-O-Mix does not work for me (something about my body chemistry I think), so I have been using Trombotine recently on both my fairly new Shires slide and my vintage Bach and Conn slides.
Steve Shires has told me he believes most people make the mistake of using too LITTLE Trombotine, not too much. I have found the best way for me to be as follows:
After cleaning the slide, including a thorough swab of the outer tubes, I put about 3/8" of Trombotine on my finger - yes, that much! - work it a bit to soften it, and then apply to the stockings.
Then I work the slide - each tube individually and also fully assembled. One of the things I've seen Steve do is turn the slide upside down - parallel to the floor but with the mouthpiece side down - and work it that way as well, letting gravity help distribute.
Then I wipe off the inners and do it again. I'll probably spray some water sometime in there.
Then I wipe off the inners a cesond time, work it again, spray water, and start playing. If it's still a little gummy I'll repeat the process.
The point is to have a good coating on the inside of the outer slide and a thin film on out stockings.

I share Steves opinion that usually too little is used!!

My technique is similar to Gabes, but I spread a pea sized blob of cream evenly aroound the stockings and then work the tubes individually to coat the outer tubes. Then I VERY liberally douse with water, no wimpy little mister for me, and work the slides in & out. THEN wipe the inners and redrown with water.

As Gabe mentioned, you need to evenly coat the ENTIRE interior of the outer tubes with the cream and use BIG drops of water. The drops of water are, IMHO, what the slide runs on!

Regarding the Yamasnot, the formulation has not changed according to Yamaha, just the bottle.
And I find it works pretty well on newer, more pristine slides, with a blast of water too.

Enough babbling for tonight.

Good Night All!!

Eric

[biggiesmalls]

I use just a smidge or smidgen of Trombotine on the inners of all my vintage horns, with 90% of the lube applied to the stockings, and just a bit spread evenly along the length of the inners.

BUT...before assembling the slide, I apply a little trick I've been using for years: I heat up the outers using a blow dryer, blowing hot air through the outer slide for about a minute, alternating tubes every ten seconds or so, until the outers are very warm, but not uncomfortable to the touch. Leaving the outer slide in a sunny spot for a few minutes also does the trick.

When the slide is assembled, the very warm outer slide instantly liquefies the Trombotine on the stockings, so it gets distributed in a very thin, even layer along the inside of the outer tubes, instead of being smeared around in globs at room temperature.

So long as I don't use too much lube, there's no wiping necessary, just spritz with water and enjoy.

[mbtrombone]

I used to use it on an old 42 slide. What I did was put a thin layer on both inner tubes with my fingers, to the point that it was clear, with no white showing. Then I would work the outer slide one tube at a time turning and moving the slide up and down, the switch inner and outer slide tubes and repeat. I would then spray with water and play. If it gummed up I would wipe down the inner slide only. Then spray with water and keep playing. I would do this for the warm up/daily routine which is a few hours normally with etudes and what not. If I had a concert that night the slide would normally work quite well.

What I did differently was I didn't clean out the outer slide too often. Maybe every two weeks or so. This meant that I would be applying a very thin layer to the outer slide every day, and then it would reduce as I played on. This meant there was something always protecting the outers and inner in theory. If it ever got green or scratchy it was time for a deeper cleaning. That was usually every month or so. To be fair though I was playing 6-8 hours a day during college or more including rehearsals, and I brushed my teeth before playing the horn if I had a drink, coffee, or food, and I drank a lot of water, so my horn stayed cleaner then. Now days I find my self drinking coffee or tea while practicing, so more cleaning, maybe every two weeks for the slide in the tub, once a month for the bell section.

My new routine with my Shires slides though is Conn formula 3 once a week like the trombotine method, but then use Yamaha Slide Lubricant for every session application as needed. Seems to work well.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

I like BiggieSmalls’s use of a blow dryer! I shared it with a buddy of mine who also believes that heat should be used to apply slide cream. My buddy rubs the slide cream on the inner slide to the point where his fingertips feel warm from the friction. He knows that it takes a lot a of effort but always believes the heat distributes the slide cream better. I told him about the blow dryer and he said....”that’s genius!”

[bellend]

I'm with Gabe , put plenty on and really work it in dry first, then with water .
takes a bit of sussing out but when you hit the sweet spot I think it's as good as any other lube especially on older slides.

BellEnd

[Bonearzt]

Again, along with a good amount of cream, use a LOT of water!!

I don't think the mister type spray bottles put enough and too small of water drops!
I use a plastic saline bottle from the contact lens solution and really drown the slide!


Eric

[ssking2b]

The Yamaha stuff works best for me, especially since the packaging change. I have also had good success with Trombotine and Superslick. You can use the Superslick liquid portion on Trombotine as well. Never had any luck at all with SOM or REKA or Ultra Pure. I think there are a lot of factors here including body chemistry, slide tolerance, etc. You have to keep any slide CLEAN!!! And all slide treatments go on to different slides in different ways. You have to experiment until you find how the application of the slide "go" works the best with your horn.

[Driswood]

I like BiggieSmalls’s use of a blow dryer! I shared it with a buddy of mine who also believes that heat should be used to apply slide cream. My buddy rubs the slide cream on the inner slide to the point where his fingertips feel warm from the friction. He knows that it takes a lot a of effort but always believes the heat distributes the slide cream better. I told him about the blow dryer and he said....”that’s genius!”

So, Brian, who do you dream these options up with since I retired and left town? I miss seeing and playing with you buddy!!

[djkennedy]

Ponds

[Crazy4Tbone86]

I like BiggieSmalls’s use of a blow dryer! I shared it with a buddy of mine who also believes that heat should be used to apply slide cream. My buddy rubs the slide cream on the inner slide to the point where his fingertips feel warm from the friction. He knows that it takes a lot a of effort but always believes the heat distributes the slide cream better. I told him about the blow dryer and he said....”that’s genius!”

So, Brian, who do you dream these options up with since I retired and left town? I miss seeing and playing with you buddy!!

Hi Jerry! Great to hear from you! I hope all is well down in Florida.

I'll keep the "buddy" in that story anonymous to save him from embarrassment. Not much gigging going on here in the mid-Atlantic since Covid-19 hit. I think everyone's sitting at home practicing.....so the live-music scene should be great when performing returns.