TromboneChat

I have a beaten up yamaha ysl 647 which i got about 15 years ago for 50 €, I played it for some time as main instrument before I got my new trombone and used it since then as a backup or for rough weather and so on. But I never enjoyed playing it. Main problem is the slide which is not really usable since I got the trombone and requires heavy usage of arm strength when playing There are no dents and also no visible wear at the inner slide but somehow the slide is completely skewed. Additionally the slide is completely delacquered and corroded by zinc pest. The rest of the trombone is not in a great shape either but completely ok and usable and no (visible) zinc pest.

Now I'm asking myself what to do with it. I gave the slide to my repair man and he tried a quick fix but was not able to make the slide going. I even tried myself to get the slide aligned and straight and somehow (I guess by luck) it got better but then worse.

Should I consider buying a replacement slide? What would be the approximated costs? I Which one would fit? I really have no clue about yamaha model numbers.

My dream solution would be to get it in a playable condition for as cheap as possible. I'm not ready to invest lots of money.

Or should I sell the trombone and forget about it? What would be a realistic price I could get?

Every feedback is welcomed!

PS: As mentioned before I'm completely clueless about yamaha model numbers so every general information about the model is welcomed as well.

You need to take the instrument to another technician. Unless the slide tubes are absolutely destroyed, it is unlikely that the slide cannot be repaired to good working order.

Be warned that attempts by yourself and other technicians may have made the problem worse and may make it more difficult to repair.

Trombone slides are delicate assemblies and can be a challenge to get working well if one is not experienced in that. Where are you located?

I have a spare Yamaha slide for large bore that I’d consider selling.

thanks for the assessment Blabberbucket. I'm located in Germany and it's true that the repairman I gave it to is probably not the biggest trombone/slide expert and did not try it extensively. So I might give it to another brass repair man. I'm just a bit worried it will get to expensive for such an old and beaten up instrument considering especially the amount of zinc pest on the slide. Can you estimate the maximum time effort required to get a skewed slide going? There are no obvious bends or dents or so.

Hello Nomsis,
I am also from Germany and playing an old Yamaha as large tenor. It is a 643 trigger horn and when I got it ten years ago the slide had chromium loss. So I had a technician change the inner slide tubes and since then it works perfect for me. I don't know the exact price I payed, about 250 Euro.
The last trombone I bought was a Yamaha 645 from the 70ths with a bit of zinc pest and a not perfect moving slide.
The tech in Baiersdorf from Lepopold Müller Lack fixed it for 40 Euro, leaving the crook dented as the zinc pest made it fragile. He said if the dents don't bother me I could still play it for a lot of years.

So look for a good technician, the old Yamahas are worth it.

Thanks for sharing your experience, sounds good. I think anything beyond 100€ for repairing that slide would be to much. 50€ would be perfect. For a new slide without the zinc pest and in a better condition a little more would be fine as well of course. I will ask another locale repair man first the next opportunity and then consider something like müller lack.