TromboneChat

I have started playing trombone again and am searching for a new horn. Of course I want a perfect slide. However, I have been looking at the classifieds, ebay and reverb an there are a lot of mentions of "slide not perfect" etc.

If I find a horn that I want, with a questionable slide, how much should I budget to get the slide close to perfect? Am I even asking the right question?

Thanks,

Derek

I usually ask sellers.. "Would the average player want to do any work to this horn?..." This almost always get honest assessments of the horn's condition.

You could also just assume that you will put $100 into the slide and maybe $50 for dent removal, etc.

Keep in mind that lots of sellers on here may be honest to a fault about slides. ALL of us are picky! The best indicator of a slide's quality (besides testing it, of course) is the kind of player the owner was/is. You simply can't be that great if you don't have a decent slide.

Sellers on TromboneChat are likely to be more honest than on eBay. And are usually more willing to discuss particulars and issues about what they are selling. At least I've had pretty good luck here. In a sense, we're all colleagues.

Slide / dent / valve repairs, if necessary, may be as much as $200 in some cases / locations. Each situation is different.

If you did a complete overhaul of a slide it would probably run you between $150-200.

If I were you find a horn from Trombone Chat and get an honest review of the horn. And a fair price! It’s a crap shoot trying to buy off of eBay, Reverb and Craigslist. Usually it’s fine, but sometimes you get a worst horn than described and other times you get a better horn.

Slide tube replacement (inner and outers) part wise is about $200. Labor and finishing would be more. I think parts alone you'd look at $600 easy before factoring in labor. If you're picky about how your slide feels then you should look for good techs.

If you need to replace all the tubes, you are looking at a really trashed slide. Most repairs involve a few dents and an alignment. An average job could be as low as $50 or a good one would be around $200.

How much a slide repair is worth depends on the quality of the instrument. Extraordinary efforts on a cheap trombone won't be worthwhile. Spending money to retube a classic is money well spent.

My experience has been if your dealing with someone who has never played trombone, there isn't a chance in h*** that you're going to get any helpful information on the condition of the slide. Sure there are those who are going to knowingly exaggerate, but most just don't have a clue what is meant by a smooth slide.
Back when I still had a healthy number of private students, pre-covid, I would keep watch on local classifieds for nice student horns to keep on hand for kids who were getting past the rental stage. I would always ask about condition beforehand, including how well the slide moved, and would almost always get an encouraging response. However, in reality, many were so bad that it literally took considerable muscle to get it to move at all. One, a otherwise beautiful Yamaha 356, froze up completely around 6th position and I could not remove the outer slide. (Needless to say, I pass on these horns)
Your best bet if you cannot check it out in person is to buy from another trombonist, with a return policy if it's been misrepresented.

Thrawn22 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:21 pm Slide tube replacement (inner and outers) part wise is about $200. Labor and finishing would be more. I think parts alone you'd look at $600 easy before factoring in labor. If you're picky about how your slide feels then you should look for good techs.

New inner slide tubes "start" at @$100 each, and go up, depending on brand.

JLivi wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:26 am If you did a complete overhaul of a slide it would probably run you between $150-200.

Ah, no.

A "complete overhaul" will set you back considerably more than a couple hundred bucks.

Specific numbers really can't be quoted without seeing the particular slide and getting a real idea as to what may be required to make it playable to the level desired.

Many techs will have a "base price" that will cover a basic set of procedures that would be performed. Many times second hand slides will require more than is covered under the base price point.

hornbuilder wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 4:32 pm

JLivi wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:26 am If you did a complete overhaul of a slide it would probably run you between $150-200.

Ah, no.

A "complete overhaul" will set you back considerably more than a couple hundred bucks.

After reading some other responses I realized I was off in my “complete overhaul” thoughts. Once I started people talking about new tubes and such I thought about deleting my post

Also keep in mind that suitable replacement inner tubes aren't always available, so you may end up having to replace the outers (and maybe the end crook), too. If you think it might need new tubes, it's a good idea to contact your favorite tech before you buy.