A beautiful condition Bach 36 from the 1950's arrived recently at The Brass Exhcange, in our St. Louis, MO Shop. Inside the case was a ldetailed etter from the Bach factory on how to care for a Bach trombone slide when is factory new.
1. Wash it with water first to remove any residue (but be careful not to hot becuase it will ruin the lacquer- been there, done that!)
2. Use Cheese Cloth on a rod- but be careful not to get it stuck- been there too!
3. Since every player holds the slide differently (suppose they mean angle and grip) it will break in to his individual style of play.
4. Reccomended Slide Lubricant- Ponds Cold Cream or Lady Esther's All Purpose Cream
5. Tips on playing in a ballroom or pit orchestra...."when placing your trombone on a chair in the orchestra pit, be sure that the slide is locked, so if some curiosity seeker decides to inspect the instrument and lift it up, the slide will not fall to the floor and become damaged"....
This was great advice 60 years ago, and remains so today. Below is the original letter:
