This video shows you how to clean and oil your plastic trumpet from Tromba (or Allora). It also explains how to care for the instrument during the break-in period. www.ultrapureoi...
are your valves marked 1, 2 & 3? Mine were not and they aren't the same + can click in backwards = the horn wont play that way. I used a Sharpie to label them and know which side faces back at me for them to function properly. I got a bit nervous when you dropped the valves in the sink, not worries about them hitting plastic bits, but that they might hit each other and dent the metal ... otherwise, I appreciated the cleaning tips
The valves are marked on the valve stem but the marking is very faint. I also marked my valves with a sharpie. An engraver would also be ok if the valve top is black and does not show the sharpie very well.
I just got one for xmas tonight and after oiling the valves with synthetic oil, they are still very sluggish. I'll try cleaning it thoroughly and re-oiling and give it a week. After that, it will get returned.
+Marty Lemons A few cleanings and re-oilings should do it. Once the black stuff on the valves stops coming off (metal particles) then the valves are fitted to their casings. If the valves still hang up, look for other causes. I have seen the plastic on the bottom of the piston be a little to big and touching the casings. Just cut or file it so it does not overhang the piston metal surface. Another cause I have seen is the valve stem rubbing on the top valve cap. If this is happening, you can enlarge the valve cap hole or see why the valve stem is crooked. You can contact me if you have any problems.
Find a local teacher or even a student who has been playing a few years. They can show you how to get started. There are also some good videos on youtube, including the series from the US Army Field Band, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--H4Wby6ge3w.html Have fun!!!
Ken Saul I just managed to get the white stuff out of my Stagg pocket trumpet, using wooden chop sticks. Then I moved a recorder brush in and out, which is fairly tight in those holes-there was even dust in the air, so the rest of the stuff came off. Then I did the same thing wet, but with coke, which made the holes really clean and shiny. I'm not happy with some of the tight bends, which I was able to partly clean with chop sticks....I need to look for tools in the hardware store.... Wanna be careful, but might do something a little 'violent'. I played that pocket trumpet daily over years, now I mothball her, since I concentrate on my new tromba plastic trumpet. On the long run I feel the need to get the white stuff out of all parts. I saw a guy here on RU-vid who demonstrates cleaning the valves with tooth past, which really pains me. As a jazz player, playing rather fast, I'm always afraid of the abrasion process. Today I scratched the white traces with my fingernails off my valves' surfaces-that works. I need the plastic trumpet, because what I do on stage is quite a bit risky, constantly changing between trumpet, pBone and reeds. I'm glad, the pocket trumpet survived these battles without damages. Tromba takes over now. Back to Coke: This is the only stuff to get dried-off bird droppings off my floor. I let it soak for an hour and then just wipe it off. Even toilet cleaner cannot do that. So, maybe, if Coke soaks over night, it might dissolve the stuff in trumpet bends....
Miss G's Channel That "white stuff" is dried mineral deposits from your breath (or whoever played this horn). That is why you need to take brass instruments apart every few months and clean them, so you do not build up these deposits. Besides being disgusting, they make the instrument harder to play.
Ken Saul That sounds depressing. The downside of pocket trumpets: crazy, tight bends-no way to clean it with conventional methods. Here's good news: today I tested coke, making mush out of deposit built-up within 23 minutes! 1.bp.blogspot.com/-3QXQ1o6b8QE/VMF7gBLTkEI/AAAAAAAADb0/Hyki3DOCbDo/s1600/coke%2Beffect.png After having coke soak in over night, I just pull gauze with a knot through. When I wiped the mush off with a Q-tip, it was not necessary to use any force. It was really mush.
+Dizzyphan The finger buttons screw onto the top of the threaded valve stem. The top and bottom caps are attached by twisting a slot over a small post. It locks in place with just a slight twist but is not threaded. An o-ring inside the top and bottom cap provide a secure force to hold the caps firmly in place.
+Ken Saul Actually now that I have one to test, a chunk of the top of the 1st valve casing has broken off where the little nub/stud that holds one side of the top cap is. I really do think they need to make the furniture of top caps, stems and finger buttons out of metal with the stem tops being female and a threaded post on the finger button like a normal horn. Also the top caps and casing tops need to be threaded. This way a Reeves alignment can be done and it'll avoid little accidents like what happened with mine. After saying that I DO like the idea of a plastic trumpet like this, just my critique is all.
I understand that the factory will be changing to threaded top and bottom caps since the nubs can break. I was able to use superglue to put one back together and it is holding well. If you kept the broken part, try superglue. Otherwise, try a thin piece of cork to press against the side that is missing the nub.
+Ken Saul Hey??? NEAT to hear about they're going to change to threading,etc. Yeah....I superglued mine back together.....a couple times, LOL. Bottom caps are ok.....just the top I think need to be threaded and metal along with what I suggested so as to be able to do a valve alignment post production,etc. On mine a whole chunk of top casing broke off with the nub attached, and again I superglued it together but it's not that stable. If I were to remove the 1st valve a few times the glue job will fail,etc.
+Marty Lemons Indeed! This horn was quite new and needed some break-in period. After a few hours of playing and one more cleaning, that sticky valve cleared up ok. These horns vary somewhat and some will come with fast valves while others will be a little sticky until they break in.
