Hi @trumpetb,
Thank you so much for your comments. What is your best estimate of how many actuations (in the hundreds or thousands) would be required in order for the valves to bed in? Is "bed in" and "break in" the same thing? If not please explain. Thank you in advance for your advise.
Hi @flugelgirl , thanks for your input. I play with my finger tips so the pistons slide up and down without any slant/skew. The piston does not show any wear or spots that have rubbed. I do hear a faint vibration with a metallic sound when holding low notes below the staff (low A to low F#). To me it sounds like a sound the valve springs would make. If so, I do not know what the relation from this to the valve randomly hanging on the upstroke could be. There is no apparent damage to the bell bead or loose portions of the bead that are detached from the bell that would cause the vibration sound. If the valve problem is due to something other than a valve break-in issue, I wish this could be resolved locally rather than sending the horn back to Carol Brass. Thank you in advance for any other advise you may have.
Thanks ROWUK and Donovan for your comments. How much time do you anticipate is the average time to properly break in the valves with one to two hour practice every day? Is it weeks, months or years? The dealer noted a one year warranty on his web site. I want to give the necessary time for adequate break in but not to exceed the warranty period in the event that issue is not due to break in but a defect.
Another observation I have made (not sure if related) is that when I sustain long notes like low g or low F#, there is a vibrating metallic sound coming out of the horn like if it was the valve spring(s) vibrating with the low frequencies. Any thoughts? Thanks again for your comments!!!
Thanks everyone for your comments. I appreciate your time and welcome any other helpful information you may have. Have a great day!
Hello everyone,
I have a new Carol Brass CTR-9395L medium bore (0.453") trumpet custom finished in copper plating. I have had this horn for three weeks now and I love it but, from day one, the third valve randomly hangs briefly on the way up (upstroke). The second valve also sometimes hesitates when pressed down. This seems to happen only when the horn is played and has warmed up but not when just pressing the valves without actually playing. Has anyone else experienced this problem with other Carol Brass trumpets? My understanding is that they produce one of the best valve blocks in the industry and even provide them to some high-end trumpet manufacturers.
I have cleaned the pistons and valve casings a couple of times with mild soap/water and lint free cleaning towels to remove any metallic particles residue left from the manufacturing process. I have then oiled the valves again using La Tromba Special T2 oil, which is provided and recommended by Carol Brass. This temporarily seemed to fix the problem but after playing the horn for a while, the problem comes back. It is extremely annoying and makes practicing and/or performing difficult or impossible to execute.
Based on visual inspection, I do not see any piston/casing imperfections or slight burrs on the valve port edges that may cause the piston to hang but I am not a professional technician. However, upon removing the piston and re-inserting it from the bottom of the valve casing and pressing the piston, the vinyl valve guide did get temporarily stuck and then released on two attempts. Otherwise, the piston in and out action was smooth and free without any sensation of metal to metal friction. I wonder if there is a problem with the valve guides or the slots in where they slide.
I will appreciate any thoughts or possible solutions to the problem I have described above. Thank you so much, in advance, for your comments.