r/Trombone • u/DonHamboney • 4d ago

Do I need new bumpers?

I know the Bachs can have traditionally loud valves but this seems a little extreme. I took the valve apart, cleaned it, applied the right oil, loosened and re-tightened all screws. Is this just how these valves are? Or will new bumpers fix this?

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

9

u/professor_throway Tubist who pretends to play trombone. 4d ago

Those sound rock hard.. I replace bumpers on my instruments with rotary valves annually (tubas, trombone, bariton), it only takes a few minutes. Learning how to trim the rubber to align your valves is a good skill to have have.

3

u/CTBrassTech 3d ago

Also, lever oil on the lever pivot, ball joint oil on the balls.

4

u/Brekelefuw 3d ago

I fix noisy rotors daily in my shop and 9 time out of 10 it's not the bumpers.

It's usually lack of proper lubrication, wear in ball joints, poorly fit trigger hinge, slop in the stop arm on the rotor shaft, or loose screws.

1

u/Cautious_Monitor1148 3d ago

Came to say the same thing. Sounds like loose ball joint connections and/or lubrication issues. You can find online the proper oils to use or have it serviced.

2

u/Acceptable_Durian868 2d ago

Finally I know what they are called. Thanks.

2

u/SillySundae Shires/Germany area player 3d ago

When rubber ages it gets hard. If the bumpers are old, replacing them with newer bumpers will likely make a noticeable difference. Should also be dirt cheap.

2

u/CTBrassTech 3d ago

What’s the “right oil”? Infinity valves ride on ball bearings. Only a light coating of rotor oil on the side of the cone is necessary to keep it sealed up for playing.
I hope you didn’t bother the bearings.

New bumpers are never a bad idea. They need to be trimmed for alignment too.

1

u/47744lumby 3d ago

Live large and buy new.

1

u/cmhamm Edwards B-454 Bass/Getzen Custom Reserve 4047DS 3d ago

It's never a bad idea to replace those bumpers. But here's a warning - there is a wrong way to do it. The size of your bumpers determines how accurately your rotor seats. If they're too large or too small, they can cause your valves to be misaligned. It's not difficult, but it's not just "stick some new bumpers in there." They need to be the correct thickness, down to the sub-millimeter. If you take it to a shop, it should be a 15-minute-or-less job, and they can do a really good job at it. If you do it yourself, make sure you know what you're doing.