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Sticky slide

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Fri, 04/02/2021 - 21:10
John S
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Joined: 01/03/2017

Winslow hi. I play a Suzuki chromatix 48 that I love but of late the slide is becoming stuck more frequently than in the past. Easy to clean but having to do it quite frequently is a pain. The slide and mouthpiece have developed a tarnish or worn points at contact points with the original plating having worn to the base metal and that is what I believe is creating adhesive points. Have you got any suggestions on how best  to clean those locations  Many thanks in advance. 

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Sat, 04/03/2021 - 12:09
#1
Expert Winslow Yerxa
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Slide sticking

You might check both the back of the mouthpiece and the surface of the slide for any bumps or other irregularites sticking up that might be contributing to wear. It's possible that the slide is slightly bent as well. One way to check is to find a known flat surface and lay the slide on it with the button ahnging of the end. Does the slide lie perfectly flat? If not, that may be the source of the problem. HOWEVER, bending a slide is a tricky business and can easily make the problem worse. Gentle flexing away from any bowing along the length is about as much as I'd attempt.Two things you can do without altering any parts are:

  • Lubricating the mouthpiece assembly with misted water before and during play. Go to the travel section of a store like Bed, Bath and Beyond, or Walmart or a large drugstore. That's the mostly likely place to find, among the travel sizes of personal hygiene products, small handheld spray bottles that will spray a fine mist of water. Spray the mouthpiece and into the holes (but not too close maybe a few inches away) to add moisture to the slide assembly. This is the safest lubricant as it won't creep into the harmonica and gum up the windsavers.
  • Use a very fine coat of vaseline on the slide. Very, very light. Suzuki actually makes a slide lubricating oil that is very light in texture but AFAIK you can't get it in the US. Brendan Power made a video where he slathers vaseline on his slides with what he claims are no ill effects, but gummed valves are what I'd feat from that practice.

Hope this helps.

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Sat, 04/03/2021 - 12:36
#2
John S
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Joined: 01/03/2017
Slide in good shape

Many thanks Winslow. The slide is in perfect shape and straight. I have found that moisturising helps so thanks for that suggestion. I have just tried cleaned the slide and mouth piece using an earbud and tooth past to get into the grooves and then rinsed very well. That has cleaned up the tarnish areas very well so hopefully that will resolve the issue. I am very reluct to apply any lubricants as suggested by Brendon. So will see how it goes using this cleaning method. 

Many thanks

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