TubeNet

I just bought an Eastman 632 about 2 months ago and love this horn. It is my primary horn that I use for about 8 hour a day between practicing/gigging/teaching lessons. I just noticed that it already has a great deal of wear on my first slide from where my hand sits. I know this is due to the oils in my hand and I try to wipe it down at the end of each playing session but if anything that has only slowed down the wear. I feel like this is unusual for such a new horn but I do use it a lot...

My question is this: is there anything new/additionally that I can do to keep this from happening to the rest of my horn? I was thinking about make a guard for where my right forearm rests against horn but i really have no idea how to get started on that. I saw that maybe putting tennis racket grip tape on the slide would work but wouldn't the glue hurt the finish?

Thanks for your time and I look forward to reading any responses or messages!!!

~Nick

I found a product that athletes use to wrap their hands,ankles, and arms that doesn't have an adhesive. It sticks to itself. You can usually find it next to the Ace bandages in Walmart or a drugstore.

As one who owns and VERY much plays his Eastman 632S, this happens to be an area I'm an expert in!

1. The first area I wore through (took less than 2 months) was where my right forearm rests. I wore a blemish about a 1" diameter down to the brass. In an effort to prevent any more wear, I made an attractive wrist guard from the following:
*A yard of felt-lined faux leather (felt lining is important as to not mar the finish!): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JL ... UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
*Velcro (you can get this on amazon or any craft supply store)
*8 shoe eyelets (optional - I added for look, but it also allows the wrap to "hug" the horn a little better than velcro alone YMMV based on how precise your material cut is; see below)
*Faux suede cord (I'm vegan, so opted for all synthetic - also optional) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0188 ... UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank
The faux leather was so plentiful, I made about 5 prototypes (all trial and error) in different sizes and cuts before settling on the "final cut". I marked where I wanted the eyelets and the place I bought them (garment district NYC) also had an eyelet press and fastened them for me. Since I don't have a sewing machine/skills, I took the velcro and the guard to a tailor for final sewing. If you want to PM me as a reminder, I can make pictures and measurements for you (you can see the guard in my avatar).

2. I wore right through the part of my first valve slide that I grab with my thumb and index/middle fingers. I'm over it... every well-played horn I have ever seen has wear there. I equate this to lacquer wear on the back of the neck on my Fender bass The tennis racquet wraps idea seems interesting, though I personally wouldn't like look on my horn.

Check out what Matt Walters did for Rich Serpa (FYI - I modeled my wrist guard after his) : https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/e ... 1478898227" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

I learned from Matt that the ring was sourced through Miraphone (thumb ring) and they come in both silver and lacquer brass. Matt also sourced the rest of the parts (actually 2 lyre boxes) for the string assembly if you really want to go nuts. That ring would serve a as an expendable/easily retouch-able grip surface instead of wearing the 1st valve slide.

I wanted this exact setup, but it will cost over $200 (not a quote... talk to Matt/a tech yourself) due to the silver solder work involved, so I'm taking a pass for now. However, it is an attractive and elegant mod if you want to add some (more) pro flair your your already great horn!

PS - one last shout out to Matt who, again, recently did some amazing tune-up work on my horn. She plays like butter!

I always wear a chenille full body and appendage suit, with nothing underneath, when I play tuba.