TubeNet

My 2155 is about 2 years old. I had the same problem with my main slide. Matt Walters fixed it by slightly bending the tubes and it hasn't happened since (Sorry if that's not what you did, Matt).
In my opinion the horns tend to play a little stuffy. One thing you can do is bevel the main slide, but this tends to eliminate any articulation on the horn and makes sound production very difficult. You can also have your local guy move the reciever away from the leadpipe so a gap is created...everyone's preference is different of course (mine is about 1/4 inch).
On a side note I'd like to add that Matt Walters has always done a fantastic job on my repairs/modifications and is always willing to spend some time tweaking my horns. Thanks Matt.





jon

I use Hetman's Ultra Slide Grease on my loose main tuning slide. It's not a perfect solution, but as I don't live close to any good repair shops, it looks to be the one I'm sticking with, at least for now.

-Zack Zeman

I use a black shoelace to keep my tuning slide in place on my MW 2000. It's hard to see from 10 feet away, and even if I blow it out and make it flat, it's not going anywhere.

Ken- Is this a brand new horn from a dealer? As much as these things cost, you should have some sort of manufacturer/dealer recourse to deal with problems like these. I would think free shipping and repair would be a standard with a competent dealer.

Ike

IkeH wrote:As much as these things cost, you should have some sort of manufacturer/dealer recourse to deal with problems like these.

I absolutely agree.

I can't believe all the posts I've read lately about slides "just falling out" on the new 1291 and now on the 2155 and 2000. Issues like that would be unacceptable to me and I'd seek out solutions with the dealer, original manufactuer, or both for a cure rather than just some half-a**ed treatment of the symptoms with slide greases, expanders, or shoe strings. I really can't believe that you guys tolerate issues like that when these things cost (in the case of a 2000) c. $14,000 new! Tubas along the lines of new 1291s, 2155s, and 2000s shouldn't be "fixer uppers" right out of the box.

I think bloke nailed how to deal with the issue by telling you that you could build them up with nickel or silver or take advantage of the fit and have some kind of slide trigger built. Aside from that, I think your only options are to get a new tuning slide (what you should ask for if it's brand new, in my opinion) or have one custom built that actually fits.

I had a similar problem on an old B&S. It is intensely embarrassing to lose a slide during a performance. I know of one institution that will probably not give me a call-back because the tuba player (me) simply stopped playing for 6-8 measures while he hunted feverishly for the tuning slide on the floor.

Mine was just kinda worn-out so I had a slide catch installed. The horn played a little sharp anyway, so I also had a slide extender made. I'm happy with the result.

But for a new horn to have this problem....jez-ain't right.

zeman23 wrote:I use Hetman's Ultra Slide Grease on my loose main tuning slide. It's not a perfect solution, but as I don't live close to any good repair shops, it looks to be the one I'm sticking with, at least for now.

-Zack Zeman

That has to be the thickest slide grease I know of!

bloke wrote:All of that being said, if that slide slides extraordinarily well and the tubes are determined to be quite parallel, you might consider "making a lemon into lemonade" with some sort of main tuning slide trigger. As I recall, the 2155 is not particularly an intonation "dreamboat".

If there's some way to do it, I have to agree with bloke. Once I started using the main on my horn, I wondered why anyone, for any reason, would use just the valve slides!