Most trumpets made today employ a floating valve guide inside a spring chamber on the top part of the valve core. For one reason or another, the spring sometimes get bent or wear unevenly. When this happens, the valves sometimes emit a dry, scratchy sound, even right after oiling. Examination of the spring can sometime reveal a bent spring or slight banana shape that can cause contact with the spring chamber. If this is the case, it is easily fixed by oiling the spring with a lightweight slide oil such as Hetman Tuning Slide Oil.

To oil the springs, apply a little (not too much) of the oil through the slots that the guide travels in. You shouldn't even need to apply it to both sides of a single valve spring: the spiral insures that the oil will work its way around. There is no need to remove the stem and the spring for this operation: just oil where you can see the spring is exposed. (Hetman's cap brushes make this an easy job!) We also recommend oiling all valve springs after cleanings.

It will take a few minutes to work its way around the coils of the spring, but it should eliminate the scratchy sound. If the sound persists after oiling the springs, this is a sign of a more serious problem with the valves and you should contact our repair staff as soon as possible.