Three fixes / improvements for the pBone

[Paperclip]

If anyone is interested I"ve implemented these 3 fixes improvements to my 2 pBones (Yellow and Red).

- Since the pBone uses friction to hold the bell and slide sections together it is possible for them to accidently come apart. In fact I saw a video where this happened to Jiggs Wigham himself in mid-performance (he was working the mute with his left hand at the time) so I suggest...
a long, black velcro strap locked around 2nd bell brace (closest to bell) then extended to wrap from around 1st slide brace (closest to mouthpiece) back to the strap's origin. This stays on permanently while playing and doesn't affect moving the slide, it just keeps the bell and slide sections together. Undo the strap only when taking the pBone apart to put it in its case or any other time it's necessary to remove the entire slide section.

- While the pBone is quite light it still is front-heavy, like any trombone, especially with the slide out at position 5 or greater so I used 2 velcro straps to attach a black 1/2 pound weight just before the tuning slide. This was necessary for me as I had suffered pain in my left brachioradialis muscle some years ago. The balanced pBone seems to reduce hand tension.

- This is a visual cue, especially for young kids, to be certain the slide is either locked or unlocked. I use 2 narrow pieces of black Gorilla tape, about 1/4" wide for the slide lock. One piece is on the lead pipe lined up with the raised lip on the slide and the other is on th

[lauriet]

Any tips to make the slide move smoothly and to give the sound some zing ?