I bought a horn right? Well I should know this by now but I do it all the time and so do many other people. I cant afford a good name brand horn. So I went with a cheap one just to test the waters and see if I even liked beginning horn playing. Well about 5 minutes into playing was fine, the keys then got sticky. I oiled them up and this didnt help, it got worse with in seconds. Finally working them to try and get the oil down in there they got so bad they would stay down, even couldnt press a couple. Almost to a freeze. I emailed the seller and he was very helpful in that he will exchange it, he claims just about everyone that purchased one loved them and he has never had this bad of a problem with them. He also gave me the option of refund. So being scared about them I asked for a refund and he agreed, less the shipping of coarse. So im out of a horn :-( and I'll have to wait before I get one again to be able to afford a good one.

In general, you should oil the valves and grease the slides of a new horn before you play it. Hopefully, any machining debris will have already been washed out ...

This can also happen with well known brand horns - if anything its more likely to happen with a Holton than an unknown Chinese brand!

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If you don't know what to oil and its not described in an enclosed leaflet look it up or ask the manufacturer.

too late I sent it back for a refund, but I took the whole valve apart and wiped it out clean and oiled it from ground zero, when I put it back together it worked 2 or 3 times and went right back to freezing up. So rather than waist anymore time I sent it back.