Posted by Paul Roache on March 25, 2001 at 21:32:53:
In Reply to: Re: Deposits on valves and valve casings posted by Joe S. on March 25, 2001 at 20:41:48:
You don't mention the make of the instrument. The tuba player in my
quintet has the same problem with his German-made VMI. He spoke with
Dan Perantoni about it and he told us something we didn't know. On
the European horns, the tubing is filled with "pitch". This keeps
the metal from stressing and breaking during the bending process.
It's against the law for the European makers to clean out the horn
before selling it, the logic being if there is pitch residue in the
horn, it was made properly. Dan strongly recommends the first thing
you do when you purchase a European made instrument is get it in for
for an acid bath otherwise you will get this black crud building up
on the valves and casings.