Re: Sterling Euphonium question


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Posted by Mark Heter on October 03, 2003 at 07:43:53:

In Reply to: Sterling Euphonium question posted by Euphman on October 02, 2003 at 23:39:03:

Compensating instruments have longer valves than other horns; in order to keep the action working right, they need to be clean and aligned properly.

Find a professional's repairman in your area - be wary of some the butchers who service rental instruments and take shortcuts.

Over time, the inside of valve casings can tarnish (especially if you have corrosive saliva, or drink soft drinks on your breaks), and this will slow down the valves by reducing the clearance, which is pretty tight to begin with.

You don't say what kind of valve guides you have. The nylon plastic guides are in fashion these days because they are quiet, but for dependability, I believe you can't beat the nickel silver guides, custom filed into fit by a good repairman. My new King (new to me, I bought off another musician through this site) had nylon valve guides installed, and they are quiet. They also hang up when you least expect it, and yes, the plastic does shrink over time. The expansion and contraction rate of the plastic is different from the metal in the rest of the horn, so once you get the instrumnet warmed up, the clearances change.

The nice thing about pistons is that most problems with them can solved with a lint free cloth pulled through the valve casing with a cleaning rod. I also use a Hoppe's shot gun cleaning kit to pull swabs through the valve tubings, along with a trombone snake brush.

Also, new horns, despite the modern manufacturing methods and improved degreasing procedures still contain debris like buffing rouge, pitch, and lubricating oil from the forming mandrels.

Frequent cleanouts with dish detergent (Dawn works great) eventually eliminate this.

Good luck!

MH


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