Euphonium Maintenance

Daniel8802 · Post by **Daniel8802** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 4:48 pm

Hi All! My 842S (Yamaha Euph) is approaching a year old and I wanted to it to get a good clean up. Has anyone ever brought their horn in for service like buffing and things like that? What was the price it ran - if you don't midnd - for a nice clean and tune up? Also, did you just take it to your local musics store? Thanks!

Randy Beschorner · Post by **Randy Beschorner** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 5:00 pm

How much you spend isn't nearly as important as where you spend it. Given that you're in the Philadelphia side of NJ. you're essentially a day trip away from Dillons Music. Definitely can't go wrong there. To answer your other question, I did take it to my local music repair shop, but then again, it was Wayne Tanabe and the Brass Bow outside of Chicago.

Enjoy the 842S, it's one of the best Yamaha puts out.

Daniel8802 · Post by **Daniel8802** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 5:13 pm

thanks! I do love it ... it has done me very well, so far!

... Dillion is in Philadelphia, I thought it was in northern NJ?

Daniel8802 · Post by **Daniel8802** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 5:34 pm

I just did a mapquest search for dillon music from my house and it takes 1hr 25min to get there / about 80mi which I think might be too far

Carroll · Post by **Carroll** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 12:02 am

Daniel8802 wrote:thanks! I do love it ... it has done me very well, ...
it takes 1hr 25min to get there / about 80mi which I think might be too far

I don't understand. I would (and do) drive further than that for things I just LIKE much less things I LOVE.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:59 am

bloke wrote:
Daniel8802 wrote:I just did a mapquest search for dillon music from my house and it takes 1hr 25min to get there / about 80mi which I think might be too far
Someone shows you a "euphonium cleaning" expert within 1-1/2 hrs. of your house, and that's "too far"...?!?

My thoughts exactly.

My brass repair man is less than 10 miles from where I live currently, but it still takes about 30 minutes to get there...

I'd count myself lucky if I was only 90 minutes away from Matt Walters/Dillon Music.

-Tom "moving to within a few hours drive of TubaTinker (to the south) and Brasswind (to the north)" B.

Mike Finn · Post by **Mike Finn** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:04 am

bloke wrote: Did I save you five minutes driving time, or not...?

Geez Bloke, Harv isn't even in the same state as the OP, there might be toll bridges or something!

(Although I'll take country drivin' over city drivin' any day.)

Daniel, when you say "buffing" do you mean just a really good clean and shine, or is there damage to the instrument (big dents, scratches) that would need to be addressed and cleaned up afterwards? You can clean the exterior of the horn pretty thoroughly yourself by pulling a thick cotton shoelace (or thin strip of soft cloth) back and forth carefully between all the nooks and crannies, and wiping the whole horn down with a little lemon fresh Pledge afterwards. Be sure to use a lint-free cloth! I recommend Googalies, available here: http://www.MilitaryMusician.com once he get's the new store fully up and running.

A typical once-yearly service should probably include a good cleaning of the inside of the horn (chem clean) and checking the valves (and slides) for proper alignment which may require new felts, corks, neoprenes or whatever. Sorry I can't give you an $$ estimate, (I play tuba and they always cost more for everything!) but it is well worth it to keep your baby in top shape. And I second the recommendation of Dillon's, although it's a bit of a drive (I'll be making the drive up from sunny I mean snowy Virginia Beach this summer for a yearly maintenance and a few tweaks) you'll be hard pressed to find a shop with half the expertise or the eye candy (new/used horns) on the East Coast, let alone within an hour and a half of where you live.

Best of luck!
MF

Daniel8802 · Post by **Daniel8802** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:47 am

I just want a cleaning and and a nice shine. It's not all dented or something like that. I just want it to get detailed I guess you could say. Now, I think that is too far for an 1h 25min drive (one way) for getting it cleaned / shined.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:58 am

DCottrell · Post by **DCottrell** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:25 am

Daniel

My shop is very close to Newark, DE. Send me a PM.
Dave

pulseczar · Post by **pulseczar** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:21 am

If you don't have a car or have to depend on other people to supply you with rides, I understand. Why don't you convince someone or a group of people to make a tourist trip to NY, and 'casually' drop your horn down at Dillons?

Eupher6 · Post by **Eupher6** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:31 pm

If all you want is to have it "detailed" why not just give it a good bath and run a snake through all the tubing?

You'll pull out stuff you never thought possible, some of which is not fit to be published here.