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I am overdue for cleaning--at least 2 1/2 years of heavy playing. The last time I went an hour and a half to Baltimore Brass and they did a great job. I had previously called Dillon's and Baltimore Brass was cheaper and the hour and a half was the same ride as Dillon's. So, whichever is cheaper will be where I go this time, right? However, a new repair shop has set up operations 3 miles from my home, offering sonic cleaning instead of chem cleaning. I asked them to explain why their method is better and they said that it is more efficient and there is supposed to be less wearing of the brass than with chem cleaning.Then they quoted me a price of $250. for my Mira 186: I was flabbergasted. I believe when I asked BB a month or so ago that their rate was around $125 IIRC. So, my questions are these: Is this sonic cleaning twice as good as chem? Is it worth avoiding the time and expense of BB or Dillon's? What is the going rate for these services in your area?
I realize that there is also the portion of the work involving adjustments, bumpers, lube, etc., which I believe this local guy should be able to handle satisfactorily. I am just stunned by the cost differential, even if there is no travel expense involved.

scottw wrote:I am overdue for cleaning--at least 2 1/2 years of heavy playing. The last time I went an hour and a half to Baltimore Brass and they did a great job. I had previously called Dillon's and Baltimore Brass was cheaper and the hour and a half was the same ride as Dillon's. So, whichever is cheaper will be where I go this time, right? However, a new repair shop has set up operations 3 miles from my home, offering sonic cleaning instead of chem cleaning. I asked them to explain why their method is better and they said that it is more efficient and there is supposed to be less wearing of the brass than with chem cleaning.Then they quoted me a price of $250. for my Mira 186: I was flabbergasted. I believe when I asked BB a month or so ago that their rate was around $125 IIRC. So, my questions are these: Is this sonic cleaning twice as good as chem? Is it worth avoiding the time and expense of BB or Dillon's? What is the going rate for these services in your area?
I realize that there is also the portion of the work involving adjustments, bumpers, lube, etc., which I believe this local guy should be able to handle satisfactorily. I am just stunned by the cost differential, even if there is no travel expense involved.

I don't know if YOU will notice a difference in just one cleaning or two. And they say it's better for the horn.....but I have a feeling we wouldn't live long enough to really notice how the wear of a chem clean affects the horn. Since we usually get horns cleaned like that not too often, I would just go for the more inexpensive.

Around here, it's more like the $125 to get the sonic clean (they don't do the chem clean anymore for the reasons you have listed). You may be getting a rip....but maybe not.

What's wrong with cleaning out the horn yourself? Fill a bathtub...polish it up....if you run some HOT HOT water through the horn, tons of gunk will come out...and it'll be relatively free.....

Hope you find what you're looking for.

pierso20 wrote:
What's wrong with cleaning out the horn yourself? Fill a bathtub...polish it up....if you run some HOT HOT water through the horn, tons of gunk will come out...and it'll be relatively free.....

WARNING: hot water can damage (or remove completely) lacquer finish, especially if the lacquer has been previously worn or damaged.

Also, tubas filled with water are heavy and can be slippery (especially if you use any soap that will dissolve the grease and oil)

Use hot water at your own risk!

Tom wrote:

pierso20 wrote:
What's wrong with cleaning out the horn yourself? Fill a bathtub...polish it up....if you run some HOT HOT water through the horn, tons of gunk will come out...and it'll be relatively free.....

WARNING: hot water can damage (or remove completely) lacquer finish, especially if the lacquer has been previously worn or damaged.

Also, tubas filled with water are heavy and can be slippery (especially if you use any soap that will dissolve the grease and oil)

Use hot water at your own risk!

Typically, Hot water will not mess up your lacquer if it is quality (not 100% sure. There has been a lot of discussion about this before with experience with either case). I have taken poorly constructed trumpets and put them in boiling water with no lacquer loss (when I was actually TRYING to strip it ). I have also bathed several tubas (nickel plated, good lacquer, poor lacquer etc...) Plus, "hot water" isn't totally necessary if you're bathing the horn....you can just wash the horn.

Yes, it can get slippery and heavy....do so with care. However, I have never damaged a horn doing so....and saved myself a pretty penny.

Many people clean their own horns. If you're trying to be cost efficient this is a way to do it.

Money not an problem? Then take it to a reputable shop that you're comfortable with.

Of course, when you do it yourself, you're in complete control.....just because it's with a "pro" doesn't mean they didn't dent your horn and then cleverly de-dent it before you get it back... Not that I know of this for sure...but hey, it could happen...

Greg wrote:It seems like prices vary based on number of valves, lacquer or silver, piston or rotor. At least with my tubas...$125 is lower than I've been paying.

Correct--that's what I've paid in the past, on 4 valves, lacquer, etc. But $250.?

I recently paid $135 dollars to get both my Bb and F chem cleaned, although it was a 2.5 hour drive to Cape Girerdeau to get it done. Locally was quoted at 130 for Bb and 100 for F, so I took the gas and food cost to save 100 dollars +-.

Be careful if there is red-rot in your leadpipe, etc. That ultra sonic cleaning has a history of blowing holes in old horns.

Matt Walters wrote:Be careful if there is red-rot in your leadpipe, etc. That ultra sonic cleaning has a history of blowing holes in old horns.

ditto

Matt Walters wrote:Be careful if there is red-rot in your leadpipe, etc. That ultra sonic cleaning has a history of blowing holes in old horns.

Good advice, Matt! This is something I have never heard of.The leadpipe is nickel and new, but in a 30+ YO horn, there can be red-rot hidden in some bend. Just for reference, though: will chem cleaning also hasten a blow-out in a red-rot area?

something to check on when going to have it chem cleaned, is what they do when they chem clean it. Some places do very little when told to chem clean it, some do a lot. Make sure you go to a place that tells you that they degrease it, put it in the chemical and then wash it out...the grease keeps the chemical from working...

This reminds me to get a chem clean!!!
However, the point I will make, is that we often get what we pay for. When I go to Dillons, Matt asks me about how the horn is playing, issues I might have, what it could do better, so it feels like a real tune-up more than just a clean. To me that's the true bargain right there.
Peace.
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