TubeNet

I am on my second St. Pete CC Tuba; returning the first one with all kinds of problems with valves, keys, linkage, tuning slides leaking air, etc.
Tuba Exchange sent me another one which plays pretty good, valves work fairly well, but there is one problem. When I go to snake or swab out the tubing, tuning slides, receiver tubing, there is a dark black gray greasy residue all over the inside of the horn. Doesn't anyone check these horns before they send them out? I keep swabbing and cleaning, and the stuff just keeps coming out of the horn. What is this from, and why doesn't it get cleaned at the dealer?

Can it cause damage to the rotary valves?

Dirt and dust almost always are part of receiving a new instrument. At least one maker used to recommend a thorough cleaning before using the new instrument. Packing in sealed plastic bag was not common back then, and dust is everywhere.

The greasy part may even be considered a good thing as that indicates lubrication of the moving parts before shipping.

My remedy is about taking all slides out and hose out the instrument. I used to place instruments on a thick towel in my bathtub and put the shower hose (with the head taken off) to all open ends of tubing. I used water so hot as my hands could take it. Valves should be worked while the water runs through them.

My current home has no bathtub, so I put the towel on the bathroom floor. I have acquire a 3/4" hose, which will fit over most ends of tubing.

The process takes some sense of balance, so that the instrument gone heavy from the water does not topple and get dented. A tuba gets very heavy, so a sense of moving the instrument with minimum effort so that it drains, also is helpful. Basically it is all about gravity making water run downwards. This sounds immensely redundant, but some people apparently don’t have that sense at all.

Please remember oiling and greasing moving parts before re-assembly, or they may get stuck very soon.

Klaus

That stuff inside the horn is residue from various manufacturing, honing, buffing, and plating operations. And yes.... it's much easier to remove near the end of the manufacturing process. The most stubborn stuff are the grease-based buffing compounds. Manufacturers have degreasing equipment for this purpose and I don't fully understand why they don't use it.

I don't recommend doing this at home. But... I've seen stuff inside new horns so 'sticky' that I've had to circulate solvent through the horn to wash it out.

Get it cleaned locally and send TE the bill. No reason a tuba should come to you like that. No one would sell you a new car with dirty windows and dirty seats...

I'm going to disagree a bit here, having worked in instrument manufacturing.

What you are finding is probably lapping compounds, maybe some buffing compounds. Yes, it can be cleaned out at the factory before shipping, but it's very difficult to get absolutely all of it, and it works its way out if you oil the valves diligently.

Remember, what you bought and paid for was a budget instrument. A St. Pete is not a Meinl-Weston or Mirafone, and the difference in price is pretty much all in the cost of manufacturing man-hours.

My advice to you would be to keep oiling it every day for a while. Go ahead and use fairly cheap, fairly thin oil, like Al Cass fast. Before too long you will find that the residue coming out has all but disappeared, and you can switch to a thicker rotor oil once or twice a week.

glangfur wrote:Remember, what you bought and paid for was a budget instrument. A St. Pete is not a Meinl-Weston or Mirafone, and the difference in price is pretty much all in the cost of manufacturing man-hours.

I agree with everything, but this I'm back/forth about. He paid for a *new* instrument, so the instrument should at least be clean. Don't get me wrong, I believe in a difference in manufacture, but when you drop *any* amount of money for a new instrument, shouldn't it be in clean condition.

Just my opinion...

Joseph

UTSAtuba wrote:

glangfur wrote:Remember, what you bought and paid for was a budget instrument. A St. Pete is not a Meinl-Weston or Mirafone, and the difference in price is pretty much all in the cost of manufacturing man-hours.

I agree with everything, but this I'm back/forth about. He paid for a *new* instrument, so the instrument should at least be clean. Don't get me wrong, I believe in a difference in manufacture, but when you drop *any* amount of money for a new instrument, shouldn't it be in clean condition.

Just my opinion...

Joseph

Well... I 'sort of' agree. While there nothing wrong with buying a budget horn... this problem is in that area of 'fit and finish' that just comes with the territory. There have been enough discussions about the Asian and Russian tubas that EVERYONE should be aware by now of the differences between a Mirafone and a lesser brand.

This is like buying a cheap house and finishing the drywall yourself. I think they call it 'sweat equity'. You gets what you pays for.

I've purchased many brass instruments over the years. Some of the filthiest have been name-brand horns from Germany. Some of the cleanest have been name-brand horns from Germany. It's all about attitude and quality control at the factories.

By the way, the most clean new horns I've owned (trumpets, horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas) have been Bach Strad, Cerveny, B&S, Schilke, Yamaha, and Schiller. Yes, Schiller, a low-cost Chinese line.

The OP said the valves work "fairly well." That's not exactly a glowing assessment to apply "if it's not broke, don't fix it." Sounds a little broke to me.

Budget, fit, finish, etc aside, I think the tuba should be clean. Is it really healthy to be huffing and puffing around all of that gunk?

New quality name brand instruments from Germany come from the factory with grease and buffing compounds in the leadpipe and bows. They also often frequently come with with very poorly aligned valves.

It is my strong opinion that the misaligned valves should be considered unacceptable BUT the grease is perfectly fine. It's a byproduct of the manufacturing process and provides a layer of protection to the brass while it sits in storage or on a display floor being played by potentially hundreds of random people. Oil the horn diligently for the first six months and then pay to have the horn professionally chem/ultrasonically cleaned by someone you trust and learn to be happy. Your horn is FINE... especially for the price.

If it wasn't for all the grease, slime, body cheese and lung butter inside a tuba, it would make a great beer bong.

tubatooter1940 wrote:If it wasn't for all the grease, slime, body cheese and lung butter inside a tuba, it would make a great beer bong.

Who needs beer??

Tuba Guy wrote:

tubatooter1940 wrote:If it wasn't for all the grease, slime, body cheese and lung butter inside a tuba, it would make a great beer bong.

Who needs beer??

I need beer!

tubatooter1940 wrote:If it wasn't for all the grease, slime, body cheese and lung butter inside a tuba, it would make a great beer bong.

Ewww man, that's f'ing gross. I'm glad I wasn't eating when I read that!

glangfur wrote:
Remember, what you bought and paid for was a budget instrument. A St. Pete is not a Meinl-Weston or Mirafone, and the difference in price is pretty much all in the cost of manufacturing man-hours.

Try convincing the folks at Tuba Exchange this.....Good Luck....