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Hello -

About a week ago, I purchased a used Miraphone 1293. I love the sound I get and it plays very nicely with one exception. Once in a while, the 1st and/or 4th valve will catch when I release it. It is not an every time thing. It only happens when I'm playing. Testing the valves by themselves shows no problem. My first inclination is that the valve casings need to be cleaned. Would you agree? And how do I go about doing that?

Could this be an indication of a larger problem? I do have a couple of weeks to return the horn.

The horn came with some Al Cass oil which I've been putting 2 or 3 drops on each valve before and after I play.

Thank you so much for any advice you can provide.

Without seeing the horn it's impossible to tell, but a couple of my students have had trouble with new horns and sticky piston valves and the culprit has turned out to be honing gunk in valve guide slots.

Don't know if your horn even has them, or is internally sprung...

This is just kind of a random idea, but I had a problem kind of like that after a valve rebuild; I don't know if I'd have used the word "catch", but the pistons didn't always come back up like they should, especially first valve. One thing that helped was to put more oil on them (duh, but ...), not so much more volume as more along the length of the piston. I had been applying the oil at the top and expecting it to wick down, but for whatever reason, that apparently isn't so effective with these tighter, rebuilt pistons.

Of course there are a variety of other things that can go wrong. If there's gunk in there, in or near the valve, it's sure not a bad idea to wipe some of it out.

I've had rotary valves stick, too. In either case, only when playing. I imagine that if there were a way to reliably duplicate the circumstances around this event, it would make the visit to the repair shop more productive.

My 1291 had that problem... I gave it a bath and brushed the casings real good, lots of hetman #2, and never had the problem again.

Those Miraphones have really tight tolerances so any dirt or mixing of oils will slow things down.

First off.... STOP the 'one or two drops' stuff. Give the horn a good bath and LIBERALLY oil the valves before you play it.

I have been having the same problem with my MW 2141. The second valve likes to stick but only when I am playing. I took it apart, cleaned the valves and ran a lint free cloth through the casings. I got a good bit of black dirt out of it. After putting it back together it worked better but still stuck a little bit. Probably need to do a better job at cleaning the valve guide slot.

I only use Sumatran single-origin valve oil in an egyptian cotton filter at a temperature of 88 degrees celcius. Gently extract the beans with a subtle wait what are we talking about?

Hi Tubarush,

Something you might want to try is, as other members here have recommended, is getting a professional clean on your instrument. A repairman who has any reasonable amount of experience will give worthwhile maintenance to it. It'll be up and playing in no time.

bloke wrote:lime.

And soda?

To assure that your valves are trouble-free for a very long time, have the tuba professionally chemically-cleaned, so that all foreign matter, including lime (calcium) build-up, is gone, and then use a good, stable oil like Hetman #2 piston valve oil on it. I have personally tried Al Cass, but it is made for clean, tight trumpets, not for tubas, and provides insufficient lubrication. When Al Cass evaporates, there is nothing left but water moisture and crud. That is why I have to try to lightly buff-out scratches on professional tuba and euphonium pistons, because they have essentially be run oil-less. I have had only two customers in 13 years whose body chemistry did not agree with Hetman valve oil, and they were able to use the Yamaha synthetic oil. I would recommend either of them, or a good traditional hydrocarbon oil. I use Hetman on my CC and BBb tubas, clean them about twice a year, and have no valve problems. I'll probably oil my valves twice this week to keep them at optimal condition, and that is gigging 5 nights this week (wish THAT happened more often).

Thank you so much for all of the replies.

Prior to taking it in for a chemical clean, I'd like to "give it a bath" as someone wrote. How do I do this? (If I decide to keep the horn, I'll definitely do the chemical clean.)

Thanks again.

In other descaling applications, citric acid is commonly used with brass, maybe a teaspoon per quart. it doesn't cost much, might be able to find it at brewing supply places if there's no restaurant supply nearby. I am not necessarily saying I'd do that, but I've never noticed much lime buildup anyway.