I've taken the plunge and bought my first ever 'brand new' tuba... Traded in a Rudy Meinl BBb for a new Yamaha Neo compensated BBb.
The Neo is fantastic - very, very happy with my purchase.
I'm wondering what tips people have as to care for a brand new horn. If possible I'd like to avoid pouring milk down it...I have heard different bits and pieces about oiling the valves every day for the first 6 weeks. I'm wondering what opinions people have on 'the first 100 days' of new tuba ownership.
Just a tongue in cheek reference to what has been discussed a few times here
...a (hopefully) out-dated and (probably) misguided practice of pouring milk down a tuba in an attempt to 'seal up' different bits and pieces and generally make it play better.
Generally, with a new horn, it's a good idea to wipe the valves off with a dust-free rag before oiling them. Wiping off the valves will remove the tiny bits of metal that well get worn away as your valves break in.
I agree totally with the comment to wipe off the valves each day, especially while breaking it in.
I also find it useful to put a dozen or so drops of oil down the leadpipe, insert the mouthpiece, and blow it through the horn while you wiggle the valves. This helps to flush out any gunk left over from manufacture and also helps to "smooth over" the many joints inside the horn. It sort of gets you some of the benefit of pouring milk through the horn without stinking things up!* I would suggest blowing the oil though first, then take out each valve, wipe it, oil it well, and put it back in the cylinder. Through the entire break-in period I strongly suggest only using petroleum ("regular" or "standard") valve oil. It cleans things out better.
Also do a bit of work on the tuning slides now and then. Remove them, clean them off carefully, wipe out the tube they came from if you can, lube and re-insert. In order to avoid oil/grease conflicts, use standard slide grease during break in, not synthetic..
* Some players used to suggest that you pour milk through a new horn, rinse it out lightly with clear water, then leave the residue inside to horn to give it a coating internally. This was supposed to help the horn feel more broken in. I suspect part of this was due to wider variations in assembly than good factories produce today, so the remaining milk residue tended to fill the joints in a bit to make the bore smoother. I'm planning on getting a new horn this summer, and I WON'T be pouring milk into it!
I oil my pistons every time I play. I think everyone should regardless of the age of the horn.
Also... to heck with a few drops. POUR the oil on so dirt and such will be washed off. Wiping the pistons with a lint-free cloth is a good idea.
Keep the bottom caps clear of gunk and avoid standing the horn on it's bell if you can.
Dan Schultz
"The Village Tinker" http://www.thevillagetinker.com" target="_blank
Current 'stable'... Rudolf Meinl 5/4, Marzan (by Willson) euph, King 2341, Alphorn, and other strange stuff.
TubaTinker wrote:Also... to heck with a few drops. POUR the oil on so dirt and such will be washed off. Wiping the pistons with a lint-free cloth is a good idea.
Keep the bottom caps clear of gunk and avoid standing the horn on it's bell if you can.
I actually like to use the word "pour" myself, but it seems to strike some as too "gross" so I dialed it back a bit! But valve oil doesn't cost much, and I'm pretty generous when I dump it in.
Your comment about the bottom caps is excellent as well. Normally I recommend this for ongoing maintenance, but I suppose it is just as valid for new horns. Gunk tends to settle down there, and with many modern valve-sets the clearance between the bottom cap and the bottom of the depressed valve is quite small. If there is gunk there, it gets knocked around and ends up causing trouble with valve action.
I pour a bunch of Marvel Mystery Oil through my instruments at least once a month, and also apply it to the valves. It has a detergent that does a nice job at getting the junk out. I will usually play the horn with the thick oil until it gets gummy. I think of it as finger exercise and it helps to deeply lubricate and clean the inner parts.
Once it's gummy, use a thinner oil and the valves will fly!
Mira 291 CC
Yorkbrunner CC
Eastman CC
YFB-822 F
YFB-621 F
PT-10 F Clone
MackMini F
YBL622 B-TB
YSL891Z TB
Xeno Bb/C Trps
Taylor Bb/C Trp
Eclipse C Trp
Yamaha C Pic
Lawler C7 Trp
Osmun Corumpet
Carol Pocket Trp
Schagerl Gansch Horn
Monette Ajna Trumpet
What I'm taking away from the massed wisdom here is:
Daily:
1- "Pour" some valve oil down the leadpipe, blow it through and work the valves
2- Wipe pistons down with a lint-free/microfiber-type cloth
3- Oil pistons generously
4- Avoid leaving the horn resting on its bell (what's the reasoning behind doing this? Aside from it's always safest in its case)
Occasionally:
1- Check bottom valve casing for gunk build-up
2- Check pistons for discolouration/ "patina", and wipe/oil when I see them
Are there any other opinions on Dylan's ideas around Marvel Mystery Oil? I've never heard of the stuff before. Did a quick google and from what I can tell it looks quite automotive and industrial-ish - http://www.marvelmysteryoil.com/index.php/site/mmo/" target="_blank" target="_blank. Is it really a good idea to apply that to valves occasionally?
And Gerard - I love the tuba so far. I'll post something a bit in-depth after I've been playing on it for longer
With a horn with side valves like yours, if you rest it on the bell, it situations the valves so they are upside down. Any gunk that happens to be in the bottom cap will run "down" into the valves.
This is an interesting post, particularly to someone who daily cares for other people's instruments.
I'll just tell you what I do to new instruments, and what I suggest to my customers.
I've sold new instruments ranging from Weril to Josef Lidl to Willson and Rudolf Meinl instruments. The more expensive the instrument in general, the better condition it is in when leaving the factory, and the less prep work it needs to initially work well. However, raw brass is unstable, and there are two ways to stabilize it, otherwise the instrument will eventually get rather filled with crud, impairing the action of the valves and slides, and the corrosion and grit will wear out the mechanisms.
Bloke mentioned keeping it clean and using plenty of oil, allowing the metal to slowly darken to where there is a hard oxidized surface that will be less likely to turn green or become crud-infested. When I prep and shop-adjust a new instrument, I like to clean the entire instrument with Dawn detergent and warm water to remove buffing rouge from the inside, inspect every nook and cranny to find any factory glitches inside, use a de-limer/de-scaler dip, because there is many times already crud growing in the instrument, and finally dip the new instrument in bright dip, which stabilizes the brass by immediately forming a stable yellow outer surface to the interior brass. If left undisturbed, treated brass parts will not tarnish for years. If the slides or valves do not work as freely as they should, I will correct alignment problems or lap the offending part, as appropriate. After the final cleaning and rinsing, I take care to dry our everything thoroughly with a cleaning rod and cheesecloth. Not getting the instrument dry inside lessens the efectiveness of the cleaning, and willdilute your lubricants, making them not last as long. After everything is really clean and dry, I assemble the valves and slides, using Hetman lubricants, which are synthetic hydrocarbon lubricants. They have anti-wear agents and corrosion inhibitors, so I find that instruments prepped like this require no break-in procedures, and stay remarkably cleaner than other instruments. Rotor instrument treated like this rarely need servicing, and piston-valve instruments tend to need valve oil once a week if played daily. The most important factor in stabilizing the brass is that you want to avoid pink-rot or red-rot if at all possible. I have seen advanced cases of this in the valve casings of Asian-made instruments that were less than 5 years old, and this could have been prevented if they had been maintained. I would suggest regularly cleaning your leadpipe, and running oil down your leadpipe will ensure that you will need to do that often. I would not recommend running oil down your leadpipe, or anything else besides the flex cleaning brush, soap and warm water.
The valves are tight-enough on your new instrument that setting the instrument on the bell should not be an issue, unless it falls over - just use common sense on that one. You might have to clean mouthpipe residue off of the bell flare where it drains, id you set the instrument on it's bell.
i think that the bottom line these days is, the instrument should be prepped well-enough that it is a great player for you from day 1, and if you clean it regularly and lubricate it generously, it should be a great horn for many years.
