All brass instruments come with slides that move. The largest one is the “main tuning slide”. The others are used to tune individual notes. Some may need to be pulled out to make the instrument flatter, others are pushed in to make the instrument sharper. In the case of trombones, not only is there a “main tuning slide” but each note can be tuned by using the hand slide. To start with, brass instruments are designed to play sharp. This can be corrected by moving the “main tuning slide” out about ¾ of an inch. When you play using a tuner you should see the instrument playing in tune with the “main tuning slide” pulled out about that far. This isn’t a rule, but a suggestion. You may find that your instrument plays in tune somewhere near to this measurement depending on the player, the brand of instrument and the condition of the instrument. Some instruments can be adjusted while playing. Trumpets, trombones and horns are found in this category. With the help of rings, hooks, saddles and well-lubricated slides notes can be adjusted while playing.   This brings me to the most important part of tuning. None of this

In our next couple of blogs we are going to talk about the basics of tuning your instrument. While this may seem oversimplified there are some important details about the different families and the instruments within that are important to know. All brass and woodwind instruments are designed around the A440/A442 pitch and can be adjusted higher (sharper) or lower (flatter) to a certain extent. Adjusting too far either way will affect the scale of the instrument and can actually cause playing problems. On this blog we will start with the woodwinds. Flute/Piccolo-Where the head joint tenon fits into the  receiver at the top of the main body tube is where the tuning is done. You would normally start by inserting the tenon all the way in and then pulling it out about 1/8-3/16 inch to start tuning. Then you would push in more to raise the pitch or pull it out to lower. Never use the head crown assembly for general tuning. For more info about the head crown assembly see our post titled "There’s A Cork In My Flute. What Does It Do?".   Bb-Eb Clarinets-Where the barrel fits onto the top of the upper joint is where

  Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenpete/5522933139 In case you haven’t noticed it’s here again. COLD WEATHER! Just a reminder that leaving your instrument out in the cold weather can lead to serious repair problems. Especially with woodwind instruments like wooden clarinets, oboes, bassoons and more. If the temperature gets too low it can actually freeze the moisture in the wood and cause it to crack. When a cold instrument is taken inside it should not be put together and played right away. A rapid rise in the temperature can cause the wood to crack also. It needs to acclimate to the inside temperature. The body on the instrument should be held in your hands and blow some warm air through the bore for a few minutes before putting it together to play. Like we mentioned this time last year, string instruments are subject to the same conditions. Cold freezing temperatures can cause the wood to crack and also cause the seams where they are glued together to come apart. Just like the woodwind instruments when taken inside after being out in the cold they need a few minutes to acclimate to the inside temperature before being played. Also……….In case you haven’t noticed something

Instrument cases are a vital part of your instrument. They protect your instrument while it is not being used and are extremely important when traveling to and from places. Back and forth to home, contests, concerts, lockers and etc. And especially right now during Marching Band season. Make sure you use your case. Many instruments that come through our repair shop are damaged from ill fitting cases. When the insides of the case are broken/worn out it no longer holds the instrument securely and can lead to bent keys, dents and even scratches. We have seen instruments that were repaired just a few weeks ago come back in for repair again and the culprit is a bad case. Also on most cases there is not enough room for books and music between the lid and the instrument, yet we find them crammed into cases all the time causing undo pressure on the instrument. Then if the case gets bumped from the outside it can damage the instrument. This is a very common occurrence with trumpets. The 2nd valve slide sticks up when it is in the case. Then when you put a music book on top of it and close

  CA glue is an ingenious product for certain applications. It is commonly called Super Glue or Krazy Glue, among other labels.   For orchestral or any musical instrument, it is dangerous and strictly taboo. A recent violin repair came in with bridge problems. The bridge was “loose” and had been superglued to the top. The result was a poor bond that failed and left a hard mess on the bridge and the violin finish. The bridge had to be replaced. Before this could be done, the CA glue on the finish needed to be removed. This is a tediously complicated and expensive task that is nearly impossible to accomplish without damage to the finish. The bridge is meant to be held in place with string pressure and must not be glued to the top. CA glue, used anywhere on instruments will cause damage that is nearly always permanent, and is unnecessary. Please never, ever use CA glue on your instrument. We also have band instruments come in quite often that have been super glued back together. Never a good idea! Super glue will never hold a post on or fix a tuning slide that has come apart. They must be

Most wooden oboes and clarinets are made of granadilla wood. It is a very dense and stable wood and is very carefully aged and treated before it is made into an instrument. However, it is a piece of wood and therefore is subject to the will of a natural organic product. It is often commented on in professional circles that it is not a matter of “if” your instrument is going to crack but a matter of “when it will” crack. More so with oboes than clarinets. At this point the instrument is not ruined ordefective, it just needs repaired. Something we do all the time. We seal the crack up using one of several different methods and that usually takes care of the problem. However it is also important to note that sometimes a crack will re-appear after it has been repaired at which time we would repeat the same process. What can you do to prevent a crack (Remeber, expect it to crack sooner or later. It’s wood.) Take precautions. Do not keep wood instruments in extreme cold or hot conditions. (Mostly talking about your car here.) When getting ready to play, let the instrument adjust to the

From time to time we get string instruments in with a complaint about a buzzing sound or vibration. Sometimes a buzz is a simple matter to correct. Sometimes it can be a long process of elimination that proves very frustrating. There are some simple causes and corrections that need to be considered before anything is taken apart. Some simple causes are loose fine tuners, fingerboard position tape, the chinrest vibrating against the tailpiece, unsecured chinrest tightening screws, unsecured string sleeves, low nut notches, objects inside the instrument, defective or fraying strings, open seams, and glue or varnish in f holes. With cellos and basses the endpin rod will cause a buzz when it is not secured or even when it is not pulled out. It is often a combination of the above problems, which leads to a process of elimination that can take time. This can be quite frustrating when the answer is simple but elusive. Sometimes it is a judgment call if or when a string that looks fine is actually false or has loose winding. It is a bit of relaxed humor in our shop that the bass bar is sometimes considered first when it is almost never

There are many problems with rotary valves. Maintaining them requires skills in tying knots, gentle tapping with special hammers, not to mention all those little screws and bumpers. Then after they are completely apart, they must be cleaned off all the dirt and debris on the valves and inside the casings. Lubricating and returning them to their proper casing and reassembling are the next hurdles. This first picture here shows valves from an instrument that the valves were barely working on. You can see the oxidation and staining on the valves from lack of lubrication turning them almost black. Prolonged lack of lubrication along with dirt and debris caused this build up inside the casings and prevented the rotors from turning smoothly. Sometimes it is so bad we have to forcibly, but gently, drive the valves out of the casings. We then have to clean the valves and the body of the instrument in our ultrasonic cleaner to get them back to new condition. In the second picture you can see the valves after they have been cleaned just before they are re-installed in the instrument. Proper lubrication will keep your valves looking this way and prevent sluggish action due

A common complaint when a flute or piccolo comes in for repair is that “it is just not playing like it used to” or that “it sounds airy”. The first thing we check is the position and the fit of the head joint cork assembly. If it’s not in the right place, or if it’s too loose, the intonation and tone quality of the instrument will be affected. Proper placement of the head joint cork assembly is crucial. Use the following steps to check the placement of your cork assembly. On the end of your cleaning rod, you will notice a line. This is actually a measuring tool to check the placement of your cork assembly. Place that end of the cleaning rod into the open end of your head joint until it makes contact with the head cork plate. Look into the embouchure hole (blow hole) and locate the line on your cleaning rod. It should be in the center of the embouchure hole. If the mark is down toward the open end of the head joint, you should tighten the head crown to pull the cork assembly back up the tube. If the line is too close to