Has it been a while since your instrument was in for a check-up? If summer is a down time for you and your playing time, then you should send your instrument in for a check-up. We recommend two visits each year to help keep your instrument in proper playing condition and the summer is the perfect time. In fact, schools across the state will be sending in all kinds of school-owned instruments this summer to be cleaned, repaired, and refurbished so that they are ready to go for the next school year. The best way to get your horn serviced during the summer is to bring it to the store. Our District Managers are visiting some schools during the summer, but not all schools and not every week. It’s very sporadic. The safe thing to do is call us first to see if arrangements can be made to drop off a loaner and pick up your instrument. You can call us at 1-800-337-0471. Have a great rest of your summer and don’t forget to practice!

We can’t stress this topic enough.  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

  It’s not too late, but time is running out. Contest Season is almost here! January through April is a really busy time of year for school music students. Many of the annual contests and festivals happen during this time of the year. These include: Solo & Ensemble Contest Jazz Band Festival Junior/Middle School Organizational Festivals High School Organizational Festivals Your performance level and the success of your organization depend on a properly playing instrument. If your instrument has not been looked over by a technician in the last 6 months you may be overdue. Send your instrument in for proper maintenance to help avoid small problems from turning into something larger at an inappropriate time. It could help you get to the next level during the upcoming contest season. If you’d like to send your instrument in for us to check, we have a step-by-step guide on how to do that right here. As always, please give us a call if you have any questions. 1-800-382-1099

While at first glance removing a stuck mouthpiece can look fairly simple, it can be anything but. The mouthpiece shank and the receiver both have specific tapers so the mouthpiece fits snug and doesn’t wiggle or leak air while playing. The mouthpiece may be stuck due to damage to the shank or the receiver. It might be dirty or it may have just been jammed on too tight. In any scenario the proper way to remove the stuck mouthpiece without damage is to use a mouthpiece puller. There are many different pullers available on the market but the one we use here is a Bobcat or Accent brand. You adjust the tool, with the screws, so that one side of the puller is pressing against the end of the receiver and the other side is pulling against the bottom of the mouthpiece cup.

Daily care and maintenance of your instrument is very important to how well your instrument performs. Watch this quick video below for a few, quick tips on caring for your clarinet.  

First we take the instrument completely apart. All the tuning slides are pulled and all the valves are removed and disassembled.   Next, all the parts and the main body are immersed in one our four ultrasonic machines using different cleaning solutions and run through the process.     After they come out of the ultrasonic cleaner, all the parts are rinsed thoroughly and inspected to make sure they have come clean.   Next, the tuning slide tubes and valves are lightly scratch buffed to remove any oxidation that may still be on the pieces. After that, the springs, water key gaskets, valve stem washers, cap washers, bumpers are all replaced as needed.   Finally, the instrument is reassembled with the proper lubricants and checked for proper airflow. Rotary valves are tied with new string and realigned. Any needed repair work is done outside this process. That’s a quick overview of the brass cleaning process. If you haven’t had your instrument in for awhile, please contact us or simply drop by the store!

In our last blog post we mentioned that now is a good time to get your instrument serviced. However with schools out and possibly no summer program going on it can be difficult to get your instrument in to the shop when you live a distance away. Here are a couple of tips for those of you this effects. Brass instruments – At the very least make sure you grease up the tuning slides and move them in and out a few times to spread the grease around. Keep the valves oiled and make sure you get the instrument out from time to time to move the valves and slides around. Clean your mouthpiece out! Woodwind instruments – On reed instruments make sure you take the reed off the mouthpiece and clean it out with some mild liquid detergent soap and lukewarm water (not hot!). On flutes you can also clean out the headjoint (not the main body) with some mild liquid detergent soap and lukewarm water (not hot!). Be careful to not move the head crown assembly or it will have to be reset. String instruments – Make sure and let the tension off on the bow to keep the

Has it been a while since your instrument was in for a check-up? If summer is a down time for you and your playing time, then you should send your instrument in for a check-up. We recommend two visits each year to help keep your instrument in proper playing condition and the summer is the perfect time. In fact, schools across the state will be sending in all kinds of school-owned instruments this summer to be cleaned, repaired, and refurbished so that they are ready to go for the next school year. The best way to get your horn serviced during the summer is to bring it to the store. Our District Managers are visiting some schools during the summer, but not all schools and not every week. It’s very sporadic. The safe thing to do is call us first to see if arrangements can be made to drop off a loaner and pick up your instrument. You can call us at 1-800-382-1099. Have a great rest of your summer and don’t forget to practice!