The case or bag your instrument comes in is just as important as the instrument itself. Without a proper fitting and functioning case your instrument is subject to getting bumped around and causing it not to play correctly. It is essential to keep your instrument in its case even when it is your own locker at school. It is vital to the health of your instrument to use when transporting it from home to school, or anywhere else for that matter. Some of the larger string instruments come with custom fitting bags rather than cases. This is mainly because cases for these are slightly cumbersome. The bags are designed to fit the instruments specifically and have proper handles for carrying and protect the finish from scratches. It is just as important to keep your case/bag in proper working as well as your instrument. We can usually replace latches-hinges-handles-straps-corners-wheels on most any case. Sometimes the inside of the case can become so worn and broken down that it no longer holds the instrument in place. When this happens the entire case needs to be replaced. All in all the case or bag is very important and needs to be kept in good shape

Yes, spring is finally here and along with it changes in temperature and humidity, which can cause changes in your instrument. Mostly woodwinds and strings. With woodwinds the actual wood bodies can swell causing keys to bind up and tenon joints to be too tight. (note: If the tenons are ever too tight no amount of cork grease will help. They must be re-fit in the shop) The pads on woodwinds can also swell and cause small leaks that affect the overall adjustments and performance of the instrument. This goes for stringed instruments as well. The stresses of extreme cold have eased but we still deal with temperature and humidity swings that affect the wood and sound of our instruments. We still need to be diligent in our efforts to provide good care. Leaving an instrument in a car is never a good idea. The sun will heat the car interior rapidly, possibly loosening glue joints and causing imprints to the finish. Rosin will soften and adhere to tops and ribs. Be watchful for open seams and cracks, raising bridge heights can raise and loose bow hair due to added humidity. These examples are more pronounced in summer, but now

We posted these tips once before on this blog, but they’re still relevant so we’re posting them again! “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. It is best to have your instrument serviced regularly in order to keep it in good playing condition. We recommend at least once a year but twice is better. Especially for woodwind instruments. With all their intricate key work and pads/corks that wear out from just regular use they need a little more TLC. The hole in the bottom of a brass instrument piston IS NOT for a screwdriver or a pencil! It is a vent hole and sticking anything in there is liable to damage the port in the piston and cause a more expensive repair. We pull stuck mouthpieces for FREE. However, we do charge to re-install mouthpipes. When in doubt…..let us do it. (Pictured above) When wiping off your flute or piccolo to keep it nice and shiny be careful to not rub the edges of the pads. The pads are covered with a thin membrane which tears very easily leading to an earlier than normal complete repadding. Bari saxes do not bounce! Not really a repair tip but

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

Rotary valves require thicker oil than piston valves. The same reasons for using synthetic oil on pistons also apply to rotary valves. The oil we use comes in a bottle with a syringe type applicator. Unfortunately, even this is not very helpful. To properly oil them they need to be taken apart. If you play an instrument with rotary valves and are not handy with a screwdriver and mallet, tiny screws and bits of string, your ability to oil the valves is pretty limited. The pictures will help you understand why. A rotor valve has two bearing surfaces. Both must be lubricated for the valve to work properly. The bearing surfaces of the rotor are underneath the bearing plate (underneath the cap) and buried at the bottom of the casing just under the stop arm bumpers. Right away, it is easy to see that getting oil into those places is not for the feint at heart. Without taking the valve completely apart, it is possible to put a few drops of oil on the bearing surfaces. Take the cap off and moving the finger lever, you will see the rotor moving. Put a few drops of oil there. Then, turn