Putting a pearl back on your horn

Here is another tip  that you can use on your horn. Have you ever had the pearl off your horn come off? If yes, heres what you can do. Take the pearl that has fallen off  and place a little hot glue on the back of it. While its still hot place the pearl back on pearl key and let it set. Once it is cooled down you are ready to go.

~TM~

Fixing the octave mechanism on a sax

~TM~

Have you ever played your saxophone and had your horn all of a sudden jump to the high octave? If yes, then here is a simple fix you can do. Take the neck off the horn and push the leaver up while pushing down  on the top part of it. Do this gently, if you don't you might over extend the key.

Cold weather is bad for us.

So here's a nice little tip for the upcoming change in the season. Do not leave anything wood out in the cold. Mainly, because wood will condense and crack . The reason why this would happen to wood is, because there is no moister in the air.  So please keep all wood type instruments and products in a well moister place.

~TM~

I'm a Brass Player and my Mouthpiece is Stuck

This has to be the most common thing I have seen come into the store I work for. Its actually a really easy fix that the technician will do for you for free. Yes that right usually most places wont charge you for this, but will if you try to do it yourself. You're probably wondering what I mean by that. Well most people will try to get the mouthpiece out with pliers. My suggestion to you is......DON'T DO IT, Unless you like seeing my smiling face. But really don't do it. You will break the solder points on the trumpet and a free fix will soon turn into a $15-$30 job. In today's post we'll talk about how a technician would remove your stuck most piece, but first lets talk about some of the reason why it might be stuck.

The reason why it might have gotten is as follows: It could be that the shank is out of round, or there could be a build up of dirt and food particles in the main tube that the mouth piece gets stuck.

Now that we know why it gets stuck, here's how a technician would fix the problem. The technician will use a simple tool called a mouthpiece puller. It hooks into the mouthpiece just like it does in the photo. The technician will then twist the handles till he hears a "pop". Once he hears that pop he knows the mouthpiece is pulled.

 You can find this handy tool in your local music store.

~TM~

Chewing gum is sticky....

So here is another little trick you can use if your pad falls off your horn while on a gig. You can use chewing gum. The sticker the better. Take a piece of gum and chew it. After you have chewed it to the perfect gum substance, take it out of your mouth and spread it under the pad. Take the pad and put it in the cup.

~TM~

We Need Fire....

This is a saxophone player's worse nightmare on a gig.......Having one of your saxophone pads fall out while you're playing. I cringe every time I've seen this happen, it's like watching a car crash happen in slow motion. Okay maybe not to that extreme, but if you are a sax player you know what I mean. Anyway in today's we will be talking about how you can fix this problem on the gig and also how the technician would fix the problem.

Let's first talk about why this happens. Saxophone pad along with clarinet pads are held in with a special type of glue called Shellac. Shellac can come in two different type of makes which are pure and with a hot glue mix. Depending on the temperature and weather at time can effect how the shellac holds. Pure shellac is typically used in warm to hot like conditions. Mainly, because this type of shellac has a high melting point and works perfectly in these conditions. If it is exposed to colder conditions it because brittle and does not hold as well. Shellac with a hot glue mix is just the opposite. It has a lower melting temperature and is used in cold conditions.  It does really well in winter conditions and alright in summer conditions if not too hot. If it is too hot it does not do well.

Now that we know about shellac, let's talk about how a tech would replace a pad. First he would heat up the cup of key, and clean out the remaining shellac that was left behind. After cleaning, the technician would fit a new pad in cup without glue. Then he would put glue on the pad and would make sure the pad was secure inside the key cup.

Here's how you can do. This is what you'll need:

Matches or a lighter


Take a match, light it, and place on the underside of the cup. You're gonna want to try to heat up the cup so the glue that is left on the pad or on the cup will stick. After being heated place the pad back in the cup .


~TM~


First 

Don't Grease That Head Joint

Here is a tip that all flute players should follow. If you are having a hard time putting head joint  to the body of the flute, do not put cork grease on it to make it easier. Putting cork grease on the head joint of a flute actually traps fibers and hairs that will make harder to put together over time. If  you're having a hard time putting the head joint with the body simply grab a rag and wipe off the receiver. If this problem continues, then it might be, because you're receiver might be out of round. Your local technician should be able fix this problem while you wait.

~MT~

Taking Care of Corks

Today's post is a general tip that every reed player should do. Most Saxophone and Clarinet players have a really bad habit of doing this. They forget to put cork grease on the neck cork or the tenon corks. Cork is like skin, and you must keep it hydrated. Not doing this can lead to your corks wearing down faster. So every time you play put cork grease on your cork.

Here is a quick review on how to use cork grease:

Cork Grease

~MT~

Dull to Black

Do you have a hard rubber mouthpiece that is sort of a green or faded? Here is a tip that you can use to brighten that mouthpiece up.  First let us talk about why it fades. The reason why it fades is, because the rouge fades over time from normal wear and tear on the mouthpiece.

Here is what you'll need:
A plastic or foam cup
Bleach
Soap and water
Mouthpiece brush

What to do:

Take the foam or plastic cup and fill it 3/4 of the way up with bleach. Drop your saxophone or clarinet mouthpiece into the cup and let it sit in there for 2-4 minutes. After dropping it in the bleach, take it out and wash it out with the mouthpiece brush along with soap and luke warm water. If you are doing this for a clarinet mouthpiece, make sure you rehydrate the tenon cork with cork grease, so it does not dry out.  Rinse again and now you have a brighter mouthpiece.

~MT~

Upward Swabbing V.S. Downward Swabbing

Last week, as I was walking through the practice hallway at The University of Akron, I ran into one of my fellow saxophone players doing something odd. She was stringing her cleaning swab from bell to neck to clean out the moister. I stopped and asked her why she doing it that way?  She responded with " It takes more moister out of the horn". I responded with that she wasn't taking out as much moister if she went from  neck to bell with the swab. This soon turned into a heated debate on how to clean a sax with a saxophone swab.

Well after some research and asking some technicians at some music stores, I've found out that both ways are correct. Here is the way I was always taught: I was always taught you want the moister to go down towards the bell and away from the pads. Here: is a video on neck to bell swabbing:

 

With that said here is a video showing how other people might have been taught:

I've done it both ways and found no difference in getting rid of moister, but the big picture here is that you get rid of all of the moister in your horn before putting it away.

~MT~

Ooooh shiny instrument pt2

Here is part 2 of yesterdays post on making your instrument shiny. In today's post we will be talking about how the technician would make your sliver instrument shine and also how you can make it shine. Sliver is the second most common finish you will find on instruments. It can be found on trumpets, trombones, saxes and flutes. It looks something like this Sliver sax. A sliver finish offers a different sound than a lacquer and also need to be taken of differently.

Let's talk about what a technician would use to make your instrument shine. First the technician would take apart the instrument and give it a chemical bath to remove any hard grease. After being chem cleaned, the technician would use a liquid or paste polishing solution on it. After that he would air dry the instrument and its parts, then he would take a sliver polishing cloth and polish the instrument till it shines.

Now let's talk about how you can do it. Basically what you will need is a sliver polishing cloth. You can  buy one of these cloths at a music store like Taylor Band, or a store like target, or your local jewelry store will sell them. What you will do is take the polish cloth and rub the instrument down till it shines. Its a simple fix that will only take you 20 minutes to do.

~MT~

Oooh shiny instrument pt1

Have you ever wonder how to add some shine to your instrument? Well, in todays post I will be talking about how to add some shine to your instrument depending on  what kind of finish you have on it.  So, lets first talk about what kind of finishes you can have on an instrument.  There are many different types of finishes you can have on an instrument that range in an assortment of colors. For right now we'll only talk about the basic finishes. The other finishes are kind of weird, but if you would like to take a look at a couple here is a site that specializes in it L.A. Sax. They do custom finishes for their horns here is a picture of one of their jobs Patriotic Sax.

So the basic finishes are Gold, Sliver, Matted, and Black Nickel. Clarinet are the exception to this, because it only comes in plastic and wood, but it can come in colors like this Green Clarinet. Depending on the finish you have on your horn will effect the way it sounds. Todays post will talk about your standard lacquer or gold finish. All saxes, trumpets and trombones come in this finish. It looks like this Lacquer Sax. This type of finish comes in different shades from light to dark.

What you'll need:
Two Cloths
Windex

What to do:
Take the cloth and spray a light layer of windex on it. Take the cloth with windex and wipe down your instrument. Apply more windex when needed. After wiping it down with the windex cloth, take the dry cloth and wipe it down again. Your lacquer instrument will now have a shine to it.

Stay tunned for part two of this post, we will be talking about making sliver instruments shine.

~MT~

Clean that mouthpiece please

Warning: In this post there will be gross photos.

Here is a habit that every musician can do improvement on. This is probably one of the easiest and non time consuming repairs that you can do yourself. shwoodwind has a great article on cleaning mouthpieces and calcium build up, but on today's post I'm only to talk about basic cleaning of the mouth piece.

First let's talk about what will happen if you don't clean that mouth piece. Over time of not cleaning the mouthpiece, you will start to have build up of saliva and whatever else food or drink you had that day. If this continues maggots ( yes I said maggots) will start to form inside your mouthpiece, along with mold and other harmful stuff. Here is a picture of the beginning stages of it:




















Pretty gross right? So here is a simple way that you can keep your mouthpiece from looking like this.

What you'll need:

A mouthpiece brush
cold to lukewarm water
soap detergent

What to do:

Fill your sink with cold to lukewarm water. If the mouthpiece is an old hard rubber composite make sure it is cold. The mouthpiece will turn green with luke warm water. After filling the sink take your brush and put dawn soap on it. After applying soap to the brush, gently scrub the inside and outside of the mouthpiece till it is nice and foamy.  After scrubbing risen the mouth piece with water and dry with a cloth or towel.

Now you have a clean mouthpiece.

~MT~

Darn Those Sticky Pads

Most musicians from amateur to pro deal with this problem. STICKY PADS. And it happens at the most inconvenient time. In today's blog I'll talk about how this problem can be fixed by you the player.

First, lets talk about why this problem happens. This problem is caused eating or drinking sugary substances that are mixed with a person's salvia. This causes build up on the pads, which makes them stick.

Now that we know why it happens, lets see how the technician will fix this problem on a saxophone. First he would take the key off of the horn and then, clean it with towel that has a light coating of pad juice. Pad juice is a special type of liquid that cleans saxophone pads.  After being cleaned the pad is then dried and placed back on the horn. The technician in some case might spray a special plastic coating over saxophone pads. This coating helps keeps the pads from stick, along with pro longing the pad(s) life.

Now here is how you can do it if your out playing somewhere. The tool that you would use for this simple fix can be found at pretty much any store, it can even be found at your local coffee shop. This tool is called a coffee flitter. The coffee flitter will absorb any sticky substances that might be on saxophone, clarinet, or flute pad. Simply fold up the coffee flitter till it looks like a slice of pizza and place it under the pad It can look something like this:

Press the key down in playing position and pull the coffee flitter through. Do this several times till the pad stops sticking. I know a lot of people will say that using a dollar bill will do the same trick, but I say that the flitter is better and a lot more sanitary than a dollar bill.

~MT~

Silencing those noisy keys

When a cork falls off of a saxophone player's palm key, most of them will start to freak out due to the noise thats the key makes hitting the body. In today's blog I will talk about how your local technician will fix this problem, along with how to fix this problem yourself if you are not able to get to the repair shop.

When this problem comes to a technician it is a very simple fix that can be done while you wait. The technician will take the palm key off of the saxophone and clean the key off. After the key is cleaned and dried, a piece of cork 3/64 cork is cut to fit the key. After the cork is fitted to the key, the key and cork is layered with a coat of cement glue. The glue must dry on the cork first before applying to the key. This will take about 5 to 10 minutes. Once the glue is dry, the technician will set the cut cork to the key and then will put key back on the horn. He will then shave the cork down or leave as is, depending on how far the key has to open. This is what the finish product looks like:

Now lets talk about how you could do this simple fix if you are on a gig. Take some electrical tape and cut it into small squares that you can stack on top of each other. Stack about six of them together and put them under the palm key. Here is what it should look like:

So this is how you silence those keys if they are making to much noise while you're jamming out.

~MT~

Welcome!

Hi and welcome to The Musicians Technician blog. My name is Justin Tibbs and I'm a professional musician that plays around the Akron/Canton area. I'm also a technician that has been repairing for 6 years. Repairing instruments is sometimes like trying to figure out how to put together or solve a 3D puzzle, except there is no one way to do every repair. In this blog I will be talking about simple to complex repairs that are pretty common in this line of work. I will also talk about the history of repairs and how they came about. So stay tuned for some interesting repair stories.