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Thread: Herco Spitballs - Magic!

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by daruby View Post
    Rick,

    I have never had a problem getting the large Herco Spitballs through my horns, including all of the compensating paths. Even the tortuous ones in my small bore York 3056 4-valve English baritone.

    As Don said:


    1. Remove the tuning slide.
    2. When you insert the foam spitball in the lead pipe, push it in past the receiver using a pen, pencil, small screwdriver tip, etc.
    3. Insert the mouthpiece.
    4. Push all 4 valves down.
    5. Blow like crazy.


    With a big "whoosh:, the spitball and a bunch of crud come flying out of your tuning slide. I usually have a towel on the floor to catch it all. Make sure your tuning slide is not pointed at your pants!

    Repeat the above with no valves down to clean the last of the passages. Do each path at least twice, then use the QHR to rinse out the horn.
    Doug, if all the valves are down, won't the spitball traverse all the loops? If not, I've got some loops to "spitball"! - Carroll

  2. #12
    THANK YOU ALL! I was afraid to ever try this, but you gave me confidence and it worked great! Frankly, it's hard to believe that little plug made it through all those bends, but it did. I lost count of how many snakes I broke trying to clean a compensating euphonium, starting in college. Between this and the QHR, maintenance has taken on a more rosy outlook.
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    West Palm Beach, FL
    Posts
    3,853
    I ordered some Herco (large) spitballs last night from Musician's Friend (they offer free shipping). Looking forward to trying these out. About 3 weeks ago I had my M5050 ultrasonically cleaned so not expecting too much 'green yuck', but we'll see. Thanks to everyone who contributed.



    Last edited by RickF; 08-04-2017 at 10:29 AM.
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

  4. #14
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Anderson, Indiana
    Posts
    270
    Quote Originally Posted by carbogast View Post
    Doug, if all the valves are down, won't the spitball traverse all the loops? If not, I've got some loops to "spitball"! - Carroll

    Dave Werden has some great drawings that show air flow through various valve configurations in his excellent description of how a compensating system works at
    http://www.dwerden.com/eu-articles-comp.cfm Click on the icon at the upper right to see the valve configurations. Hope that helps.

  5. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by enhite View Post
    Dave Werden has some great drawings that show air flow through various valve configurations in his excellent description of how a compensating system works at
    http://www.dwerden.com/eu-articles-comp.cfm Click on the icon at the upper right to see the valve configurations. Hope that helps.
    Yes, so the compensating valves are additive. On reflection, running the spitball through with and without the 4th valve depressed might result in a different "action", so I think it is worth while. Certainly, if you want to be a gunk scientist, blow out the gunk before the 4th valve is pressed and do it again with it pressed. Report your results!

    All kidding aside, this sort of information is useful and very difficult to come by. Dave's forum can bring many observers to report on their experiences with these unusual topics and we all benefit as a result.

    -Carroll

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    West Palm Beach, FL
    Posts
    3,853
    Got the Herco spitballs in the mail the other day. Tried them out today and they work just fine. No trouble getting them stuck anywhere along the way. Didn't get but a little bit of crud out, but I just had my horn ultrasonically cleaned 3 or 4 weeks ago.

    Thanks guys for the tips.
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Indianapolis area
    Posts
    1,003
    Bought some...tried them...BIG FUN!! ;-)

  8. #18
    So as an experiment I blew the spitball through my E3 again today, 8 days after I first did it. Apparently stuff can accumulate in that short a time! Attached is the photo from the 2nd run. Maybe it's icky because the horn is still new??

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Herco Spitball.jpg 
Views:	10 
Size:	784.4 KB 
ID:	5381
    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Summerfield, Florida Sturgis, SD (summers)
    Posts
    1,870
    My spitballs are due this week. You guys have me intrigued enough to spring for a couple bottles at less than $10 for both including shipping. I, too, wondered if these things would get caught. Watch me be the first to manage to get one stuck somewhere.

    Dave, what color does the spitball start off? I see some dark mater in the upper left, is that all of it?

    I had some really gross stuff in my Adams where I could see in the slides when using synthetic oils, so I got those cleaned out, but I know I haven't been all over and through every nook and cranny. Can't wait to gross myself out.
    John Morgan
    The U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) 1971-1976
    Adams E3 Custom Series Euphonium, 1956 B&H Imperial Euphonium,
    1973 F. E. Olds & Son Studio Model T-31 Baritone
    Adams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
    Year Round Except Summer:
    Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)
    KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)
    Summer Only:
    Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
    Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)

  10. #20
    I hate to think what's hiding in the pipes of my 90+-year-old Conn
    David Bjornstad

    1923 Conn New Wonder 86I, Bach 6 1/2 AL
    2018 Wessex EP100 Dolce, Denis Wick 4ABL
    2013 Jinbao JBEP-1111L, Denis Wick 4AM
    2015 Jinbao JBBR-1240, Denis Wick clone mouthpiece of unknown designation
    Cullman (AL) Community Band (Euph Section Leader)
    Brass Band of Huntsville (2nd Bari)

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