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
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)
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
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)
Bought some...tried them...BIG FUN!! ;-)
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
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 BaritoneAdams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
Year Round Except Summer:
Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)Summer Only:
KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)
Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)
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)