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Thread: Oil for "super light valves"

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
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    Central North Carolina
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    Oil for "super light valves"

    I was just about to reorder some valve oil and stumbled across the fact that in 2017 Yamaha released a new line of synthetic valve oils: Yamaha Superior Synthetic Valve Oils. The two interesting points here are that the oils are a different synthetic formula and that they also contain some added anti-corrosion component.

    Somehow I missed this development in oil offerings, but I tend to order enough oil that it lasts me for a few years -- and I find that Yamaha synthetic oil stretches quite a long way in any event.

    But an additional point of interest is that they've added a new even lighter oil specifically for those having "very tight valve tolerances": Yamaha Super Light Superior Valve Oil. It's interesting that they now see a market specifically in this area, but they seem to be targeting "custom and professional trumpets" rather than relatively low-end Chinese-made euphoniums. Perhaps they just choose to ignore the competition. They do say that with their own Professional and Artist series instruments the continue to ship the Light (rather than the Super Light) version.

    Here's a thread on a trumpet forum, with some interesting observations: https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/....php?p=1508914.

    The Light version works excellently for me, and so I don't at the moment have any interest in the Super Light. But for those with very tight valves, it might be an option. Available, of course, from Amazon, if you really need it tomorrow.

    Obviously, the previous Yamaha valve oils were merely adequate or "meeting expectations", and not superior. I'm particularly interested in their claim that this oil has "even molecules" in it. Probably there was a meeting at some point where the marketing people asked "So what can we say about this stuff to distinguish it?" Then the chemical engineering guys looked at each other and rolled their eyes and said "Well ... uh ... the molecules are pretty symmetric." And the marketing people said "GREAT! We can run with that!" Or possibly the chemical engineering guys decided to jerk the marketing people around and said "Well, the molecules all have an even number of atoms in them." And off went the sales campaign. We'll probably never know. But I digress.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by ghmerrill View Post
    I was just about to reorder some valve oil and stumbled across the fact that in 2017 Yamaha released a new line of synthetic valve oils: Yamaha Superior Synthetic Valve Oils. The two interesting points here are that the oils are a different synthetic formula and that they also contain some added anti-corrosion component.

    Somehow I missed this development in oil offerings, but I tend to order enough oil that it lasts me for a few years -- and I find that Yamaha synthetic oil stretches quite a long way in any event.

    But an additional point of interest is that they've added a new even lighter oil specifically for those having "very tight valve tolerances": Yamaha Super Light Superior Valve Oil. It's interesting that they now see a market specifically in this area, but they seem to be targeting "custom and professional trumpets" rather than relatively low-end Chinese-made euphoniums. Perhaps they just choose to ignore the competition. They do say that with their own Professional and Artist series instruments the continue to ship the Light (rather than the Super Light) version.

    Here's a thread on a trumpet forum, with some interesting observations: https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/....php?p=1508914.

    The Light version works excellently for me, and so I don't at the moment have any interest in the Super Light. But for those with very tight valves, it might be an option. Available, of course, from Amazon, if you really need it tomorrow.

    Obviously, the previous Yamaha valve oils were merely adequate or "meeting expectations", and not superior. I'm particularly interested in their claim that this oil has "even molecules" in it. Probably there was a meeting at some point where the marketing people asked "So what can we say about this stuff to distinguish it?" Then the chemical engineering guys looked at each other and rolled their eyes and said "Well ... uh ... the molecules are pretty symmetric." And the marketing people said "GREAT! We can run with that!" Or possibly the chemical engineering guys decided to jerk the marketing people around and said "Well, the molecules all have an even number of atoms in them." And off went the sales campaign. We'll probably never know. But I digress.

    Well you definitely wouldn't want uneven molecules. That creates sharp edges that makes your valves stick and wear out faster.

    Mike

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    2,369
    Quote Originally Posted by mbrooke View Post
    Well you definitely wouldn't want uneven molecules. That creates sharp edges that makes your valves stick and wear out faster.

    Mike
    Also, they kind of gouge into the brass surface and then pile up in "molecule jams", which causes more friction and sticking. Luckily the Yamaha engineers have taken the time to ensure that none of that will happen. I also suspect that the offensive Blue Juice odor is at least in part caused by its ragged molecules, but I don't yet have any real evidence for this. Waiting on the electron microscope I ordered from Amazon.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

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