With the snow starting to fly (grr) and heaters turning on, wooden instruments are suffering because of the lack of humidity in the air. Tuning pegs are starting to slip or stick. Instruments that originally had no trouble staying in tune now need to be tuned constantly. The best thing to do right now to keep your instrument happy is to keep it humidified.
Dampits are the best thing to use during the winter months. Dampits typically start at about $9.00. They are a long, green sponge that can be inserted in the f-hole of your instrument. Simply soak the Dampit, wipe off the excess water, and carefully slide it into your instrument.
Posted by: Chris Wood in Maintenance, Drums on
Aug 03, 2009
This happens all the time in our retail stores. A parent/performer comes in with a snare drum with a destroyed head on it.
Example A:
Could we have stopped things from going this far? Warning signs do exist on such things. You just have to learn to recognize them. Let’s walk through the progression of digression.
Summer is here! It’s been made abundantly clear with the weather we’ve been experiencing: tornadoes, temps in the 90’s, and lots of rain. Taking care of your wood instrument can become difficult with the extreme weather. What can you do to make it easier on your prized possession?
Every major purchase that has moving parts, be it a car, lawn mower, furnace, or personal computer, needs regular maintenance. The same is true for your band instrument. For beginning band students, this may be the first opportunity for them to learn the valuable lesson of keeping their special purchase in proper working order. The care and maintenance of musical instruments requires some materials unique to each instrument.
In the final part of the this 5 part series, Peter Hart, a resident repair specialist at West Music in Marion, finishes with more tips and tricks for maintaining your clarinet and keeping it ready to play:
Peter Hart, a resident repair specialist at West Music in Marion, offers some tips and tricks for maintaining your flute and keeping it in top shape (part 4 of 5):
In the third part of this five part series, Peter Hart, a resident band repair technician at West Music in Marion, offers some tips and tricks for maintaining your saxophone:
In this second part of the series, Peter Hart, a resident repair specialist at West Music in Marion, looks at maintaining your trombone and keeping it in optimal working order:
In the first of a five part series, Peter Hart, a resident repair specialist at West Music in Marion, offers some tips and tricks for maintaining your trumpet and keeping it in excellent working order:
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