euph4life

Yea, i played on a Yamaha marching bari in H.S., and my second valve was like yours Miar. I even took it in to get professionally cleaned, and it still was sticking. It would get 3/4 of the way down just fine, then jam hella fast. I would have to pull it up as well...big pain in the ###. And then the braces supporting the horn were coming off. I could take two of them out and put them back in as i pleased. And it was a pretty old horn, so i think it got over broken in =)

I use a Denis Wick SM3...the largest of the series on my concert euph. I havnt tried it on a bugle, but ive wanted to. It might take a little more effort to get the higher pitches, but with enough practice on that size, you just build up the muscles for it and get used to it, and when you do get up there right, it sounds soooo much nicer IMO. I switched from a 6 1/2 to a SMB4 to the SM3, and thats it, and im probably not gonna switch. Really, its just personal preference, what you want the sound to be.

I keep my horn clean, which is why i said this is almost trivial...just for protection for the innards of the tubing, and if any make the valves move faster (more slippery) also how long they last. I never thought of that. Ill try. Does anyone have any comments on Fat Cat though? I'm just curious.

Alright, this might seem trivial, but I am curious about this now....Blue Juice, Fat Cat, or what?? I have a bottle of both, and i am using Fat Cat, and Fat Cat slide grease. Im not sure how well they will work out though ( i just finished cleaning my horn and putting it on for the first time). I had the thought of asking you all. If you know of any good oils/greases, let me know please. Thanks!

Yamaha YEP-641 euph and the best.... some cheapo pocket trumpet off ebay baby!!! yea!! b**bs

I agree with Sweendoc, definitly a fun horn just to toot around on. I bought one of those "cheapo ebay ones", but it plays pretty well. If you are going to use it as a main horn, definitly dish out the money for a better horn. I just use mine to play around on, and as a horn to get used to playing trumpet as euph. is my main instrument. but they're so small....they're so cute..hehe :;'

I just got an article sent to me by Dan Cook, a tpt teacher in Texas. His arguement isnt that you just "use more air" as we all were taught. He says it matters how fast/slow, and the volume of air. Ill just put the link in and share the wealth...http://www.sbomagazine.com/sbomag/dec03/performance.html enjoy!

I use brasso and a nail file...and steel wool for the really tough silver spots that wont come off :ouch:

Everyone agrees that there is a certain line that when crossed, enters the realm of blastissimo. Trombones do it all the time, a lot of the time accidentally. With good air support, and knowing how fast or slow, and especially knowing where that line is for your own person is important. Pretty much this whole debate over cavies or PR boils down to two things...and this might be a little obvious but hey! oh well :) ...the staff and the players of each corps. Even good players might not reach the best they can play, or practice bad techniques such as over-blowing, with poor teachers. But the best teachers cannot teach players who will not learn, cannot learn, or are not at a level of playing as others. I personally like the low end balance of PR, but i also appreciate the musicianship of the cavies. I am not saying that any of you arnt, its just as someone (sorry dont remember who and im too lazy to check :P ) said, they are apples and oranges. They both play very well, and i enjoy them both. Especially cavies 2002. They played that show great. In the slower moments, you can hear the lower parts, and the chords are quite open. But everything has to do with how the staff of each corps wants the sound to be. Staffs will strive for what they want and, hopefully, the players will play how they want. And everyone has their own opinions and are entitled to them, so a lot of this is subjective.