How do you guys go about it? My euph got damaged and so i’m having to use the school one again. It’s a beat up compensating eastman. It’s so much worse than mine in every respect, but it’s the only playable euph i have access to. I’m really having troubles just playing it, valves take like two tons of force to press, Bb doesn’t feel like a Bb, lip slurs are worse than ever, double tonguing has become the scariest thing, everything just feels off. Does it just take time or is there something i can do about it?

This is gonna sound bad, I'm not the most experienced with euphoniums of the bell-up kind, but it may be because you're not used to it.

However, my brother's school gets their euphs from Eastman and apparently the valves have issues moving very slow if you don't keep them oiled regularly, even if the horn is new. This is the case with three valve non-compensating horns, it probably doesn't help that the valves are longer due to the compensating setup.

It could also be because it's a bigger horn than yours. If your personal euph is smaller than the schools, and/or you have to a use mouthpiece larger than usual to fit the schools, things are gonna feel off for a few days, like moving from small to large bore tenor, or from tenor to bass. I'd say to give it a little more time, and to get concerned if things don't improve after that.

We have a newish Eastman at our high school and it is really good. I think there might be problem in the valves or it's really gunked up or possibly a leak.

So what is your euphonium? How beat up is the Eastman/how old is it? By school do you mean middle school? High school? Community college? 4 year? Conservatory? I only ask because beat up for middle school usually means trashed. But at university it can be the same beat up just takes longer usually. At my university we had two Yamaha 321 small bores that were beat to heck, but they were from the 70s possibly according to our teacher who bought them new then. Not super taken care of. I ended up doing new guides, felts, springs and corks and they played better. If the Eastman is beat that could be it but it might just need some cleaning/valve alignment, and someone might have pulled on the springs to increase return/stop the valves sticking.

Also make sure nothing went in the bell end! I had a trumpet student once that sounded a little stuffy and couldn’t center his notes for a few months. I assumed he needed more air and told him to use a lot more, but then I told him to clean his horn, he found a valve casing brush in the bell flair! He gained a fifth and played with a beautiful sound after that came out!

Give the horn a good bath. Clean the valves, let the horn have a good time in the bath tub. You may get suprized to whats in it.

Pranksters love to drop junk into the upright bell of a euph.

Not your horn....zero cost things you can try.

--- Remove all the tuning slides, and all the valves. With a garden hose, flush out the entire horn.

--- While the tuning slides are out. block one end and blow into the other. Listen for air leaks at the water keys.

--- When you reinstall the tuning slides, make sure there is adequate grease, or they will leak air.

--- Lube and reinstall one valve at a time, with no spring. Check to learn if each one moves freely.

--- Reassemble everything and try that Bb again. If it and other notes are not speaking properly, suspect that the

valve(s) travel needs adjustment. (Think of how bad a note sounds with a valve not fully depressed.)

--- That's the zero cost stuff. If the valves stick in the casings, of if they need travel adjustment, or new springs,

it's time for a tech.

[quote="CharlieB"]Pranksters love to drop junk into the upright bell of a euph.

Not your horn....zero cost things you can try.

--- Remove all the tuning slides, and all the valves. With a garden hose, flush out the entire horn.

--- While the tuning slides are out. block one end and blow into the other. Listen for air leaks at the water keys.

--- When you reinstall the tuning slides, make sure there is adequate grease, or they will leak air.

--- Lube and reinstall one valve at a time, with no spring. Check to learn if each one moves freely.

--- Reassemble everything and try that Bb again. If it and other notes are not speaking properly, suspect that the

valve(s) travel needs adjustment. (Think of how bad a note sounds with a valve not fully depressed.)

--- That's the zero cost stuff. If the valves stick in the casings, of if they need travel adjustment, or new springs,

it's time for a tech.[/quote]

Sometimes a warm bath with a little mild detergent will help. If the valves continue to stick after bathing it, and there is nothing mechanically wrong with the valves, then try a lighter valve oil.