You will get many other suggestions about the proper way to clean your horn.
Regarding purchase of a new horn:
It is important to realize that every horn (even student level, name brand, and custom) are hand-built one-at-a-time to a large degree. Also, every horn will 'play' differently - even compared to its 'identical twin'. Sometimes the differences are very small, but other times they can be large enough to make a particular horn play poorly - and that is not the one you want to own!
This is the reason that just about everyone recommends that you have adequate time to test-play a horn before you own it - when buying a new horn I suggest that you play it for at least 1 hour, and preferably several days. Also if possible it would be good to have an advanced player or teacher test the horn before you buy it.
Try to locate a dealer who has several horns in the store that you can try, and if you like one of them be sure you buy that exact horn - not another one of the same model that you have not tested.
You should not rush into the purchase of a horn, take your time and find out about all the different models, etc. Good sources of information on the internet are:
http://members.aol.com/bbctuba/index.html
http://www.brassarts.com/
http://www.dillonmusic.com/
http://www.osmun.com/
http://wwww.rayburnmusic.com/
http://www.wichitaband.com/
http://www.amug.org/~kmartin/horn.html
Getting a new horn in May would be very nice, but you will be much happier with the horn if you take enough time to find the one that you like best!
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA
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kerri davies writes:
Dear fellow hornists,
A discussion about a yellow brass 8D has arisen a few days ago. Someone replied that there are new 8Ds made in Eastlake OH that are less than desirable. I am receiving a new 8D as a graduation present in May, and I want it to be a decent one!! Should I search for an older Elkhart 8D (which I had thought originally that the new ones were made there). Are the new 8Ds any good? Also, someone posted the idea of washing your horn in the dishwasher. Can this be done, is it a good idea, and what would happen if I tried this (what are the advantages and disadvantages)? I look forward to your responses, Brittany Davies, Fort Myers, FL
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