Here is the question once again, but answered by our contributing writer Dave Weiner.

* * *

Pierre-Antoine asks:

My question is why a natural horn instrument with a certain crook might have a bad note. What is the explanation, the physic behind it? … For example, on my Courtois horn, the top G on the C-crook is terribly sharp in pitch, and has a very poor tone quality.

My first thought was that it might not be clean inside (after all, it’s more than 200 years old!), or maybe a dent was interfering with the vibrations. But I got both the crook cleaned and the dents removed, and the “wolf” note is still there.

Dave replies:

First, a disclaimer:  I am not an acoustician, and I only have a technician’s practical understanding of the physics.  I am willing to be corrected by those more learned than I.

The physics of producing a vibrating air column is all about pressure.  When you vibrate the air column with your lips, a wave of pressure moves down through the trapped air column in the horn, and back again.  It happens over and over at hundreds of cycles per second.

As the vibrations and pressure increase, certain points in the air column will equalize as the pressure from one direction equals the pressure from the other direction.  At the moment, the length of the vibrating air column will shorten and produce a higher pitch.  More pressure produces more and differing points of equalization, and even higher pitches.

As it turns out, to produce notes in tune the diameter of the tubing has to be in proper and precise ratios.  As the air column pushes back it also pushes against the wall of the tubing.  If the tubing wall is not the precisely the diameter it needs to be then one segment of the vibrating air column will “want to be” longer or shorter than it needs to be.  As you struggle to vibrate the air column to play in tune at the proper pitch, your horn is working to play out of tune.  Hence, the “wolf” note.

The problem may not be the C-crook itself on you horn, but the combined taper of the crook and corpus.  Even so, I would strongly urge you to consider the coupler as a possible source of the difficulty.  If it is leaking or worn or bulged in some way, that could cause your problem.

Otherwise, consider trying a new crook.

* * *

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James asks:

I recently purchased an old 1960′s Contempora online. However, both the horn and the case look like they haven’t been touched since the 1960′s; even the valve oil, slide grease, and rag that came with it looked like they popped out of another era. Unfortunately, all aspects (horn, case) smelled like really bad business.

Should I attempt to clean it myself, or take it to a competent repairman to have it cleaned? If it’s ok to clean it myself, what supplies would I need to do so and how would I clean it?

Dave replies:

I recommend taking the horn to a repair technician for a cleaning.  It should be thoroughly cleaned, adjusted, and inspected for damage from neglect.  There are home cleaning products for your horn which can be used without disassembling the valves, but I recommend a visit to the shop for an old, neglected horn.

As for the case, you have two options, namely clean it yourself or buy a new one.  New cases can be purchased for under US$200, and are very well made and protective.

But let’s assume for the moment that you are willing to try to clean the case yourself.  Remove everything from the case, which is a good time to send the horn out for cleaning.  Vacuum clean the case as thoroughly as possible.  You might try a commercially available fabric cleaner at this stage, and use as directed.  It’s a low cost solution, and is always a good place to start.

If the off-the-shelf product does not work, or doesn’t work completely, then you can try using hydrogen peroxide 3% solution, which is commonly available at grocery stores or pharmacies in opaque bottles.  Also purchase two new, clean sponges small enough to fit into all the nooks and crannies of the case.

Using gloves, wet the sponge with hydrogen peroxide solution and sponge the solution gently into the fabric.  Don’t soak it, but do try to get it damp.  Let the fabric sit for 15 to 30 minutes.  Rinse the fabric with the second sponge and clean water, well-wrung, repeating the procedure at least three times.  You want to rinse out the peroxide solution while sponging it up, leaving the fabric damp but as clean as possible.

For the outside of the case:  If it’s fabric, blow it off with compressed air.  If it’s a hard cover clean it with furniture polish or a multi-surface cleaner.

Final words:  Always wear gloves, eye protection from splashes, and work in a well ventilated area.  After dampening the fabric I recommend you leave the case out and open in full sunlight to dry completely before use.

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Following up on your article on clanking valves. My horn (Holton 179, early 90s vintage) will clank if I am careless about adjusting the string position relative to the valve rotor.  If I adjust the string so that the finger lever is positioned close to the lead pipe, the back end of that finger lever can strike the tubing near the valve cluster.  Clank!  The solution is to adjust the string so that the finger lever is relatively high — away from the lead pipe.

Dave replies:  

Your note is about clanking parts, but it brings up a point about lever positioning. Some horns have very little tolerance for adjusting the lever height by only using the string set screw on the rotor stop.  If the height of the levers in unacceptable in this small range, then you’re only option is to modify the levers.

I don’t recommend taking a pliers and just bending them.  You can mar the surface of the lever paddles pretty badly.  And, you could possibly break the lever paddles.

Instead, take the horn to your technician and decide the best way to modify the levers.  Bending them down might be just the right thing, but your technician can do it without marring the metal.  And, if there is a problem then the technician is equipped to handle it.

And, while you have the levers off the horn it would be a good time to make sure everything about your grip and the geometry of the levers is correct.  Your technician should check the positioning of the lever arms against the rotor stop.  Even factory made levers are sometimes not bent exactly right.

The lever should be positioned so that the string does not “saw” against itself throughout the down stroke.  And the lever arm should be close to, but not touching, the rotor stop with enough clearance to allow the string to go around the rotor stop in both directions without touching the arm.

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I recently bought a new horn about two months ago. Everything is in working order, great sound, projection, ergonomic, light, just a great instrument overall. There is only one problem: The Bb side of the horn is consistently about 15 cents flat.

All the slides are pushed in, the F is still a bit flat but not near as severe Bb. It’s an annoyingly apparent problem, with the rest of the section being sharp almost all the time. It’s just a struggle. Is there a way to shorten the tubing or what can I do?

Dave replies:

A brass instrument that plays flat is almost useless unless it can be sharpened and made to play in tune with your ensemble.

First, let’s ask the “is it plugged in?” type of questions. Can you play in tune on other horns? If so, then the problem lies in this horn. Does this horn play out of tune with other mouthpieces? If so, do other players play flat on this horn? Does the horn play flat with your hand out of the bell? If all the answers are “yes”, then the problem is likely with this instrument. If not, consider a mouthpiece change, a hand position change, or a change of instrument.

Now, let’s assume you’ve ruled out all the other factors that might make the horn play flat, and you still believe it’s the instrument. Before we cut tubing to make it play sharp, let’s consider other things that might make it play flat, the most likely one of which is leaking. Either you or your technician should check for leaking slides, solder joints, or rotors. If the horn is tight and because it’s new it doesn’t have any damage, then we end up with the last consideration: cutting tubing.

Which tubing to cut is the main question? Any tubing cut must be to the cylindrical tubing. That starts at the main tuning slide just past the mouthpipe and ends just before the first branch after the valve section. Because both sides play flat, a cut to the main tuning slide legs and slide stockings should be considered.

Since the Bb side plays much flatter than the F side, it should be evaluated as to whether a cut to the Bb connecting tubes can be made, as well. Determining the length and positions of the cuts is technical, so I won’t discuss it here.

But do note one important point: if you cut the tubing to make the overall horn sharper you might move the nodal points in some harmonic series and, as a result, make some notes play out of tune. This is a slight, but real risk. Cutting the horn should only be done after all the other options have been exhausted.

* * *

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Dave, I’ve been having a hard time with my left hand grip.  My horn came prepared for a huge hand and mine is smaller with a shorter thumb.  How flexible can you make the thumb valve? I’ve already had the little finger brace moved up and the valves are as low as they go with dimes put in the ends for extensions.  If the thumb valve is moved any lower, it will hit the pipe.  So, what’s next to make a better grip?

Dave replies:  
Ginger, you have already had the usual easy modifications done to your horn and you are still having difficulties with the left hand position.  It may be time for serious modifications.

Left hand position is completely modifiable.  All the levers can be modified and/or moved, as can any finger hook, hand rest, or other type of strap or guard.  But you have to be willing to have the work done, and probably to pay well for it, too.  This is custom work.

As for your particular problem, I think it is time to take the thumb lever off and have it modified to the position you need.  The levers are made of forged nickel, which is readily cut, extended, moved, and brazed back into position.  Exactly how this must be done to meet your needs must be decided by you and your technician, working together.  Be ready to spend some time in your technician’s shop.

Very likely, the lever paddle itself will have to be cut from the lever and moved to a more comfortably position.  You might need to add material to get it in that position, or remove material so it won’t interfere with the tubing.  Once you decide where to put it, the parts must be brazed together (high temperature silver soldering), not soft soldered.  A soft solder joint will fail eventually on this part.

Finally, given the small size of your hand I suggest you consider a hand strap, as well.  It will help stabilize your horn by allowing you to use large muscles to hold the horn in position rather than the smaller muscles and tendons in your hand and wrist.

* * *

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* * *

Ed asks:

Having oiled my valves inside the rotors with Hetman rotor oil, how do I get rid of the oil from the sides of the slides to prevent the slide grease from being broken down immediately ?

I know you suggest putting oil in the slides but unfortunately I didn’t read that gem before doing it.

Dave replies:  
The best thing to do is pull the slides and wipe the slide legs clean with a paper towel.  Acquire a flute cleaning rod, and put a about a 6 inch (12cm) strip of clean, lint free cloth (preferably cotton) in it.  Use the cleaning rod to clean out the slide leg stocking tubes. (Tip:  test the length of the rod on the outside of the tubes before you insert it so that you don’t push it in too far.  Put your hand at the point at which you want to stop the rod from going any further.)

Now that the slide legs and slide stocking have been wiped, lubricate them sparingly and re-insert the slides.  You should be okay at this point, assuming the heavier lubricant has not already been dissolved and run down into the valves.

* * *

K asks:

How can I tell if a repair person is good or not before I use them?

Dave replies:
The same way you tell if a car repair technician is good or not, namely get references.  Every technician has different experience and different strengths.  Of course, it would be great to go to someone who only works on horns and does it well.

But that’s not an option for some folks, who live far from a specialist.

You can start a search at www.napbirt.org.  The National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians has a code of ethics and supports continuing education for members.

Once you locate a technician, ask other horn players if they’ve used them.  Ask the technician if he or she has worked on horns and rotary valves.  Ask what the technician intends to do to fix your horn.  If you are wary, go elsewhere for a second opinion.  Finally, if you have an expensive custom horn, maybe you should consider a trip with your horn to see a specialist.

* * *

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* * *

Dave replies:  Valves clank because something is loose.

The loose parts are given momentum when the valve lever is depressed or let go, and when the motion is stopped, “Clank!”, the loose parts hit each other and make noise.The first test is whether the rotor is loose in the casing.  I grasp the rotor by the bottom bearing (the long shaft attached to the rotor stop) and push and pull it into and back out of the casing.

If it’s loose, there will be motion (end play) and I’ll hear clicking.  Then I pull the rotor straight out toward the bottom bearing and move it side-to-side, testing for play in the bottom bearing.

Taking the end play and side-to-side play out of the valve is a technical procedure and I do not recommend doing it unless one is trained.  End play is taken out by modification of the top bearing plate or sometimes the casing, so that the bearing plate fits further down on the rotor.  Side-to-side play is taken out with a device known as a collet, or leaf, swedger.

This device closes the bottom bushing down onto the rotor shaft.  If either adjustment is too tight, then proper tolerance is restored with an ultra-fine lapping compound.  There should be just enough space in the bearings to allow a bearing oil to lubricate the rotor but allow it to rotate freely.

Other loose parts can cause noise, too.  The rotor stop must sit snugly on the rotor shaft, all the screws must be tightened down, the strike plate that holds the bumpers should be held on tightly, the bumpers should be in good condition so that the rotor stop does not hit the strike plate, and mechanical linkages should be tightened to the point where parts have just enough tolerance to move freely with proper lubrication.  One of the most often overlooked sources of clanking noise is a loose rotor stop, so be sure your technician checks that.

A well-fit rotor with no loose auxiliary parts will rotate quickly and freely, will not hang up at all, and will be almost silent except for the slightest sound when the bumper is struck.

* * *

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Within the Top 20 articles, five articles in the list are written by Dave Weiner.

• So, you’ve decided to cut your bell. Now what?

• An Interesting Trend: Repairs at Workshops

• String Theory: What Makes a Good String for your Horn?

• Hidden Dangers: Your Horn and The Occult

• Round for a Reason: The Bell Throat

In light of this, we have added a new feature at Horn Matters called Ask Dave!

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3. Buying a Horn I: The Question of New or Used, Factory or Custom or Upgraded Buying a horn there are a lot of questions to weigh and consider, especially for the more advanced player. Regular...
4. Why Technology Matters Shift happens. Symphonic musicians and their managements need to wake up. When I first started making web sites over ten...
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6. Question from the Mailbag: How do I Overcome Embouchure Lockdown? I am an undergraduate at [academic institution name withheld] studying horn with [a well-known horn teacher]. I read your article,...
7. What to do about Loose Slides Today we are introducing a new contributing author to Horn Matters, Dave Weiner. Dave is a repair technician in Lutherville,...

You just take it to your technician and say, “Put on a water key.”  Right?  Not so fast, there, horn player!  You have to actually make some decisions.

First, talk with your tech about where to place the key or keys.  Most players want one on the leadpipe.  The water condenses here first and fastest.  Another popular place on a double horn is to put the water key on the 3rd Bb slide crook.  But don’t forget other trouble areas.  Remember that a water key is for convenience, and nothing else.

Second, you have to decide on the style of water key you want installed.  Each has its own advantages.  There are three major types of water keys commonly found on horns:  lever-style, Amado, and the Joy Key.  There are other types, but they are rarely used on horns so we’ll skip over them, at least for now.

The lever style

The lever-style key is the oldest and most common type.  It consists of a water key nipple soldered on over the hole, and a saddle which holds the lever and the spring which pushes the lever down.  The hole is sealed by a cork.  Advantages include the positive seal, the slim profile which follows the tube length, and the potential operation by attaching a string to the lever, which can be operated by the thumb.  Disadvantages are cost (typically the most expensive key to buy and install) and the occasional need to replace the cork.  Installation is a bit more labor-intensive, as well.

The Amado key

The Amado key consists of a brass casing soldered cross-wise to the tubing which houses a stainless steel piston.  The piston is sprung so that one merely pushes the end of the piston inward to create an opening to release water.  Advantages include lower cost of the part and installation, a seal that is very close to the tubing itself which creates a smoother inner surface.  Disadvantages include the need to regularly oil the piston, a tendency to become leaky over time, and a profile that is not good for the 3rd slides because it can interfere with the other slides or the bell.

The Joy Key

The “new kid on the block” is the Joy Key, invented by Andrew Joy.  It consists of a water key nipple soldered on to the tubing much like the lever key’s, but which is also used to hold a special insert which both seals the tubing and is also porous and allows the key to drip, and therefore drain, constantly and without any user operation.  The insert is made of extremely tiny fused metal balls.  Holding it in place is a screw ring with an O-ring.  Advantages include never having to operate the key and therefore never having any water accumulation.  Disadvantages include the need to replace the insert when it gets clogged.  I have a personal concern about making one’s horn permanently leaky, but I have not yet heard that players who use them feel their horns’ performance is adversely affected.  You have to decide if you want a horn that drips constantly, which it does.

There is one advantage to installing a water key:  you can un-install it.  Every style of key can be replaced by another style more suited to your needs.  And, if want to remove it completely, the hole can easily be patched with no adverse affects.

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Take any combination of those in order and that is likely what you, dear reader, refer to when I say “water key”. It’s that little device that you operate to dump water out of your horn quickly so that you can reduce or eliminate slide pulls and horn gymnastics.

Water accumulates in your horn because there is a lot of water vapor in your breath. As you play, the water vapor is exhaled into your horn at a fairly rapid rate. The metal of your horn is likely cooler than you are, so the water vapor condenses on the insides of the tubing much as water vapor in the air will condense on the side of a cold drink glass.

The “sweat” drips and gathers, running down to the lowest point and settles there. As it accumulates it begins to block the tubing somewhat and will often get pushed back and forth by the airflow or the sound wave standing in the instrument. Emptying the water becomes necessary.

Some players produce more water in the horn than others. Some players take more time to pull slides or rotate the horn than others. If you have difficulty getting the water out of your horn quickly you may want to install one or more water keys to facilitate the evacuation of the accumulated condensate.

The first question many ask is whether an installed water key will affect the horn’s sound at all. My general reaction is that, no, there will be no adverse affects on your horn either mechanically or acoustically, when properly installed and maintained. Any interruption to the internal dimension of the tubing will be so slight as to render its subsequent acoustic effect unnoticeable to the human ear.

Installation of a water key will involve some drilling through the tubing and soldering. An experience technician will have no trouble making a good job of this.

Water keys are usually installed at the lowest point of the leadpipe, on one of the F horn branches, and on the third Bb slide crook . I have seen them elsewhere, including the third F slide crook, and even on small return branches near the change valves in triple horns.

My next article, Water Keys 102, will explore the types of water keys and their relative merits.

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When a customer brings in a horn for repair I do two things automatically: I stick my hand inside the bell as if I’m playing it, and I grab the bell by the throat (the area near the main bell brace) and rotate my hand around it, feeling to see if it’s round.

Bell throat

An out-of-round bell throat can make it difficult to keep a mute installed properly, or can even make it difficult to play the horn stopped. An out of round condition can deform the ring and make it difficult or impossible to screw the bell flare on or off a detachable bell horn. Creases and dents can do the same thing.

The rim of the flare can have just as serious an effect on the throat or bell ring as a dent, crease, or out of round situation. If the rim gets bent or “potato chipped”, then it can put a tremendous force on the shape of the throat and the ring.

A customer recently asked if I could replace his ring, which was severely warped. It turned out the the creases that had gotten into the flare were the cause. Once the creases were taken out, the ring was just like new. A bad, expensive repair would have been replacing the ring. A good, low cost repair was easily accomplished by reshaping the flare properly.

Have the conditions that are making your bell come out of round taken care of by a competent repair tech. Don’t try to fix them yourself.

And never, ever push a folded rim back into place yourself. The really thin metal that makes up your bell flare can be damaged badly unless it’s fixed properly. Knowing what to fix and how is critical to a good and low cost repair.

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If your horn has a string linkage then the composition and properties of that string are of paramount concern to you, but many horn players never even give it a second thought.  That is, unless it breaks. And Murphy predicts this catastrophic failure will most likely occur during a concert.  So before you live the nightmare of forced use of alternate fingerings, choose the string on your horn wisely.

What makes a good string for your horn?

A good horn string should be as lightweight and thin as possible without being prone to breakage, strong enough to take the pressures involved, easily installed and knotted, resist slippage, have a low stretch coefficient, and be able to resist the lubricants that one uses.

The thinner and lighter the string is, the less friction there is while operating the valve levers.  Less friction means a smoother, faster action.  But thin and light strings tend to be weaker, so you have to balance this against the strength (usually measured in test pounds) of the string.  Action is also affected by whether the string stretchs under load, so the less stretch the better.

Many horn players use the Yamaha brand string (the yellow string), which has all of the desired properties and is readily available.  I prefer a variety of fishing line known as black, braided Dacron squidding line which is pretty hard to find these days.  I have it in various test strengths (30 lb, 50 lb, and 80lb) of which I prefer the lightest.  The higher strength strings are correspondingly thicker, with slower action, but don’t break as readily.

Breakage and slipping

Speaking of breakage, I find that 30 lb test is strong enough to resist the strength of any horn player’s fingers. Strings that break (and especially if they break habitually) most often break because of sharp edges that cut them on the levers or screws, and not because of any inherent weakness in the string.

In general the best strings to use on your horn are various braided synthetic fishing lines.  The hard part about finding good string is finding string that does not slip. Many of the commercial fishing lines these days are coated, often with Teflon, and the string will slip no matter tightly you screw it in.  There are so many brands and kinds of line on the market that it would be impossible to survey them all.

You can’t go wrong with the Yamaha brand or with the string supplied to most repair techs through Allied Supply.  If you have a favorite, I’d love to know what it is.

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Among the repairs I’ve seen are string replacements, bumper replacements, freeing stuck rotors, dents repaired, chemical cleanings, ultrasonic cleanings, mouthpiece modifications, gold plating of mouthpieces, and water key installations. I’ve yet to see on-site bell cuts, but I guess that’s coming.

Despite what many of my fellow vendors believe, I think it’s an increasingly competitive marketplace out there. Many of the vendors, especially small shops that sell instruments and accessories, are also headed up by repair technicians, many of whom are the leading techs in our industry.

Eager to please and eager to earn market share, they are all working hard to distinguish themselves and demonstrate skills to an ever more demanding clientele.

So, is it a good thing to have repair work done at a workshop?

In general, because the technicians are among the most skilled and most knowledgeable, I would have to say that having repair work done at an event is probably not much of a risk.

All the same, I have my reservations. I know what can go wrong, mainly due to problems that were hidden on initial inspection or did not seem serious enough to warrant caution. And if something goes wrong and I don’t have the tools to fix it, then both I and my customer are in trouble.

It’s practically impossible to take a full complement of tools to a workshop, and so a repair tech doesn’t have a full range of options or solutions. I sure would hate to take a player’s horn out of commission just minutes before a concert.

On-site safety

And there’s the question of general safety, as well.

I witnessed a very ugly scene as one tech berated another for doing on-site gold plating. It turned out that the plating chemicals did not use cyanide, but I still had my doubts as the tech donned a respirator – a piece of safety equipment no one else in the room had! Soldering requires flames and fumes.

Mini-lathes have safety issues, as well, as does practically any power tool. Is a workshop really a safe enough enviroment? Is everyone involved insured properly? These are questions that hosts and vendors will wrestle with in the coming years.

On balance, I would have to say that the “workshop as work site” is probably a trend that is here to stay, but I caution all involved to consider the ramifications of on-site repairs before attempting them.

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Dust and sand was – and still is – everywhere. As a preventative measure, I decided to give my horn a good rinse.

Give the horn a bath?

I used to do my cleaning routine in the bath. I would line the tub with big, folded towels, put the horn in the tub, add water and detergent, and go to work.

I get my horn professionally cleaned these days but in-between cleanings I use a simple routine that does a decent job of keeping the horn clean between professional treatments.

Ingredients:

All you need is:

• a snake brush
• a mouthpiece brush
• an inexpensive shower/sink adapter
• towels that you don’t mind getting wet or oily: a few to pad the working surface, and a few for drying the horn and slides
• A few drops of dish washing detergent

The sink-to-shower hose

The key ingredient in this recipe is the sink adapter hose. I picked mine up in a large superstore, but they can be bought online like almost anything else.

The first step with the hose is to remove the shower head end and throw it away. The bare end will then attach to the horn’s lead pipe.

If the French horn lead pipe is larger than the diameter of the hose, a small cut with a pair of scissors can do the trick. If done carefully, the vinyl plastic stretches without ripping or tearing.

The large rubberized end attaches to the sink faucet and provides a water-tight seal. My sink adapter is weathered from the tool box I keep it in.

* * *

Tips on using a snake brush

A few drops of dish washing detergent on the brush ends is all that is needed.

Use a snake brush sparingly and gently.

* * *

Tips on water pressure and drainage

Always turn the water on slowly and gradually. Too much water pressure may blow out slides and ruin your day.

To lower the odds of this happening:

• Take out all the valve-tuning slides and set them aside.
• Keep the main tuning slides in place, or keep a select few.

When the water is turned off, maneuver the horn into different positions to direct the draining water into the sink basin.  If the cushioning towels get soaked that is just fine; a wet towel stays anchored and keeps the horn from sliding around.

Valve rinse

Below is a picture of how I very carefully hold the horn over the sink basin and slowly open and close valves to give them a good rinse.

• Keep the water pressure low.
• Be alert for slides popping out.

Players with screw-bell horns with have a much easier time of this, with the bell removed.

The H2O flush

In the sandy, desert environment I am always thinking about grit getting into the valves. If the dust storms in Phoenix continue, I will use this handy sink-to-shower adapter to do mini-flushes – with water only and no detergent.

I want this horn to last for many years and a quick water flush never hurts. I am okay with a plain water flush but have heard some players preferring to use a mouthwash rinse instead.

* * *

The tuning slides

After finishing with the body of the horn and drying it with a clean cloth, the slides get a bath of water and a few drops of detergent in a bowl.

To make sure all traces of dust and dirt were gone, I gave each slide a quick once-over with a mouthpiece brush.

After rinsing everything thoroughly with water, I dry the slides with a clean towel and leave them out to air-dry.

In the desert – where the humidity level rarely goes above 15% – this happens in under 15 minutes.

When putting it all back together, I follow Dave Weiner’s advice using different grades of oils and lubricants.

I highly recommend this video on how to oil rotary valves from James Boldin.

* * *

Putting it back together again, another story…

Sometimes when putting the horn back together it helps to have an eager assistant.

Fortunately my little niece Livia stopped by to help put Humpty Dumpty back together again!

* * *

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A customer brought in a horn for work, which was simple enough. But before I let him leave the shop I took off the hand guard to show him what was underneath – a habit I have developed through hard experience.

There was the usual “green stuff” that one finds under hand guards or tennis tape. But there was also something else I knew to look for, something that he could have claimed I did unless I showed it to him before he left: a dent, a small one, under the finger hook. “Huh! I didn’t know that was there!” he said.

One of the meanings of the word “occult” is “hidden or secret”. That is precisely what damage underneath a hand guard is – occult damage. Often you have no idea that it’s there, or how it got there. By leaving your hand guard on the horn all the time you don’t see the damage or some other insidious process such as lacquer wear or green stuff build up.

Remove your hand guard

Get in the habit of removing the hand guard from time to time to inspect your horn, especially after traveling with it. Wipe the horn clean in that area. If there’s green stuff, you can usually clean it off with denatured alcohol (which should not hurt your lacquer finish) or lacquer thinner (which might take off your lacquer).

If you find a dent at least you’ll know it’s there and you can have it taken care of next time you visit your repair tech.

Beware The Occult!

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