Woodsy's of Medina is a full service instrument repair shop, lesson studio and retailer carrying many major and national brands. We also offer a school band and orchestra rent-to-own program.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Trumpet Valve Maintenance
One of the most common repairs that we see on the bench is a trumpet with a sticking or slow valve. These range from a valve that hangs up a little bit to one that is completely seized up and can't even be removed from the casing without force. If your problem is the former, don't panic, it may not even need any kind of serious repair. I usually put valve trouble into 2 general categories, acute and chronic. Chronic valve trouble is when the valve sticks every time you press it down. This is the kind of trouble that you have no problem recreating when you show it the repair tech. There is little DIY maintenance that you can do in these instances. Acute valve trouble is when your valve sticks or comes up slow one time and then you go on merrily with your playing until it occurs a couple of days later. For these acute troubles there ARE a few things that you can do before you panic and go running to the repair shop. Many times this trouble stems from a dirty valve, or one the is under or over (yes, there is such a thing as too much) oiled.
1. You can prevent debris from building up on the valves by avoiding eating before playing or brushing your teeth if you have to play right after eating. Also NEVER chew gum while your playing. I'm sure that your band director has already yelled at you for this one!
2. If you find that your valve is slow or sticking try a little bit of oil. If it has been a while since you have oiled your valves they may have dried out, but remember that a little bit goes a long way.
3. Don't OVER oil you valves. If you try a little bit of oil and it's still sticking don't just start dumping a ton of oil on it. If the problem is in fact that there is debris in the valves then you are simply putting clean oil on top of dirty oil. It's like changing the oil in your car without changing the filter.
4. If they are still sticking then you need to start with a clean slate. You can do this by removing the pistons from the casing and wiping off all of the oil with a lint free cloth. It's important that it's lint-free or else you risk causing the same problem from lint pieces that fall off the cloth. I recommend using a paper towel or handkerchief. Take a small piece of the cloth and push it through the casing gently with the eraser end of a pencil. If you have to force it then your piece of cloth is too large. Once you have wiped off all of the old oil add some more. Remember not to over oil. A little bit goes a long way.
If you are still having trouble with the valve after doing all of this, then it is time to take it in to the repair shop and let professional technician have a look at it.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Humidifying your wood instrument during the winter months
Repair Corner: Humidity and Wood Instruments
With the cold weather coming on many of us have already started kicking on those heaters for the first time, and that means lower humidity levels. Some of you may already know the adverse effects that low humidity can have on wooden instruments, but those of you who don't here's a few things to remember. The relative humidity in the environment that you're storing the instrument in should be about 50%. Once you get down in the mid to low 30's you're really tempting fate. Low humidity can cause:
•cracks in the body and particularly the fingerboard when it is made of unfinished rosewood or ebony
•sharp fret edges on guitars ad basses
•low action (string height) due to the soundboard drying out and sinking. This can casue string "buzz" or "fretting out"
You can avoid many of these problems by:
•Using a soundhole humidifier for your instrument (pictured above)
•installing a hygrometer in the room you store the instrument in or in the case to measure the relavtive humidity
•using a room humidifier
•keeping humidifiers full
Using a soundhole humidifier is an inexpensive and simple way to give you some real peace of mind during the dry days of winter. Heed these warnings and you might just avoid a trip to our repair bench this winter!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Garage Sale!
It's that time of year again! The time for the annual Woodsy's Garage Sale. Every summer we pull out all the used instruments and trade-ins that we've accumulated over the last year and put them out on the floor at summer special prices. Of course, since we are a full service repair shop as well as retailer, every instrument has been Woodsy's certified and will be inspected again prior to purchase. The vast majority of the instruments this year are flutes and clarinets. Some are even priced as low as $100. There are a couple of acoustic guitars, and fractional size violins as well. All name brand and all at full playability! They are perfect if you're looking for something inexpensive to take on the marching band field this year.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Schecter Guitars At Woodsy's Medina!
We are pleased to welcome Schecter Guitars as the newest edition to the Woodsy's electric guitar line-up! They are quite a unique company with roots dating back to the late 1970's when the produced only high-end custom guitars. It wasn't until 1998 that they introduced their mass produced line that they call the "diamond series". Check out their wikipedia article, they have a great history.
I have chosen to spotlight the Hellraiser C-1. At $749 it's a lot of guitar for the money. It has a scalloped set-neck to allow comfortable access to all 24 frets for some serious shredding. It features coil taps on the EMG 81 and 89 active pick-ups to give you plenty of options to find just the right tone. With Schecter locking tuners and a TonePros bridge your sure to always be in tune. Gothic cross fret inlays, and abalone binding complete the sharp look that Schecter has become known for. Come try the Hellraiser C-1 or any of the 6 other Schecter models in stock today!
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