Blog

Hand Sanitiser and Your Instrument

Hand Sanitiser and Your Instrument

For almost a year now we've all been told to wash our hands more and use sanitiser at every opportunity. Of course these are good things to do, some of us even washed our hands in our regular pre-Covid lives! But what hand sanitiser and your instrument? Many manufacturers have highlighted concerns over the effects of various products on the finish and even base metals of their instruments.

Studies by Yamaha and Yanagisawa have found that although ethanol itself has virtually no effect, the various other ingredients can cause changes from discolouration of lacquer to the lacquer coming off and the changes to the base metal occurring. Chlorine products are particularly damaging. Although if you carry your own ethanol based sanitiser you've got a good chance of knowing what's in it, much of the time we have to use what's provided to us with no way of knowing the exact contents.

So, for those of us handling instruments on a regular basis hand washing, rather than sanitising, is the way forward. When sanitiser is the only option it's definitely worth giving your instrument a thorough wipe with a soft cloth to remove any traces after playing. This is the approach I'll be taking both in the shop and with my own gear.

Tom

For those interested in the technical stuff here are the results:

  1. Light change on the surface
  2. Lacquer starts to loosen
  3. Lacquer starts to come off
  4. Lacquer comes off and the color of the base metal starts to change
  5. Major color change on the base metal

However, since the content rate and/or components in chemicals differ depending on manufacturers to a certain degree, these results are not showing everything. It should be taken as a guideline.

【Ethanol for disinfection】Showed Result 1 after 24 hours from adherence
【Approx 70%of ethanol + Glycerin-fatty acid ester 0.1%+ Glycine 0.1%+ Sodium emulsfied 00.24% + others】Showed result 5 after 25 days
【Chlorine dioxide】The lacquer remarkably tarnished 15 hours after adherence. Reacted the most compared to other chemicals.
【Chlorine bleach】Showed result 3 on the 21st day from adherence

From this test, there was almost no change by 100% ethanol, but even though the main ingredient is ethanol, depending on the other contained chemicals, result 1 or 3 appeared approximately after 3 weeks. On the other hand, most of the chlorine based chemicals caused remarkable tarnishing in the result

Update 24/04/21

For the latest on this study please see http://www.prima-gakki.co.jp/column/yanagisawasax_en.html

Read more...

December Newsletter

Welcome to our December Newsletter! We have some special offers and new arrivals for you. Also, our Christmas/New Year opening: Saturday 22nd December: 9:30 – 5:00 Thursday 27th December: Closed Saturday 29th December: 9:30 – 5:00 Tuesday 1st January: Closed Thursday 3rd January: 9:30 – 5:00 As always you can update your preferences so you only receive emails you actually want! Our privacy policy can be viewed here.

Stocking Fillers

Piccolos are the popular choice at this time of year - they actually will fit in a stocking - there are, however, plenty of options for non-flautists... CarolBrass CPT-1000-YSS mini pocket trumpets - available in Bb (pictured above) and C! We still have some special prices on Piccolo Trumpets for anyone looking for a discounted descant! Mutes, stands and mouthpieces will even fit in a sturdy sock! Lots of the regular doubling instruments will fit nicely under the tree if you don't have time for some extreme knitting! Flugel Horns (the Elkhart 450FH has been one of our best sellers recently), Soprano Saxes and Alto Trombones all fit the bill quite nicely. Finally, for anyone thinking I'm just naming small versions of various instruments, here is our Christmas Contrabassoon offer - Oscar Adler 1369 only £10,800 (usually £18,741). Compact model, low Bb. We guarantee this will fill even the largest of Christmas stockings! There is only one available at this price, please contact us for more information.
 
Recent Arrivals - Second Hand (and some not-so-recent that might make good Christmas presents)
Yamaha 211S Flute - Very good condition - £325 JP Cor Anglais - Very good condition - £1499 Buescher Aristocrat Tenor Sax - Very good condition - £799 Scherzer 8120 Rotary Valve C Trumpet  - Excellent condition £1999 Schagerl Eclipse Piccolo Bb/A Trumpet - Very good condition - £2499 Besson 928 Sovereign Cornet - Mint condition - £1599 Getzen Custom Soprano Cornet - Good condition - £999 Besson 1000 Tenor Horn - As new - £599 Conn 88HO Trombone - Near mint condition - £1899
Read more...

Trevor Jones and CarolBrass adventure! By Bruce Dobson

A Trevor Jones and CarolBrass adventure! A long time ago I played a cornet for a few years as a high school student in our school band. The distraction of girls, motorcycles and constant negative peer pressure sadly caused me to push the cornet aside (Years later I now realise how stupid that was!). Just a year ago, a sequence of close coincidences, often described as a strange bedfellow with conspiracy, led to me picking up a trumpet and I was instantly hooked. A Yamaha YTR01, a Kanstul 601 USA Besson and a 1947 Olds Standard later, not to mention blowing on a classic Conn CONNstellation, a Smith Watkins, a Yamaha Xeno and a Jupiter XO, I contacted Trevor Jones with the desire of purchasing a brand new horn of my own. Balancing my financial limitations with the information I’d gathered from reading countless trumpet reviews, I settled on a CarolBrass as the way to go. Every CarolBrass review I read was positive, to the point of glowing in most cases, from all manner of folk among which many were clearly professional musicians, including the legendary YouTube Horn Trader himself. My music interests are Jazz and blues so I wanted a Dutch Jazz Smoke. That was my weapon of choice and nothing else would do! [This is not available in UK but Bruce’s trumpet is very, very, very close - Tom] So calling Trevor Jones put me in contact with Tom who proved to be most helpful and impressively knowledgable about the instruments he sold there. After a detailed consultation about my wishes and helpful advice from Tom, the horn was ordered with a delivery time of 10 to 12 weeks as the horn was being made to order. CarolBrass make all their horns to order so as a customer, you’re not buying something that has potentially been stored for a long time before shipping. [This is true but we also have a healthy stock of some of the standard (and not so standard) models available to try and to buy!] Tom kept me informed of the horns progress by email from time to time and it was shipped to me by courier, safely packed as soon as it arrived in the UK. The horn is extremely well made and the satin lacquer is flawless. The compression of the stainless valves is so good, a satisfyingly loud pop can be heard from all three when moving the slides etc. I’ve found playing it consistently so well balanced from the pedal tones up through the staff to C above (As far as I can get at the moment but todays squeaks are tomorrows notes!) It just feels much easier to play than my other horns. The smokey tone can be pushed to a louder brighter one if needed and this horn looks and feels as good as the ones I blew with twice the price tag. So to conclude, I simply need to say well done Tom and all the team at Trevor Jones for a superb quality of service and well done to CarolBrass for a superb quality of product. Bruce Dobson CarolBrass CTR-8770L-PSM-Bb-SL Trumpet
Read more...

Trying instruments and mouthpieces

Trying instruments and mouthpieces before buying is always a good idea if possible. We have recently started to take bookings to use our testing room on Saturdays - please contact us to arrange your time. We are not currently taking bookings during the week and will continue to operate on a "first come - first served" basis. When trying any new equipment it is best to keep the other elements the same as you are used to. With this in mind, please bring your current instrument/mouthpiece/reeds etc to allow for a fair comparison - it's never good getting home to discover your new mouthpiece simply doesn't work well with your instrument! Bringing some sheet music is also a good idea, particularly for younger players. Help us to help you! What are your needs? What is your budget? What do you currently play on and why do you want/need to change? We can't tell you definitively what will work for you but we can help you to narrow your search.
Read more...

Woodwind Newsletter October 2018

Clarinets

Welcome to our Woodwind Newsletter October 2018. This month we've had some new arrivals at some special prices after one of our suppliers made us a "Special Purchase" offer we just couldn't refuse! The Leblanc "Bliss" model clarinets were designed in conjunction with Julian Bliss with the aim of offering a reasonably priced wooden clarinet for advanced students. Featuring a bell and barrel by Backun, the JB210 are made from natural, unstained Grenadilla wood. With a choice of black nickel or silver plated keys these clarinets look as good as they sound! Leblanc Backun Bliss JB210 - £1036 Leblanc Backun Bliss JB210S - £1066 The Selmer Saint Louis Bb clarinet is now in stock. If you're considering something like a Buffet R13 or Tosca you should also come and try the Saint Louis. Special Purchase price £2593 The Selmer Odyssée A Clarinet is great professional instrument that features a bright round tone and excellent intonation. We have two of these available. Special Purchase price £1861 This price is so special we've even seen one second hand for more! Pearl Alto Flutes Stock clearance prices on Pearl Alto and Bass Flutes: 201ES - £1282 201ESU - £1396 206S - £1569 Pearl 305E Bass Flute - £2707   Yamaha Saxophones Now back in stock at some special prices, Yamaha's fantastic 82Z Saxophones 82Z Soprano - £2940 82Z Alto - £2986 82Z Tenor - £3350
Read more...

Brass Newsletter September 2018

Welcome to the Trevor Jones Brass & Woodwind Brass Newsletter September 2018. We've got some cracking offers this Autumn with new stock arriving on a weekly basis! Below you can see a selection of special offers and recent second hand arrivals.

Trumpets

We have special stock clearance/special purchase prices on all current stock of: Bach Stradivarius and Artisan Trumpets - Bb, C, Eb/D and piccolo are all included. Conn Vintage One Trumpets Yamaha 9230C Piccolo Trumpet - £2599 Scherzer Piccolo Trumpet - £2733 Scherzer Piccolo Trumpet with sterling silver bell - £2988 Many of our other Piccolo Trumpets are also reduced!
French Horns Elkhart 100FFH Junior French Horn in F - £279 Stock clearance prices on Holton French Horns
Alto Trombones We have recently had a big delivery of Conn alto trombones which we can offer at special prices Conn 34H - £1381.00 Conn 36H -£2074.00 We also have the entry-level Elkhart 100TBA and professional B&S at stock clearance prices!King Trombones We have a comprehensive range of King 2B and 3B Trombones at reduced prices. Conn 88H Trombones Stock clearance prices on all 6 variants currently in stock.
New Arrivals - Second Hand
Selmer Sigma Trumpet - very good condition - original case - £1699 SOLD DEG Signature Trumpet - good solid pro-level trumpet at a bargain price - £350 Yamaha 4330 Cornet - very good condition + Wick 4B mouthpiece - £399 SOLD
Read more...