TromboneChat

I have a lovely "E" series Elkhart 88H that developed an unwelcome buzzing noise in the valve area that was especially pronounced in the seventh partial. While exploring the source of said noise, I found that I was able to eliminate the buzzing completely by compressing the lever spring upward, using a miniature nylon zip tie to form a spacer between the bottom of the spring and the post where the spring terminates. It was a bit tricky getting the zip tie positioned and tightened, but well worth the effort.

The horn plays much more consistently now that the buzz has been eliminated. Seventh partial notes in particular are much more secure. It's kind of amazing how that little buzz in the spring was having such a negative effect on the overall response of the horn, especially the high register attacks.

Nice. A lot of newer 88Hs ahead have buzzing that can occur within the bracing. Trying to find those buzzing spots can be very frustrating! Glad you were able to solve it in this way.

I've had 88H buzzing in these areas:

Tuning slides (need more tuning grease)
Valve cap (apply thick grease to threads)
Rotor spindle / linkages (proper hetmans)
Bell brace (wrap bell in tape or leather, eventually got resoldered)
Handslide slide latch (grease)

Drove me nuts each time.

harrisonreed wrote: Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:32 pm Nice. A lot of newer 88Hs ahead have buzzing that can occur within the bracing. Trying to find those buzzing spots can be very frustrating! Glad you were able to solve it in this way.

I've had 88H buzzing in these areas:

Tuning slides (need more tuning grease)
Valve cap (apply thick grease to threads)
Rotor spindle / linkages (proper hetmans)
Bell brace (wrap bell in tape or leather, eventually got resoldered)
Handslide slide latch (grease)

Drove me nuts each time.

Roger that.

I once had an Elkhart 88H with a buzzing bell brace, which I suppressed by cutting a cross-sectional disc of wine cork and wedging it very tightly on edge between the bell brace and F-tubing.

Hi, folks,
could not believe of this being that easy. High Bb on my 42 did not start well , harsh sound, no matter what mouthpiece. Bell vibrates hard at that note. Put heavy oil on rotor joints / linkage as well as on rotor cap threads. That's been it. Bell still oscillates as it did before but interferences are gone. Valve action is calm, nice side effect. 42 plays perfectly again. Almost wanted to get rid of it...
What a retroactive effect by little things on the large horn! Thanks, forum!
Greetz, John

Resurrecting this old thread to add yet another source of buzzing that I finally resolved on an Elkhart 88H C series: the water key spring.

By lifting up the two "legs" of the spring that rest against the crook and placing a small felt pad between the spring legs and the crook, a very strong buzzing in the vicinity of seventh partial F# has been completely eliminated.

I've had MANY 8H'S/88H's that buzzed around F#, so I hope that this modification will be of use to others who are experiencing this issue.

biggiesmalls wrote: Mon Feb 24, 2025 11:24 am Resurrecting this old thread to add yet another source of buzzing that I finally resolved on an Elkhart 88H C series: the water key spring.

By lifting up the two "legs" of the spring that rest against the crook and placing a small felt pad between the spring legs and the crook, a very strong buzzing in the vicinity of seventh partial F# has been completely eliminated.

I've had MANY 8H'S/88H's that buzzed around F#, so I hope that this modification will be of use to others who are experiencing this issue.

That's an incorrect spring installation. The legs should have been cut so that they rest only on the saddle, not on the crook. The springs are made extra long for ease of installation, but are meant to be trimmed.

Aha...thanks for the tip! I'll break out the wire cutters and trim them properly.

So even with the spring legs trimmed and resting on the saddle, the buzzing persisted, although to a lesser degree. But pressure fitting a felt dot between the saddle and spring coil eliminated the buzzing completely.