What the heck is happening to my Strad?

[jackie]

Ok, so I purchased a Bach Strad off ebay about a year ago.
It is a great playing horn, but doesn't look so hot.
When I got it, it had silver wear around the valves, on the bell next to the vlaves, in the third slide ring, on the third slide, in the first slide sattle, everywhere your hands touched the horn there was wear.

Something new has shown up on my horn on the third valve casing.
It looks like the rest of the wear except it feels rough and is outlined in black stuff that I can't rub off, when I tryed to rub it off with my fingernail I got silver in my fingernail, I scratched some of my horn's plating off!!
I kind of looks like my horn is getting eaten by something.

This is hard to explain I will try to post a picture.

[Hotbrassmama]

Hmmm,

Sounds like it might be some type of corrosion.

[trickg]

Welcome to the club Jackie - what you are experiencing is typical of Strads. The silver plating is bubbling and flaking off and almost anyone who owns and uses a Strad regularly for any length of time will experience this. Yes, it looks ugly, but it won't affect the sound.
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Patrick Gleason
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"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP

[jackie]

[LittleRusty]

[rolling360]

Hate to say it, but you should have bought a Getzen.

I do see this alot on Strads. Ive been kind of looking for one myself, but they all seem to be eaten away.

[trickg]

[Pilsueng]

I have to agree with LittleRusty.

I've been playing my silver Strad for 30 years now and nothing like that has happened. As well as the Strads that belong to other players that I know.

Maybe it's an age thing. How old are the Strads that seem to get this.

Maybe the old saying is true; "They just don't build'm like they used to"
_________________
Bach Stradivarius 180S-43 ML ('77) - Curry Precision 1 1/2B
Olds Ambassador Cornet ('62) - Yamaha 11C4-7C
Conn Connstellation 85F Flugel ('95-'96) - Parduba 6.5
Jupiter SPT-416 Pocket Trumpet ('86)

[Dale Proctor]

I have a 29 year old silver-plated Strad, and have played it a LOT, and there's practically no wear/corrosion on the silver plate. Maybe the quality of the plating varies, and for sure the acidity of people's hands varies, so I'd guess the worst cases of this are a combination of the two.

Hey Pilsueng, I have the same horn - a 1977 Strad 43!
_________________
1977 Bach Stradivarius ML 43
1976 Bach Mercedes M+ 38
1982 Bach Stradivarius CML 239
1993 Bach Stradivarius. L 184G cornet
1960 Conn 6B Victor
1962 Conn 9A Victor cornet
1890 F. Besson Nuevo Etoile A/Bb/C cornet
1875 H. Lehnert SARV Bb cornet

[trickg]

[bike&ed]

I'll bet Conn-Selmer changed the "formula" of their silverplate at some point. Many of the older silver Strads seem to be much more resistant to this kind of corrosion, while it's almost impossible to find a newer used one that doesn't have plating loss in the finger contact areas (valve casing, bell ferrule etc). A quick look at the many strads on ebay will give (at least some partial) confirmation to this "postulation." As a personal example, I've got an 89,xxx Bach 37 with nearly 98-99% silverplate, but I also have "identical" 2xx,xxx and 3xx,xxx Bachs that have massive plating loss and corrosion. All were major pro players instruments, so it's interesting to see the differences in the silver wear...

[beaukoo]

A lot of it can have to do with the differences in body chemistry from person to person. Case in point: back in the 1980s, I went on a trip to Italy with some buddies in college. When we got to Venice, the guy I was rooming with and I each bought identical silver rings. Within a few months, his had turned black, but mine stayed shiny. His hands were just more acidic than mine.

Dave Brewer

[Arpeggio]

Agree with beaukoo that there seems to be a lot of variability in body chemistry from one person to another. I have a friend who has worn off the silverplate at the contact points on several of his horns (Strad, Schilke and so on) yet I haven't worn off any of the silverplate on any of mine. Our horns are about the same age, give or take a bit. Looking at other guys' main horns, there's a lot of variation in wear from one person to the next.

Maybe there's also some variability in how tightly we each grip the horn, such that some of us have perspiration and others don't.

Not sure whether some manufacturers apply thinner silverplating and others use thicker, though one could imagine that there might be an incentive to plate thinner to same some bucks . . . at the expense of durability! Not sure whether this might apply to Strads.

[trumpet043]

I had a friend who actually ate through the brass on the valve casing on his horn due to the reaction from his acidity/body chemistry. The only thing you can do is put a valve guard on or wear gloves when you play.
_________________
trumpet043

[LittleRusty]

[trickg]

[LittleRusty]

I understand your point. Any time someone states an absolute, like "almost anyone who owns and uses a Strad regularly for any length of time will experience this" or "this is typical of a strad" it is just an invatation for someone to comment.

My personal experience differs from yours, but my strad experiences were pre-1980 and post 2000.

I personally don't believe the acid sweat can be blamed on plating problems. (but I am not a plating/metal expert)

Do you feel that the bubbling/flaking is a result of the acid? Perhaps the later stages of the deterioration after the pitting. (serious question, not trying to antagonize)

The shop I use recommends wiping down a silver plated horn with alchohol after playing to remove and acid/sweat residue and help prevent pitting.

[trickg]

I didn't think I had posted it as an absolute - just something typical that I had seen on many a Strad during my time as an Army Bandsman. While I worded it as being typical and that many would experience the same issue, it certainly wasn't meant as an absolute.

[Craig Swartz]

The problem almost certainly lies with your own personal body system. I have an old Schilke CXL that I play every day that has only smooth wear spots in the silver. I had a student years ago who pitted his B3 out in 3 years. It has nothing to do with Bach or any other manufacturer, most of them are prepared and plated by the same company: Anderson's, right across the street from where Strads are made.

Change your diet.

[Pilsueng]