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Hehe...clean my instrument? Mine is kinda green and fuzzy on the inside...

Alright Percussion is not getting our due here. Does that mean we're dirty or something? *smells self*

Alright anyways. Here's the tips I have for keeping battery equipment well kept up. If you have a non-competive marching school very few think to wipe off their drums if they've been in the rain. Drums cost money folks and let's not get that metal tarnished. So make sure you have time at the end of practice to wipe off a wet drum. After the metal wipe off the head as well of course, you'll never see a drum go out of tune faster than if it's been wet.

Snares keep in mind that you should be constantly making sure your heads are in tune. Always use the same stick to check to see if the line is in tune. Each stick will produce a slightly different sound, so just use one person's stick as you tune them up.

And do NOT forget to tune the bottom head on snares. I'm amazed how many percussionists are unaware of how important that head is. It's name is the resonnance head and it is just as important to the sound of your instrument as your batter head.

Do change the tape on your sticks. If the tape sits there long enough, it can have problems with the sticky residue getting gunk adheared to the stick even after it's been removed.

Remember never to use any kind of soap on cymbals. Anything more than warm water is probably too much and do not let the water sit on them for long.

For drumset players do take the time to dust your set. We all keep our kit in the basement or somewhere so that our families don't kill us, but it attracts dust. And also check the humidity levels. Keeping it by a dehumidifier/humidifier (if needed) will keep your tone quality more consistent so you don't have to tune it up every week (unless you're hitting it really hard of course, then you may have to tune it everyday....)

i do that too!~ makes my sexie saxie all shiney!~ whooh!~

My biggest problem when I clean my instrument is remembering which valve goes where but after I try to play it a few times and nothing comes out I eventually figure it out.

Yeah, I know but this one doesn't sad

For my saxophone (Aka, Boris) I have a variety of cleaning cloths and swabs, but my favourite is the Shove-It. (This was the name given to it by my director. She's a strange woman.)

So how does one operate this Shove-It? Well, the Shove-It is a long fluffy object that you insert into the body of your saxophone; starting with the side that faces you when you play. It collects spit and bacteria and all those other lovelies that inhabit your instrument.

So the next time you want it cleaned, Shove-It!

cool we can relate. I have a gemeinhardt too and i hate how all the finger prints keep coming back..ive just learned to deal with it. I use a polishing cloth and the brand is Fender, its really soft and gets the job done. its about 5 dollars. the cloth that can make the flute real shiny is produced by Herco i think. yeah it buffs out all the EVIL tarnish and stuff, so if you have that, you dont have to worry!! ^^ Its about 4 dollars. so after every use you should clean the inside and well as the outside. lol and dont worry about the evil tarnish. i got my flute about 3 years ago and its still like, brand new..(except for the fact that i dropped it O.O *GASP*) but other than that there should be no worries =D

I'm a bit fanatic about cleaning my 'bone... I clean it once a week in the bathtub, and then I put fresh slide cream on it. Is dish soap safe to use? PLEASE tell me it is because I use it on my bone and it makes it extra-shiny (And it smells lemon-fresh). I use it on my mouthpiece, too.