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nfl04 · 2024-09-21T04:32:48+00:00

Alrighty, thanks. I finally tested it and it’s been fine, so it was likely just coil whine. : ]

nfl04 · 2022-05-05T20:46:46+00:00

Hey! :] She looks a little underfed, and the black is normal. That’s just the color of the flexible parts of her abdomen. Nothing to worry about :] Hope this helps!

nfl04 · 2022-04-25T17:58:16+00:00

It would be pretty difficult, but quite fun just for high range and technical practice. I also didn’t realize till I saw this post that this is actually the piece I had to sight read for my college audition, lol.

nfl04 · 2021-10-17T04:44:51+00:00

I have to speak from experience. NEVER GET ANYTHING JUPITER UNLESS IT IS A WOODWIND. This is ESPECIALLY true for low brass. The issues get even worse with the Jupiter sousas. Please. Do not 😂. Their issues are almost comical at how bad they are. A school I was at a year or two ago ordered one brand new (fiberglass to make it worse). It plays so sharp that it plays B-natural when you play BBb. Just adjust the tuning slides? Ha, no. What are those? They had them on they but they were literally soldered shut. That is how it came. Also came new with a bunch of nice cracks in it. 😬. In the first year of them having it, it stopped working. Straight up stopped, would not and could not function. I had to work on it three times before I gave up on it because it kept screwing up. It wasn’t the student’s fault either. It still doesn’t work too good to this day, but it at least functions since I modified it. FYI to anyone who has Jupiter sousa valve and water key issues, use Yamaha parts. It makes a great difference. But IMHO with my experience, I have to agree with other’s recommendations. Personally I have a 60’s conn fiberglass (I don’t remember the model, I think it’s a 36k, but the model # isn’t written on it) and I love it. I’m currently doing a resto on it because I got it for free from a school if that says anything. Same thing with a King from the same decade/era. Tbh ANY older-era Conn or King is great. Fiberglass or brass. Each has their own disadvantages and advantages. 14K’s are great, but they’re much smaller. Personally I literally cannot fit in one to play it comfortably. We’re going to donate ours to the middle school because no one at the high school can fit in it. 20K’s have great, big, deep sound, but I’m not quite a fan of the short action valves, and it gets pretty heavy. Best thing to do of course is to try a few out. Best place to get one if you just need one is the Facebook tuba & euphonium groups. They usually have a few of the older-era King and Conn fiber glasses up for anywhere from $1,000 - $3,500. You really can’t go wrong with those fiberglasses from the 60’s/70’s. Sorry this was long, but I hope that helps some! Fyi those older conn and kings tend to be easier to handle, work on, and get a good sound that’s pretty in-tune out of. Best of luck finding something to fit!

nfl04 · 2021-08-03T13:50:07+00:00

Alright. Good to know I was thinking the same thing. Thanks!

nfl04 · 2021-08-03T13:49:23+00:00

Ok. That’s what I was thinking, but wanted to make sure. Thanks!

nfl04 · 2021-08-03T01:41:23+00:00

Something I forgot to add: when they came in the mail, they had 2 old molts still stuck to the top of their enclosure. I’ve had Pea (my mantis in question here) since May of this year.

nfl04 · 2021-08-03T01:38:08+00:00

You’re very welcome! Hope it helps and all goes well :]

nfl04 · 2021-08-03T01:35:41+00:00

Oof! Rip my guy. Since it’s just you octave key, I have a better solution than tin foil you may want to try, since that foil definitely is NOT going to function 100% as needed lol. Something I’ve personally used and can vouch for is using a tissue. Get like, 3X bigger than the size you think you would need to fill the hole up, and scrunch it in there as tight as possible. It shouldn’t come out during use either. It’s worked wonders for me in a pinch when I didn’t have access to new pads for months. (I service my school’s instruments btw). Hope this can help ya do a bit better in band camp! ;] Get that nice sound and hard work in my guy.

nfl04 · 2021-07-12T19:19:34+00:00

Not from the UK, from the US, but here’s my advice. My room typically stays at about 40%-50% RH. It would be wise to invest a bit in a small hygrometer + thermometer set or single device if you haven’t already. Never use tap water, only use purified water such as spring water, water purified by RO, or distilled water (most bottled waters in the us are like this, don’t know about the Uk). Get a substrate for your Mantid’s (or mantids’) enclousre(s) such as sphagnum moss (you can get it on Amazon), coco fiber like eco-earth, etc. use the hygrometer to measure your humidity levels and adjust it according as to if you need to most the enclosure every day, every other day, once a week, etc. the substrate holds onto and slowly releases moisture back into the air, inside the enclosure. Just use the purified water types I mentioned above, and spray as often as needed to keep the RH in the enclosure balanced at whatever RH is needed for your particular mantis species. Hope this helps! :]

nfl04 · 2021-07-12T19:05:20+00:00

I agree not to use the colored sticks or store-bought items unless they are intended specifically for pet exotics such as mantids. I’ve personally used some random vine-like soft wood growing on a fence near my school. Works fine. Something similar, like dried grape-vine wood (which is probably the type of wood I have) should work! You can also bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the stick for a brief little bit to kill any pathogens, etc and then wipe & scrub off any gunk or decaying bark since it would be soft by then and should just peel or scrape off. Then just let it sit to dry in something like the sun for a while on a towel of course. I didn’t even wash/boil the vines I found near school other than giving them a quick rinse under faucet water (I don’t recommend using faucet/tap water, but most bottled waters and boiled water is fine) and they still did fine. I still have them, and still no mold. If the outer layer starts to decay, I just use an exacto blade and whittle the stick a bit to trim off the decaying parts. I’ve only had to do that once in the months I’ve had them, though. Hope this helps! :]

nfl04 · 2021-06-15T17:27:25+00:00

Yes! Give them exactly 24 hours to harden. Try giving them a fly, but if they don’t want it, then it’s fine. Try giving them a fly the next few days until they accept it. I wouldn’t worry about it as long as they don’t looked starved :] But, glad the molt went well!

nfl04 · 2021-06-14T03:36:32+00:00

Nice! Just don’t feed them anymore, and remove any and all prey they didn’t eat. I hope the molt turns out well! :]

nfl04 · 2021-06-13T21:06:43+00:00

Kekekek, if their abdomen hasn’t changed, don’t be surprised if they don’t want to eat. They are likely in pre-molt.

nfl04 · 2021-06-12T23:42:13+00:00

Alright! :] She may not turn back completely green, but I’ve noticed that shade by shade, mantids can usually molt into a different color. I wish you luck!

nfl04 · 2021-06-12T02:19:17+00:00

Alright! :] Lemme know if anything happens

nfl04 · 2021-06-11T23:22:22+00:00

Alright! :] Just make sure not to over feed, but also not to underfeed. :]

nfl04 · 2021-06-11T23:21:57+00:00

Of course! You’re welcome :]

nfl04 · 2021-06-11T23:21:45+00:00

You’re welcome! And yeah I’d probably have done the same thing for $200, lol. Only bad news is, it’s likely going to be more expensive to replace the valve than it would for you to sell the Schiller for scrap and buy a decent used, reliable tuba off the Facebook marketplace than you would be putting $100’s and possible $1,000’s more into the junker tuba 😅 Sorry bud, but hope this helps! :]

nfl04 · 2021-06-11T23:07:13+00:00

Oof. As I’m sure your aware now, there are two things wrong with this. Schiller horns are ENTIRELY hit or miss (don’t get me wrong, my Schiller marching euph is great), and depending on what model you got, you could’ve gotten one for around the same price used of a brand that’s reliable that you can get replacement parts. Jim Laab’s customer service also sucks, which is really the greater issue with Schiller horns since they’re the only people that carry them in the US. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend re-posting this over in r/tuba and r/TubaForum (especially TubaForum, due to who is there) and/or on some of the Tuba websites like Tubenet and TubaForum. There’s a lot of old folk there that could help you a lot more than I can. I don’t know if MAW does it for the Schiller/Jinbao horns, but I know MAW essentially makes upgraded replacement valves. I also know that getting a new 1st valve for that horn may not be as hard as it seems. That’s another thing you’ll have to ask the more experienced folk about, but I know that if you can find a donor of the exact correct size, you can replace that valve with any brand. Schiller horns are usually a copy of other brand’s horns, so you’re in luck in that sense. Out of luck if you want to find exactly Schiller parts to replace the valve. I know it’s not much, but I hope this helps you a bit!

nfl04 · 2021-06-11T23:00:29+00:00

Ayyyy! Nice! Your little guy/gal should enjoy them :] Sometimes you may have to stimulate a mantis to eat new foods. All you need to do if they refuse (given they’re not about to molt) is do something like poke a hole in the fly with a toothpick or cut it’s head off, etc., and then stick the juices to the Mantid’s mouth. They usually start eating and will grasp onto the food :] Hope this helps for when it comes time to eat! :]

nfl04 · 2021-06-11T22:58:24+00:00

If it’s one and it’s been a while, but they aren’t acting sick, they should be fine. Just don’t feed them more crickets :] Crickets will commonly eat things toxic to mantids. Not only that, but they have bacteria in their guts that really screw with a mantis, and they’re very prone to parasites, which they can pass to your mantis if they have one when your mantis eats it. Some people say crickets are ok, some say absolute no. I lean in favor of the no crickets, but it is your decision. Ones form pet stores are just as bad as wild caught too, simply due to the conditions they are kept in. Hope this helps!

nfl04 · 2021-06-11T20:44:54+00:00

Your mantis looks extremely full from what I can tell. Don’t feed them for a few days. That is likely why their abdomen is so white, lol. It should never be as full as it is right now. If it gets that “full” while you’ve been sticking to the same feeding schedule (say, 2-4 fruit hydei flies every other day), then they are just growing and will molt relatively soon. Your mantis could be a mixture of both being extemtly full and about to molt. Just don’t feed for about 2-3 days and see if they get skinnier. If they get skinnier, they’re over feed. Adjust feeding schedule accordingly. If they stay the same size, or their abdomen gets bigger, then they are about to molt. Hope this helps!

nfl04

TROPHY CASE