Valve-venting redux


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Posted by Rick Denney on August 29, 2000 at 12:59:32:

I appreciate all the responses to my question about venting the piston valves on my York. Here's my summary of what I heard, and the questions that remain.

1.) Nobody has said that it affects the sound of the instrument positively or negatively. I'm assuming it doesn't.

2.) Nobody persuaded me that a slot made with a small grinding wheel is worse than a hole with a drill bit, though there was good advice on how to make a hole without accidently flinging the valve across the shop.

3.) There was a real concern from several about possible plating separation that may result from breaking through the nickel plating. This is a real concern for me, but it was only a speculation, not backed up by actual experience. Has this been a problem for anybody?

4.) One person questioned the value of the procedure, wondering why factories didn't provide horns with ventilated valves. What about the Famous Tubas Of Yesteryear? Does the CSO York have ventilated valves? What about modern York-o-phones--do their players routinely ventilate their valves?

5.) If cutting the vents is a bad thing, then how do I address the need to move slides? I've tried to find a way to pull slides on the York for emptying while pressing the valves, and I can't come up with a way that doesn't risk dropping the instrument and still allows me to see what I'm doing. Several of you guys have York Masters or similar B&M's (Joe? Dale? Klaus?). How do you get the water out of the slides?

Rick "No decisions yet" Denney


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