Posted by 10:30 afterthought on August 26, 2003 at 14:17:25:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Vienna Valves on the Tuba posted by Alex C on August 26, 2003 at 11:39:39:
Exactly what I said--essentially straight through when not depressed and a double right angle deflection when depressed (any twists or turns outside of the body of the valve weren't counted). Some older rotaries also use slightly "U"-shaped pieces to connect the valves, although I suspect the slight deflection of the air stream doesn't matter much.
Now, for a more interesting question: Suppose a rotary valve "split the difference" and deflected the airstream a double 45 degree turn either when engaged or not engaged. Implementation details aside, would a valve that produced the same amount of disturbance whether engaged or not be more or less desirable than the conventional rotary?