Posted by Rick Denney on December 23, 2002 at 02:00:31:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Pics of the new Holton posted by Chuck Jackson on December 23, 2002 at 01:14:42:
The problem with the YM is the relationship between the leadpipe and the valve angle. When the mouthpiece is on my face, my arm is too high, which rotates my pinky away from the valve. My forefinger overlaps the first valve if I let it. I considered several options, including rearranging the leadpipe so that my arm would enter the valve area from the right direction, but John Swenson made me the valve extension and the problem was solved. It's not hard to do. It's identical to a standard valve button, with a wide, shallow slot milled into it and a hole instead of a screw. A flat bar with a slot in it sits in the slot in the button, and a regular screw goes through the slot in the bar, the button, and into the stem.
Despite the wider spacing and tiny buttons on the Holton, my fingers do just fine with it, or they did when I figured out that my thumb needed to rest on the first joint rather than the second, where there is no callous.
Rick "still understanding the ergonomics of the big beastie" Denney