Posted by Lew on February 22, 2003 at 14:23:32:
In Reply to: King 2341 and Bass Bone posted by DH on February 22, 2003 at 10:17:18:
I have had my King for about a year and am still very happy with it. Response and intonation are excellent. I go to Dillon Music every couple of months or so for repairs to other instruments of mine and while I'm there I usually try out what tubas they have in stock. The only tuba that I played that I liked as well or better than my King was the Miraphone 1291, but I haven't played them side by side. No other horn that I picked up made me want to even think about trading the King. That includes other samples of the King 2341, including the new one with removeable valve section.
I have had no problems with the construction or quality of the horn. Matt did a little work when I first got it to help the slides move a little more smoothly, but it has been fine since. I find it one of the most comfortable horns to hold and play that I have ever tried. The leadpipe is just the right height for me and it feels very natural to hold. The only issue that I have with emptying water is that I need to periodically empty the top first and third valve slides. This is easily done between pieces or movements. Maybe once a week I have to do the "King Spin" to empty out the 4th valve slide, but I never have enough accumulate there to require it to be emptied during a performance or rehearsal. It's much better in that regard than my old, 2 piece, King 2341. The old one required spinning several times a rehearsal to prevent that lovely glug-glug sound. I anticipate using this as my primary tuba for many years.