Posted by Gus Pratt on January 07, 2000 at 05:42:19:
In Reply to: Reqeest for Information posted by Jerry Gray on January 06, 2000 at 22:30:01:
It should be easy to tell if the horn is a short action Conn. On the valve casing, where the tubing enters the casing, you should be able to tell that the tubing becomes flat (or oval shaped rather then round). That is how Conn manages the short action on their tubas. By making the tubing flat instead of round, the air passages in the piston can then be smaller. allowing for a shorter stroke. As far as I know only Conn made this type short action valve. Somewhere on the horn you'll find a 3 digit number consisting of 2 numbers and the letter K (probably 20K) If the body of the horn is in good shape (i.e. not dented too bad) it might be worth fixing. I suspect that the pistons would cost quite a bit from the manufacturer. It might be better off to find a real beat up one that still has a decent bell and good valves to steal parts from.