Posted by Matt on May 14, 1999 at 21:20:55:
In Reply to: Another penny-for-your-thoughts topic: posted by Joe S. on May 11, 1999 at 22:48:27:
Hi Joe,
Sorry to get in late on this, but there is an obvious answer to which valve group is more comfortable. If you hold your hand in front of you in a relaxed with straight wrist position, you will notice that as you raise your hand up toward your chest, the position of the fingers will match the sousaphone (horizontal, 45 degree, etc.)style valve sets. As you lower your hand back down towards your waist, your finger tips will more comfortably match a vertical (Yorkbrunner) valve set. So, to minimize stress and tension in the hand, the height of the valve cluster needs to match the style. If you are building/cutting a horn, the valve section style, and hence height, must be determined early on.