Posted by Anthony on November 13, 2002 at 14:21:04:
In Reply to: venting rotors...is it worth it?? posted by CDRom on November 13, 2002 at 13:40:03:
If you have to move your slide a lot while playing, then I think it's worth it.
Think of the ballad movement of Holst's 2nd suite. The legato running eighth notes end with the tuba floating down to a pedal F. On my old (CC) horn I played this in tune with a 1-4 fingering and the 1st valve slide pulled nearly all the way out. This resulted in a "pop" at the beginning of that last note which I found absolutely unacceptable. The alternative was a quick "gliss" down to the right pitch, which I also found unacceptable(but I'm just picky that way).
Probably 90% of the time nobody will notice, especially in large ensemble playing. But if it bugs you(as it did me), it's worth getting done. I don't know to what degree the "vaccuum effect" is a hindrance- perhaps it's not a hindrance at all. But it is, at the very least, an unwelcome distraction. Being that it's so easy to take care of, why put up with this distraction?
If you can't do it yourself, you can probably find a competent repair person who will do it pretty inexpensively.
Anthony