Posted by Matt G on October 26, 2001 at 13:00:50:
In Reply to: Short Action vs. "Regular" Piston Valves posted by Short Action Cook on October 25, 2001 at 19:37:36:
A few years back, I played one of Matt Walter's custom CC's made out of an old Conn Eb bell and other assorted parts and pieces. This was before the introduction of the new 52J/56J series. This particular creation had four short action Conn valves and a fifth rotor. I also played a King vavlesetted version at the time, I think. I thought the short action valve horn was very friendly to play and was possibly the ultimate in a compact 4/4 CC. I would have bought it, but I didn't have $9K+ at the time, but the horn was well worth it. IMHO, the short action valve version was better than the King valveset version. The s.a.v. conn felt very alive and resonant at the time and spoke easily in all registers, also the intonation seemed very good in all registers. I was with a guy who was a BIG fan of the 2155 at the time and he persuaded me to try out the 2155 in comparison. All differences being aside, these horns have about the same bore and the Meinl-Weston feels freer blowing, the MW was also a bit darker with a LOT more projection. I would have bought a 2155, but the one my friend had was tricked out with a custom leadpipe and some other goodies and I wanted one that played like his. Anywho, the s.a.v.'s don't seem to really affect intonation to a large, if any, degree. They possibly may have a bit more resistance to them, but it isn't a lot, and my point of reference was the MW valveset that is extremely open.
Maybe Matt Walters could chime in and offer his opinion on how he felt the conn valveset worked on his horns versus other valvesets. The hardest part of the comparison is that all of the factory built s.a.v and their standard valve counter parts are/were extremely large and finicky instruments to begin with and I think that influences their differences more than the valves alone.
Matt G
p.s. Recording bells are more desirable for outdoor concerts were they can best block the sun from your vision. Upright bells are more disirable for indoor concerts where they may provide for some protection from falling objects, similar to a hardhat.