Modified 52J with 5th Valve Removed

[Bill Troiano]

Following up on a recent post of mine, here are a few pics of my 52J with the 5th valve removed. A few weeks ago, I had posted some pics of the tuba with plastic tubing replacing the 5th valve. I liked the response and feel better without the 5th valve. So, after a trip to Dillon's and a visit with Matt, he came up with this straight tube replacing my plastic tube. It's easily removed where I can just reinstall my 5th valve in a situation where I feel it might be needed (probably never, though!) I left the thumb lever intact to make reinstalling the 5th valve quicker and easier.