Here is a pic of the 5th valve...notice how the air needs to do a lot of work to "squeeze through" as the bore size decreases and it has to get through the bend in the valve
Now here is the piece that I had Matt Walters make....I think you will see my point
The horn plays considerably better now and I always have the ability to put the 5th valve back on, if i feel i need it. However afte concert band brass band and quintet gigs since it has been off I do not see any need for now.
I know it looks simple, but I was shocked when Matt told me the work involved of getting the whole setup to line up properly including the 5th valve. All of the joints had to be re-aligned but he did an incredible job of making the whole thing appear stock.
Any more questions please feel free to ask.
Oh yeah, I followed Dave's lead and filed down tthe finger buttons too, they are much more comfortable and help make the valve action a little lighter.
As for the comments about valves and slides in another post.... My valves have good compression and my slides all work great.
