Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:24 pm
Yeah, what Scoob said.
Yamaha valves get mixed reviews. Myself, I love 'em. You're not going to find a leaky valve on a Yammie. However, you're gonna find very tight valves on them.
You have to keep Yamaha valves darn clean no matter what age the instrument is. On new ones, you have to oil them pretty much every day for the first while until they've 'broken-in.'
The valve guides have recently been improved and they're no longer plain nylon that wears down quickly. They're hybrids now (nylon/metal) so they're going to last a lot longer. Even if they don't, they're one of the cheapest fixes and can easily be done without a technician.
The negative reviews, or at least a great many of them, are from those who don't expect such tight tolerances in their valves. Even the student models' valves are very tight and students and band teachers need to know that they're going to need oiling more regularly than many of the other horns in the band room.
Yamaha valves get mixed reviews. Myself, I love 'em. You're not going to find a leaky valve on a Yammie. However, you're gonna find very tight valves on them.
You have to keep Yamaha valves darn clean no matter what age the instrument is. On new ones, you have to oil them pretty much every day for the first while until they've 'broken-in.'
The valve guides have recently been improved and they're no longer plain nylon that wears down quickly. They're hybrids now (nylon/metal) so they're going to last a lot longer. Even if they don't, they're one of the cheapest fixes and can easily be done without a technician.
The negative reviews, or at least a great many of them, are from those who don't expect such tight tolerances in their valves. Even the student models' valves are very tight and students and band teachers need to know that they're going to need oiling more regularly than many of the other horns in the band room.