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I am thinking about having some coins soldered onto my Rotorvalve-levers so that they are in a better position for my hand. Are there any things to think about when picking out coins? Are nickels better than quarters? (They are both worth next to nothing these days...)

Thanks for any tips

Karl Schimke

What about some Swiss Francs?

Aussie Dollars would be nice too, eh???

I find the Aussie dollars a little too thick and heavy, I prefer to use a stack 3 of them on the bottom caps of the valves. The extra weight is good here. The gold would be too flashy too.

EuphoniumPlayer87 wrote:Isn't it illegal to deface American currency?

What? You never wasted a penny (and three quarters) in one of those machines that crushes the penny and turns it into a picture of the Grand Canyon?

Capitalism at its finest...

DLH

Heh heh. Reminds me of a science experiment where we had to heat up a penny and bend it in half. However, my group left it on too long and it sort of melted and ruined the heating plate. So, uh, don't do that.

the elephant wrote:Just be aware that you will make the "throw" of the valve paddle a bit longer when you do this. Something to consider.

How so? I could see this being the case if you extended the paddle, but your fingers will start higher and won't go down as far, so the throw will be no longer, only starting higher and ending sooner. Now the added weight is a consideration, but unless the coins are huge (or the springs weak), it shouldn't make that much differnce.

Can I just say.....

thanks for spelling 'soldering' correctly...

Bad spelling (not typos, but BAD spelling) is SUCH a huge annoyance to me. I keep coming across people who can't spell words that they use often...ANNOYING.

because it's not sodering....it has nothing to do with dirt and grass.

Off to...NOT play

Enjoying some Sunday night adult cartoons after a long Saturday of.....beer and football.

the elephant wrote:This is generally done in order to extend the platens, making them closer to the fingertips (important for someone with small hands). Thus:

...and this, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when you mis read the original poster's post. I was thinking he wanted to add the coins for the same reason I do; to give me better feel on the paddles. My humblest apologies. I'll get back to my usual m.o.: read more, post less.

Nethereuph wrote: c=2πr

Indeed.

bloke wrote:

If that is what they are going to print in high piles, then you don’t have to fear inflation.

K

For the record, I am planning to use the coins to generally move the platens closer to each other. I play (among alot of others) a 5 vavle Rudy 4/4 F that is beautiful to play, but the platens are so far apart from each other that when I have to play technically in the lower register I find it much more difficult than it should be - especially because of the distance between the thumb and pinkey platens. I will also be interested to see how the "grip" of the coins feels. I am off to practice and am taking some quarters and some bluetak with me to experiment with placement...

Karl

PS - Cambrook - I was't thinking of using a gold coin, I thought a 50 cent piece would work just fine!!!

I've run into non-US coins made of aluminum. These coins are hard to solder, if they can be soldered at all. Can you solder aluminum with lead?

When I had the paddles repositioned to fit my hand, I eschewed coins or other attachments altogether. On most modern paddles, there is enough tang in the lever that the paddles themselves may be unsoldered, repositioned to your hand, and soldered back onto the tangs with much less ado. It has also been more comfortable to me, rather than the texture of coins.

This also had much less effect on the overall geometry of the linkage, so that the "feel," either in the drop or the angle of the paddles, did not suffer, even though each paddle was repositioned in all three axes: height, spread (incl angle) and length.

Although if a person simply desires the more tactile feel of the texture of the coins, well that is personal preference.

If you're looking for larger coins, check out the Canadian $1 and $2 coins. The $2 coin ("toonie") is larger and flatter than the $1 ("loonie"). They are also rather atypical looking coins (especially the toonie).

I've done this to three of my instruments. As I have a very short pinky, I find it difficult to reach. In addition, I tent to position my fingers nearer the edge od the paddle to have a sense of feel.

My Alex 164 has UK 2-pence coins soldered on. The copper is wide but feels light and works great.

My Old Alex 163 had older pence soldered on (can't remember where from).

I have French 20 centimes pieces on my Pig. Those are really light.

Yes, if you extend a key, you move away from the fulcrum, and therefore increase the needed motion, but it’s a small price to pay to reach the 4th valve comfortably, and to prevent the other fingers from slipping. Looks sexy too

I collect coins everywhere I go, so I can make the same modification to others' horns...

J.c.S.

For those who are just doing it for feel or looks, hot glue is an option.

I have a set of these on the valve caps of my Olds trumpet. Affects the action a bit, but at least it looks cool.