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Noisy Piston Valves
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:25 pm
by TUBAD83
I'm putting in my 20J for a chem cleaning and some dent removal--and want to quiet down the valves. Should I use thick felt, cork, or rubber washers or a combination some kind? For trumpets and euphs, a thin cork washer with thicker felt washer on top of it would work--would it work for tubas as well?
JJ
Re: Noisy Piston Valves
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:33 pm
by TUbajohn20J
My 20J has thin corks under the valve caps with a thick red felt on top...And on the valve stems I have thick corks with a small felt on top. You can barely hear the valves.
Re: Noisy Piston Valves
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:50 pm
by iiipopes
What TubaJohn said. This is the factory setup, and although I haven't tried bloke's synthetic setup nor Alan Baer's setup, I have had great success keeping valves quiet and well aligned vertically with the factory setup.
Check your valve stems. If the tuba is old enough, there will be a line fluted into the stem to line up with the top of the valve cap that indicates the correct thickness of the cork and felt combination, as is on the 38K I play.