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Happy Saturday, all!

What's your opinion on modifying an older horn with newer modifications, i.e. vented valves, floating/interchangable lead pipe, etc. I've seen this happen before and it can ruin a horn in a heart beat if not done correctly. My question is, If the horn was supposed to have it, it would have it, wouldn't it? Is it worth tinkering with at the price of totaling your horn, potentially?

Also, what's the advantages to a floating lead pipe, anyhow?

I'll try to be less snarky in my reply...

Modifications are done to either improve something or to fix something. There are a lot of reasons why or why not...

Venting valves is useful to eliminate the "pop" that comes with slide pulling (most commonly done for out-of-tune notes). I'm not sure if there is a significant difference in playing characteristics beyond that, but definitely for the slide "pop." It is risky if you don't know what you're doing, but for those who do understand it, that risk is low. Perhaps manufacturers don't want to do this, out of an admission of bad intonation and requiring a lot of slide jockeying? Or, more likely, because it's an extra step and not really necessary to building a tuba.

A raised leadpipe, in theory, helps improve the resonance of the bell (think the opposite of putting a leather belt around the bell to deaden the sound). Some tubas may benefit from this, others may not, so I'm willing to trust the R&D of the manufacturer until I have enough experience with my particular tuba to make a judgment. However, raised leadpipes can also easily be made into removeable leadpipes, which is beneficial for swapping different sizes, repairing, cleaning, etc.

I think if there is a specific problem with an older tuba, then seek out modern modifications to fix or improve the tuba. If it's a matter of "what if" with no real need, then it's probably not worth screwing around. You probably won't destroy the tuba doing it, but you could spend time and money (and scar the finish of the tuba) and not get any real benefit from it.

bort wrote:I'll try to be less snarky in my reply...

Modifications are done to either improve something or to fix something. There are a lot of reasons why or why not...

Venting valves is useful to eliminate the "pop" that comes with slide pulling (most commonly done for out-of-tune notes). I'm not sure if there is a significant difference in playing characteristics beyond that, but definitely for the slide "pop." It is risky if you don't know what you're doing, but for those who do understand it, that risk is low. Perhaps manufacturers don't want to do this, out of an admission of bad intonation and requiring a lot of slide jockeying? Or, more likely, because it's an extra step and not really necessary to building a tuba.

A raised leadpipe, in theory, helps improve the resonance of the bell (think the opposite of putting a leather belt around the bell to deaden the sound). Some tubas may benefit from this, others may not, so I'm willing to trust the R&D of the manufacturer until I have enough experience with my particular tuba to make a judgment. However, raised leadpipes can also easily be made into removeable leadpipes, which is beneficial for swapping different sizes, repairing, cleaning, etc.

I think if there is a specific problem with an older tuba, then seek out modern modifications to fix or improve the tuba. If it's a matter of "what if" with no real need, then it's probably not worth screwing around. You probably won't destroy the tuba doing it, but you could spend time and money (and scar the finish of the tuba) and not get any real benefit from it.

Thanks for contributing! I suppose another question would be, how much do I trust the manufacturer?

Perhaps there was a better way to phrase my original post, but I'm still just genuinely curious (I wasn't born knowing everything, therefore I ask questions). I played on a friend's PCK that had the lead pipe cut down a bit for quicker response, but this made the response feel very wild and the mid-low register suffered.
As for what's "supposed" to be on the horn, what about Warren Deck and BBC modifications for MW horns? This seems to be a selling point for the many of the 2145-55-65 horns. Maybe some one can enlighten me on why these modifications didn't begin to come standard on the instrument. Or did they? Or do the newer models from Meinl Weston have these specs included?

I'm not much of a craftsman, so my questions are really find out the motives behind modifying a horn. Why not just find a modern horn that
plays the way you want it to?

I just changed the S linkages on my helicon for the model shop type as recommended by Rick Denney.

They work a treat. Rick, you are a legend ...

There are A LOT of things that could have been done better on 'old horns'. However... anyone who has ever been involved in manufacturing knows that cost and profit is at the fore-front in most every operation.

I'm thinking that the current crop of crap on the market will be the 'great old horns' in another fifty years!