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I have just picked up an older 2341, and am looking at flipping the 1st valve slide and eliminating the curl in the 3rd valve slide this summer.

Is this as straight forward a job as it appears? What do I need to look out for if there are hidden snares in this operation?

Thanks in advance.

I do this to EVERY 1240/41 & 1240/41 that I get my hands on. Changing the 1st slide is simply a matter of taking the circuit apart and 'flipping' the slide tubes to the top and reusing the same crooks.

I take out the 3rd wrap curley-cue and replace it with a single slide on top. You can be prepared to add a little length to the slides but for my style of playing, enough 'pull' there already to worry much about adding tubing to make up for the two missing crooks. Most of the time... the 'stock' configuration is pushed in all the way anyhow.

Question for you Dan:

Do you have to make your own crook for the new top? I tried simply placing one of the existing crooks diagonally across the tubes just to see if it would fit, but it wasn't wide enough. So do you change the placement of the tubing somehow or just make a new top crook?

Tubajug wrote:Question for you Dan:

Do you have to make your own crook for the new top? I tried simply placing one of the existing crooks diagonally across the tubes just to see if it would fit, but it wasn't wide enough. So do you change the placement of the tubing somehow or just make a new top crook?

You have to change the placement of the long piece of outer slide tubing by rotating the crook on the bottom and changing the brace lengths where it mounts to the back bow. When I make this change, I usually have the whole valve section of the horn, anyway. You can also just buy new #3 crooks from Conn/Selmer.

Here are a couple of images showing the modifications to the 1st and 3rd wrap. In the case of the #1 slide... just take apart the 1st wrap and put it back together with the slide on top.

For the #3... the top crook in the picture is 1.203" between legs (kept from the original parts) and the bottom crook is the original #3 that has 2.430" between legs. Arrange the #3 circuit so both the upper and lower slides are parallel and brace to suit using the old brace sockets and new lengths of 1/4" brass rod.

bloke wrote:..... What you want to get done is not a big deal, but (just like anything) takes more "real time" to get it done that it does to imagine it already having been done.

Some of us have more time before summer than during the summer...as many of us tend to become the "repair darlings of school-owned instruments" while also trying to squeeze in family reunions and the like.

No kidding! I've had two valve sections with fresh valves, reconfigured, and ready to go back onto the Kings laying in the corner for over a year now!

Dan did his slide changes on the 1241 I got from him. It makes for a handy 1st to pull if needed. Funny thing though, I find I dont need to do any pushing or pulling. For the bottom Eb 124 is good or open "prefered"
I "reamed" the receiver so that my mpc goes in almost 1/2 in farther than stock. I have 3 Schilkes, a SH with Schmidt backbore, a SH2F with normal Helleberg rim and a Helleberg which I drilled out to 9mm throat. With any of these I can us preferred all the way into the pedal range.

The tuning for any tuba is only going to be as good as the attention the player gives to playing "in tune, out of tune" with the rest of the ensemble. This King has got to be the nearest to point &shoot of anything I have played.

I have found changing the bell to "fixed" has been a big improvement. Sound and projection are nice. Last night at orch rehearsal, even the 1st clarinet came up and said how much she loved the sound coming out.

As I have said before, these old Kings should be restored, with a few tweaks - not chopped.Only

Ken Herrick wrote:..... Last night at orch rehearsal, even the 1st clarinet came up and said how much she loved the sound coming out.....

Ken... some of those clarinet players are said to be HOT! Winter's coming (down under, anyway!).

TubaTinker wrote:

Ken Herrick wrote:..... Last night at orch rehearsal, even the 1st clarinet came up and said how much she loved the sound coming out.....

Ken... some of those clarinet players are said to be HOT! Winter's coming (down under, anyway!).

Hmmmmm, MAYBE I better not sell the King as you have a point there.

I mentioned that I re-use the parts for the slide mods. It's a no-brainer 'flipping' the first slide. However... it does take a little work to eliminate all the extra parts at the top of the 3rd circuit. The upper crook is the 1.3" 'between the legs' crook from the old curley-cue. I DO add a little length to the slide to make up for what's lost in the two crooks that are removed. Here's an image of the upper 3rd slide: (By-the-way... those are 1" squares in the background)