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Couple questions to the masters....

Where do you start when looking just to purchase a valve section...

Is putting another makes section on a horn (say a MW block on a HB body) possible or asking for problems?

Can you buy rebuilt sections or cannibalize from a horn that the valves are ok, but the horn has bit the dust???

I have put new valve sections onto several old tubas and have been very happy with the results. A new valve section from Germany is not cheap, but it's less expensive than a whole new tuba and you get to mount everything where you want it, rather than where someone else wanted it. In each case I went to a larger bore than the original, (replacing the leadpipe too!) and found the same intonation quirks that the original horn had. A dealer can help you get the valve section you want.

Another way to go is to buy a Chinese tuba, cannibalize the valve section, and sell the rest for decoration or parts. That sounds outrageous, but the cost is about the same as a German valve section. Some Chinese models have well-made valve sections, and others don't, so try before you buy.

I have also used valve sections from older junk horns, but they have not been as satisfying; they tend to be leaky and long-stroked.

I did have good success with a King valve section that someone had sent to Anderson for replating. They did a very good job restoring the pistons to like-new condition.

Unless a 'donor' valve section is in VERY good condition... the way to go is simply ship it off to Anderson for complete rebuild before doing the transplant.

Most of the Asian valve sections I've seen aren't worthy of being used on professional quality rebuilds. The quality control regarding those little unimportant things like port locations just aren't up to snuff.

KiltieTuba wrote:I got a "quote" for a 16.5 mm rotary valve section from J. Meinlschmidt for around 800.

That's just the valve block - no tubing.

Specifically, was that one rotor and casing? Four? Five? Would they already be soldered together? Guessing it didn't include the paddle and linkage assembly.

A friend of mine in Germany called Meinlshmidt today. For a 5V block that includes the paddles I am looking at about 1300-1400 US. Not as bad as I thought it might be....