State of the stencils and clones

[Lectron]

For cross threading, I wonder how you are trying to put on cap? If you just plonk on with two fingered it is possible to have crooked and cross thread. However the way I would always advise customers to put on valve cap would be to lightly press down with valve button to apply pressure in center. Then turn anti-clockwise until you hear/feel click, then turn clockwise to screw on. Unless the thread is damaged that will engage the cap without problem every time, with no risk of cross threading.

You may be trying very hard to improve things but I am of the opinion that the manufacturers are going to continue doing things like they do without much regard for who the distributor is.

Money counts! If a major customer such as Wessex Tubas will not accept without improvements, they improve. I practice what I preach. If instruments are not up to standard, I will not accept and the factory don't get paid for those horns. They then do their very best to make sure that problem never happens again.

Usually a very good way of doing it, but when even that is a problem?
As for how I usually do it? My tubas don't have any of those issues.
I tried some JB tubas years back and I really will never do so again.
All had issues. Same with BMB....That one was a very good player though!
So was the Wessex Michigan BTW

When I am around in different bands there is little or no evidence
that these frustrating issues has been addressed and even less solved.

[Donn]

For cross threading, I wonder how you are trying to put on cap?

I don't particularly care for the aphorism "the customer is always right", but this seems like taking it a little too far in the other direction. I don't wonder whether Lectron can manage with valve caps, I'm fairly sure he can.

[bort]

so horns rejected now, might have been accepted one year ago.

Well that's comforting to customers of a year or more.

I hear you, but for those folks, I think they got what they paid for. And I don't mean that to sound too negative, but rather they paid a low price and got something good, but not perfect. Also sort of the early-adopter risk. Sometimes its cool to be first, but sometimes those products don't work out.

So says the guy who was an early HD-DVD player and Windows phone owner!

[Ken Crawford]

so horns rejected now, might have been accepted one year ago.

Well that's comforting to customers of a year or more.

I hear you, but for those folks, I think they got what they paid for. And I don't mean that to sound too negative, but rather they paid a low price and got something good, but not perfect. Also sort of the early-adopter risk. Sometimes its cool to be first, but sometimes those products don't work out.

So says the guy who was an early HD-DVD player and Windows phone owner!

One year ago vs today doesn't exactly qualify as "early adopter" unless you consider those buying Wessex today are still early adopters.

[bort]

Well, you get the point though.

[sousaphone68]

I hear you, but for those folks, I think they got what they paid for. And I don't mean that to sound too negative, but rather they paid a low price and got something good, but not perfect. Also sort of the early-adopter risk. Sometimes its cool to be first, but sometimes those products don't work out.

So says the guy who was an early HD-DVD player and Windows phone owner!

I was an early adopter so early that my tuba does not have a logo stenciled on it. I think it was the trial tuba that started Jonathan off.
Nearly 6 years later it is still working and I have no mechanical worries.

A stay failed in the first 3 months and was fixed under warranty, then the zip on the case failed late in year two Johnathan offered to repace it I declined as I had been given a hard case by a friend.

I got a good instrument in it's raw Jin Bao spec at a price that could not be beaten or repeated.

I could buy the same spec tuba again today from a different stencil importer but I don't think I would get the same support.

I dont feel left out because of the improvements that have been made to the Ebb compensator over the last 5 years as my tuba is working fine.

I read all of Jonathan's posts about improvements and new models and wish him continued sucess as without his company I would not have bought a new tuba which in turn lead me to resume taking lessons and reinvigorated my approach to playing.

Bort I too have a Nokia Lumina and a HP Communicator languishing in a shoe box on my wardrobe.

[Worth]

I had the valve cap thread issues with my Wisemann 900, and this is one of the more expensive clones. With care and time, all is now fine with what was a minor annoyance. Every time I pick it up to play I consider myself fortunate. A little tinkering here and there helps the bonding process. I got what I paid for and then some.

[Three Valves]

I read all of Jonathan's posts about improvements and new models and wish him continued sucess as without his company I would not have bought a new tuba which in turn lead me to resume taking lessons and reinvigorated my approach to playing.

[Wyvern]

Regarding valve cap threading, of those piston tubas/euphonium sold by Wessex in 2016, I would estimate no more than 1% of customers have come back to us with a problem threading valve cap. Once the bane of my life, that is now a pretty rare problem...

As I know of an expensive Nirschl York which has continued problems with valve cap threads, this is not and never was a unique Chinese manufacturing problem

[Dan Schultz]

Years ago, Yamaha moved over from fine threads to coarser threads.
imo, They misdiagnosed the problem. I believe the problem with Yamaha threads
(is) that there is no "relief" area cut into the tops/bottoms of the insides of their
casings directly underneath the threads - as there isn't really enough material in
their casing walls to be able to do that.

I'm wondering if ANYONE is still making the threads on the tops and bottoms of the casings so they can be unsoldered and replaced like King used to do.

[sousaphonehero]

Speaking of King vs. (let's say... the crappiest) Chinese...
Have you checked out the slide alignment and valve action on new USA-made instruments lately...or sousaphone wall thickness...??

or sousaphone wall thickness...??

or sousaphone wall thickness...??

(lots of experience with this)

[toobagrowl]

The worst valve cap threading I've seen were on an Eastman euph (Yamaha 321 copy) that I worked on last summer. The first valve cap almost could not screw on as it was VERY rough. The 3rd valve cap (if I remember) was also quite rough. There were other issues with that "higher-end" Chinese euph, too.

Yet.......

The trigger (rotor) cap threading and slide-lock threading are good on my cheaper-than-Eastman, Chinese trombones. Go figure....