4 piston/Thumb rotor #5 - a possible alternative?

[barry grrr-ero]

I'm sure somebody, somewhere has experimented with this. Since the rotor fifth valve is often times of a larger bore size than the pistons, would it not make sense to experiment with swapping valves 4 and 5, i.e. make the thumb rotor the fourth valve and the usual piston fourth whatever configuration you like for #5?

Fingering wise, anything that combines 4 and 5 would remain the same. On a C tuba, your 2-3-4 low E natural would become 2-3-5. That's not so bad. However, the current 2-3-5 notes would become 2-3-4 and I guess that could a bit of a pain. Anyway, . . .

Also, for those who might think a rotor fifth valve couldn't be placed at the back of the cluster on a rotary valve tuba, have a look at the Willson Eb that Bloke had up for sale, once upon a time. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=72696" target="_blank

I have no idea why I sit around thinking about these things. I don't dream about 'em.

Barry Guerrero