TubeNet

Hello,

I have been running in to problems with my current B&S gig bag holding my MRP F tuba a little tightly which causes the pistons to be half down when it is in there. I have been having more valve issues the longer it is in the case so I have stopped using it all together. Yet, it does scare me to have no protection so I am looking for a replacement or if someone is searching for an essentially brand new condition B&S gig bag Instead of there current we could work out a trade.

Also, any suggestions are welcomed in ways to fix this if anyone has specific experience with this. Feel free to email me at kevindg@bgsu.edu" target="_blank or PM me.

That does make a lot of sense but when i put it in slowly (being a top loader) it still seems to compresses the valves about halfway and holds them there before I even close the top. I imagine there are other such problems happening beyond them stagnantly being half pressed but it seems that all of my valve issues have stemmed from the bag and have gone away once I stopped using it.

On the note of that is there any suggestion of what someone may do to eliminate this problem while carrying the gig bag?

tubaplayer75 wrote:That does make a lot of sense but when i put it in slowly (being a top loader) it still seems to compresses the valves about halfway and holds them there before I even close the top. I imagine there are other such problems happening beyond them stagnantly being half pressed but it seems that all of my valve issues have stemmed from the bag and have gone away once I stopped using it.

On the note of that is there any suggestion of what someone may do to eliminate this problem while carrying the gig bag?

What sort of issues are you having with your valves? Sluggish, sticking?

As elephant stated it correctly, what your valves are doing while in the case should be irrelevant as being depressed halfway or not should not cause a problem.

Here are some questions?

1. How old is the horn? Every MW piston tuba i have owned needed the valves relapped to function properly.

2. What valve oils are you using? If your using synthetic and your valves are sticking or feeling sluggish, then stop using the synthetic and use non-sythetic.

3. Have you checked your valve guides or have they been replaced recently?

4. Have you checked to see if your valves have warped? Only kidding, this is a BS answer given by low end technicians that shouldnt be in the business as to why you may have valve issues.

5. Check your valve stems by making sure when you depress the piston slowly they are centered in the top cap.

Definitely sticking.

I do use non-synthetic albeit a cheaper one (alcas) and the horn is just now a year and has been relapped early on probably a month or so after owning it. I do keep up with the valves maitenance and is in all in "aligned" condition as it was supposed to be.

Typically the problem is coming from the bags tightness it seems to be causing the valves to be held at "unwanted" angles if that makes sense. Typically, it only takes me 10 min to get them back to where almost no problems happen. This past summer though I had hip surgery and had to let it sit for about two months in the bag and once I got back it had "warped" (using the term very loosely) that as you said the first valve stem would start in the center and as it was pushed down go all the way off to the side of the port hole.

When this occurred I took it J.C. Sherman and he fixed it no problem and gave me a few suggestions so it didn't happen again. All of it helped lessen the problems but never fixed it. It seems to slowly happen over time as I have noticed still no matter how careful I am with the bag and instrument.

While it probably is not going to "ruin" the horn or cause long term problems. It's a personal thing that I do not like about the case doing to the instrument.