Defective valve casing? Need opinions on this...

[Ltrain]

Edit: Original question has been resolved and not related to issues at hand. Issue is being resolved at the seller level. Thanks for the guidance!

[bort]

I bet a lot of people would be in for surprises if they scrutinized the insides of their tubas.

Of all the tubas I've owned so far, I think the best-assembled tuba I've had was the Willson. That tuba was an absolute tank, and was *solid*. Actually a lot of fun to take things apart on it (remove valves, etc.) because of the precision fit/finish and high-end quality of the tuba. It ended up not being the perfect tuba for me, but certainly not because of construction issues!

[bort]

...was an absolute tank, and was *solid*.

Were a blind date described in such a way (as "sex" and "music", arguably, appeal to our emotions in somewhat similar ways), would you agree to go out with them ?

I would ALWAYS pick "solid" over "unstable."