XtremeEuph wrote:two questions
1.What?
2.Why?
Added mass damps vibration and changes characteristic. The usual point of adding the weights is to stop some unwanted vibration that is causing a note to not intonate cleanly. Adding too much mass can slow down the responsiveness of the horn, however. In my experience, the effects desired can be accomplished by a few grams of weight in the appropriate location, hence my recommendation of golfer's lead tape, rather than ounces, which can be overkill and adversely affect the overall response of the horn. I first added lead tape to the valve caps and bottom of the valve casings; it was too much, intonation lagged, and I took it off. I put a small ring, 3/16 inch wide, around the exit nub of the valve casing, right before the ferrell joining the valve block to the main tuning slide, and all my high notes (from 4th line f on up) improved dramatically in slotting. Instead of Curry caps, I use dimes in the bottom caps of my cornet, and the core and projection of tone improved immensely. Like everything else, depending on the horn and the player, added mass may or may not help, and some do not need it at all.