Anyone tried to .......

[Davidrn1]

Put a 5th valve on a King 2341?

Just kicking around ideas for when I buy my next horn.

Wondering how it would effect the horns playability.

[Lew]

Lee Stofer has done this, and said that it was a lot of work, but the owner is very happy with the result. I saw the owner with his horn at the USABTEC, but didn't get a chance to talk to him about it.

[Rick Denney]

It's been done, but is hardly practical. In some ways it's like having a $500 stereo in a $300 car.

Why would you say that? The new King is probably the best small 4/4 on the market, and I doubt anyone could do better in that size class no matter how much they spent (especially in new instruments). If you want a fifth valve on it, having it installed is the only way to do it.

I'll bet that a King 2341 with an added fifth valve is no more expensive than a new VMI 3302. And it must be much cheaper than a 1291 with five valves. And neither of those instruments are really comparable.

Rick "who is considering adding a sixth valve to his B&S F" Denney

[Chuck(G)]

Tubanurse Sam Gnagey routinely does this with the Kings he transmogrifies into 4/4 CCs. Since he's done several of these, why not drop him a line at tubanurse@aol.com?

[Rick Denney]

I'm certain that as good as the Kings are, that I have played one that is worth another $1,250 just to add a fifth valve to them.

I think your price is on the high side, because the small tubing of the King opens up the selection of rotors depending on where you decide to put it. A Miraphone rotor was $175 last time I bought one, and all the parts to build a fifth valve on a Miraphone were less than $500. That included all the crooks, so it was only a matter of assembly--pipe bending wouldn't have been required. I haven't considered it, but the same parts used for the 5th valve on the Conn 5xJ might work without much modification.

But even if you spent $1250, you'd have $4700 invested in a King, which is the street price of a new 4-valve 3301 (in lacquer), and much less than the price of any other 5-valve BBb tuba of which I'm aware (1291's are $7700). But the point of my challenge is that the King would be different than any other 5-valve BBb tuba currently on the market. There just is not a .689-bore, monster-Eb-bell-derived 5-valve BBb tuba on the market. If that's what you want, adding the fifth valve to a King gets it done, while none of the other 5-valve tubas on the market do.

Rick "who has never needed a 5th valve on a BBb tuba but who sees no issue in adding one to a King" Denney

[Alex Reeder]

There just is not a .689-bore, monster-Eb-bell-derived 5-valve BBb tuba on the market. If that's what you want, adding the fifth valve to a King gets it done, while none of the other 5-valve tubas on the market do.

It exists in C- it's called a G50!