King 2341 leadpipe tweak

[Euphtub]

I'm not sure if I really want to jump in here, but I simply read that when he was asked how many Kings he had played he said 25, and that was because of their being plentiful in the middle schools he has taught at. I didn't read it as suggesting that all 25 of those student tubas be modified, just that he had played a large number of that kind of tuba before coming to his conclusion when modifying his tuba.

That's how I read it. Hope I'm not adding fuel to the fire...

I'll refrain from what I'd like to post and simply say...

Thank you. You have restored my faith in the Tubenet community.

[tofu]

I'm not sure if I really want to jump in here, but I simply read that when he was asked how many Kings he had played he said 25, and that was because of their being plentiful in the middle schools he has taught at. I didn't read it as suggesting that all 25 of those student tubas be modified, just that he had played a large number of that kind of tuba before coming to his conclusion when modifying his tuba.

That's how I read it. Hope I'm not adding fuel to the fire...

I'll refrain from what I'd like to post and simply say...

Thank you. You have restored my faith in the Tubenet community.

Why not post what's really on your mind?

What's your end game here?

The OP listed some mods he did that he thought might be of interest to others. Wade and yourself asked for some clarifications. The OP obliged. This continued browbeating of the OP has gotten very old very fast. I would think as instrument repairers you guys would be happy that here is somebody pointing out some things that may be helpful to the many others who own a very popular horn and that would potentially drive some nice repair business your way. If you don't like some of things he has done then tell that to your customer and don't perform that work. This beating up/piling on of posters only serves to drive more people from posting potentially interesting/useful ideas. Most people don't enjoy being attacked and most folks will avoid going to angry repair people no matter how talented they are. All lurkers makes TubeNet a very dull place. Asking for clarity is one thing - browbeating is quite another.

[Euphtub]

Agreed, and well said.

If michael wants me to post the before and after recordings, i'll do, so others can hear the difference.

I could post myself, but I'm not sure how they would be received.

I appreciate the reference to browbeating. I didn't realize how vitriolic this board had become.

[TubaTed]

Enjoyed reading your post and am thinking of keeping mine too.

What can I have done to quiet the valves? They are nasty loud!!

Thanks!

[tofu]

[Euphtub]

Enjoyed reading your post and am thinking of keeping mine too.

What can I have done to quiet the valves? They are nasty loud!!

Thanks!

Here's what I did:

1. Take one of the felt washers to a hardware store and find a pack of rubber grommets that are the same size. Works like a charm.

2. The springs have already been suggested.

3. If you still have the factory guides in the valves, and they wiggle and rattle: have your tech change them to either generic metal guides or plastic guides. Dan Schulz (Tuba Tinkerer) suggested a plastic cheesehead screw. My tech suggested the same thing, but he didn't have any on hand. I'll do that next time.

[Euphtub]

hey Micheal, next time we get together we'll have you play the horn with and without tweak and record it using a spectrum analyzer. That will give us some data that you can compare with your eyes instead of your ears, and post up of you want to

I'd like to do the same thing for the piggy and 601, with and without the heavy valve caps

Spectrum analyzer? Of course you have a spectrum analyzer. Lol

[TubaTed]

Thanks Michael.

It's a new horn and I just may now keep it if I can quiet those valves.

Ted

[Euphtub]

Thanks Michael.

It's a new horn and I just may now keep it if I can quiet those valves.

Ted

No problem. The grommets make a big difference right away.

How much play do the valves have if you wiggle them by the finger button side to side? The King factory guides don't seem to make the valves fit very snugly.

You should take the screw out of the bell and listen to the difference. I eventually had the eyelet removed from my leadpipe because it buzzed if I hit a low G. I'd be interested to know if it alters yours as much as it did mine.

[jamsav]

Having been engaged here for a couple years now , I've noticed it's always the same couple of guys ramping it all up
Take the post for what it is - invaluable to you , ignore it .
Got your curiosity , shoot the guy a pm - but to publicly impune, ridicule or otherwise belittle is bad form -
I've seen this way too often - cripes, we're just friggin tuba players - most of us amateurs, most of us barely adequate in community band
Lighten up - quit reading into stuff -and quit pickin fights

[Euphtub]

The grommets make a big difference right away.

' striking, isn't it?



halfway pertinent comment:

The King 2341 is a very well-designed, beautiful-sounding, and quite in-tune tuba. Good on ya'.

Lol

[tofu]

[Euphtub]

Over the past few years I've emailed almost every one of those guys for advice on one thing or another. Wonderful men of integrity.

Lee Stofer is who suggested venting the valves. It does way more than free up the slides to move without depressing the valves. Slurring and tonguing were directly affected in a positive way. The day after I had it done, four separate high school students of mine commented on something sounding different about my horn.

Now with the Imperial, vented valves, and the leadpipe detached it is easier to play, has a certain sparkle to the sound, and I'm very happy with it.

[pjv]

It seems like everything I've read about the modern King 2341 points towards a really fine instrument that, even after all these years, is still being put together in an less than desirable manner. I imagine the same is true about their sousaphones. Because of this, many tubists have ordered 2341's and had them totally rebuilt anew.

This leads me to wonder: wouldn't it cost less just to order all the parts, have the instrument assembled by someone you trust, and then have the tuba lacquered after assembly? At least you wouldn't own a tuba with burn marks all over it.

-Pat