1st impressions king 2341

[Jerryleejr]

Ok finally rested up from my trip and had some time to play my new horn. Keep in mind these are my opinions and I haven't played in twenty years.
Overall
I am pleased with both the horn itself and the deal I got. (Little hicup at the dealer but it is what it is)
Everything I have read on the 2341 is spot on.
Open valve intonation is rock solid over 3 octaves
1 & 2 a little stuffy (maybe player induced)
1&3 then just 4 match perfectly
So far very little slide manipulation required.

Issues:
So far the only issue is the 1st valve is sluggish, only when playing slow it hangs just a hair from full up. If playing spirited it goes down and pops right up. Now this may be due to being new and just needs to break in. I've oiled the bejesus out of it, I will take it out clean it thourghly and the case re oil then Try again. If that doesn't work I will switch the springs around to see if I may have a weak spring. If both the stuffiness and sluggishness persist I'm looking at a set of MAW valves anyway.

All in all I'd say 8 out of 10 -1 for valve -1 for 1& 2 stuffiness but both may be resolved as I continue to improve my skills.
If anyone has any questions feel free to pm or email me. We are available for parties and special occasions especially the ones with free food and beer.

I forgot to mention mouthpieces:
Conn 120s
Schilke geib
King 18
Of the three the geib works the best for me, I was surprised by the king 18 same sound as the geib just preferred the feel of the geib.

JJ

[TheHatTuba]

Congrats on the new horn! Just a quick bit about mouthpieces, make sure to try both Euro and American shanks if you have the chance. The 2341/52J can fit either just fine and I settled on a G&W Baer MMVI Euro when I had mine.

Concerning the 1+2 stuffiness, have you considered purchasing some synthetic felts from bloke?

[Tubajug]

Photos man! We want photos! And congrats on your new horn! Just curious, is it brand new or "new to you?"

*Edit: Just saw your "ninjaed" post and the horn looks new. Congrats again! (we always like more pictures though...)

[Jerryleejr]

I really like these tubas. Congratulations on your purchase!

As an aside, can anyone confirm 100% that these are made in the US or "elsewhere" now? I am getting conflicting reports and want someone who actually knows, as in seen the tooling shipped off or seen the tubas being made here. Anyone recently visit the factory?

I can confirm made in the good old U.S. of A I took the factory tour while in Cleveland. Big thanks to Pete Cummings at conn-selmer for being so gracious and to me and my dad.

JJ

[The Big Ben]

Here's a link to the Discovery Channel's series, "How It's Made" where they visit the CS factory and show how a 2341 is made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQIP53NEBIY" target="_blank

If you haven't seen it, it's worth a look, especially since you now own a 2341 and also visited the factory.

[Jerryleejr]

For those asking for pics...

[Uncle Markie]

Take your horn to a competent repair person for that 1st valve. I'm sure it's correctable, but it won't fix itself by "wearing in". The factory can direct you to the nearest dealer/repair facility - I should hope.

Glad to hear you're happy with your new axe - get practicing and start wearing it out!

Mark Heter

[Jerryleejr]

Take your horn to a competent repair person for that 1st valve. I'm sure it's correctable, but it won't fix itself by "wearing in". The factory can direct you to the nearest dealer/repair facility - I should hope.

Glad to hear you're happy with your new axe - get practicing and start wearing it out!

Mark Heter

I'm pretty close to two of the most competent repair people in the tuba world, going to see one on Saturday the other in a couple weeks. I'm sure if its fixable one of those two can do it....thanks for the contras btw ill keep you posted...

JJ

[Art Hovey]

A few years ago I met a guy with a brand-new silver 2341 with a sticky 1st valve. When I tried it out I noticed that a brace on the 1st valve tubing was not soldered. Hand tension was moving that tubing just enough to distort the cylinder and cause the piston to hang up.

[Tubaryan12]

1 for 1& 2 stuffiness but both may be resolved as I continue to improve my skills.

That was the case for me when I first received my Marzan. I figured it was me, and sure enough, I was correct

[royjohn]

Hi Jerry,

Congrats on the new horn! Most of the time, stuffiness on a specific valve combination is related to poor valve alignment. Check notes with 1 alone and 2 alone and see if it could be one valve or both. You can get a repair person to fix this easily, if it is valve alignment or do it yourself with the proper felts and corks and a homemade mirror.

Keep us in the loop as you go forward. Interested to see how it finally works out for you.

[Jerryleejr]

Just an update,
The 1st valve is working much better and the stuffiness I found out was me because I played three other tubas to include a miraphone 1291 and got the same results. So pretty positive it's me.

JJ

[ken k]

not sure why the 1 & 2 combination stuffiness would be you? Check the pitch of the notes with the first two valves using a tuner. If they are sharp, perhaps you can pull a slide a little to make the combination more in tune so you are not fighting the natural resonance of the horn. It could be a case where the D below the staff is sharper than the Gs above and below. If that would be the case, then you need to pull the first slide when you play a D. On some horns this is common.

ken k

[Jerryleejr]

not sure why the 1 & 2 combination stuffiness would be you? Check the pitch of the notes with the first two valves using a tuner. If they are sharp, perhaps you can pull a slide a little to make the combination more in tune so you are not fighting the natural resonance of the horn. It could be a case where the D below the staff is sharper than the Gs above and below. If that would be the case, then you need to pull the first slide when you play a D. On some horns this is common.

ken k

It may be more of the feel than sound if that makes sense, it seemed that way on all the horns I played which is why I assumed it was me.

JJ

[Untersatz]

If the under-cap and under-button felts are all (very roughly...not exactly) about 1/8" thick, "poor valve alignment" is probably not the problem.

Joe, do you have the synthetic washers for these horns? Do you have a selection of varied
thicknesses or do you use a certain size on the King 2341?

[ken k]

Again I will recommend checking the pitch with a tuner. This is common on many horns and may be the source of your issue with that valve combo. Also try singing the pitch in the tuner to make sure you are hearing the correct pitch in your had before playing.

quote="Jerryleejr"]

not sure why the 1 & 2 combination stuffiness would be you? Check the pitch of the notes with the first two valves using a tuner. If they are sharp, perhaps you can pull a slide a little to make the combination more in tune so you are not fighting the natural resonance of the horn. It could be a case where the D below the staff is sharper than the Gs above and below. If that would be the case, then you need to pull the first slide when you play a D. On some horns this is common.

ken k

It may be more of the feel than sound if that makes sense, it seemed that way on all the horns I played which is why I assumed it was me.

JJ[/quote]

[pjv]

I second Ken K.