That valve was a substitute for a main tuning slide trigger, and was the only thing I moved, on that instrument. ("flick" - That sharp pitch is now flatter...Perhaps the length of the instrument is not "on the nose", but much closer, and without groping for one of three slides.)
Nearly everything wrong with that instrument - intonation-wise was a sharp problem, which is why I thought I would try out adding a valve which offered the least possible additional length.
Of course it wouldn't have been possible with the wildly-expanding oem main slide (to 24mm bore) and gigantic oem dogleg (beginning at 24mm) - thus the 20mm - 21mm main slide bow, and rotary-valve-connectable dogleg. (I don't know of any 24mm bore rotors manufactured these days, and - were they available - I wouldn't expect them to rotate very quickly.)
Lower open G (why...I'm completely shocked !!!) was a little flat, but seemed to rise (in relative tuning - more than other pitches) when the instrument reached playing temperature.
...main slide and dogleg lacquer work...?? I guess if someone let me use it for a few years, I might of shined up a few spots, and hit it with some rattle-can clear for them.
I'm still learning, and - I believe - the learning process is why I've stepped out of the 6/4 C tuba mud puddle. I'm pretty sure that - based on instruments that I've played, and
to achieve that type of sound, the best thing on the market today is the 195P-5.
https://www.melton-meinl-weston.com/en/ ... 5p-fafner/ (a B-flat tuba)
These types of marketed-to-Americans C instruments are supposedly designed to offer a nice big low-frequency (ledger lines) sound, yet - with so many of the bought-by-us-Americans shorter C ones - over the years I've seen gobs of posts about "what sort of mouthpiece offers a decent low range with my 6/4 piston valves C tuba?"
what I have now:
I have two beginning-to-red-rot slide bows to replace, one to move over to a new set-up, two to shorten, and two pair of slide tubes (ref:this thread) to replace - on this thing. I may or may not leaving them brown-and-ugly for a good while. Lacquering is something I do (when I feel that I need to) when I want someone to buy something that I'm interested in selling. There are also a couple of nice little shallow/sharp dents in the (extra thick metal) upper bow cap. Maybe (??), I can get one of those body shops to try the suction-cup technique on them...
Mostly, though, I'd like to achieve these things:
(most all of which defined "burned lacquer")
> a tiny bit more main slide A=440 room (for the winter), when my house (and some venues) are only heated into the 60's
> a tiny bit more #1 slide room for 1st valve C (as it's within -2 or -3 c. now, so why not shave 3/8" off each side of the bow, so it's actually "there"?)
> a not-particularly-wonky/gadgety way to achieve a low-enough low F-sharp and double-low-C (thus this possible foray/rabbit hole). That having been said, once the #1 slide bow is slightly shorter, low F-sharp might play quite nicely with 5-1 (and no, I'm not interesting in reaching up/over there and monkeying with the #5 slide, either).
There's not a whole bunch of stuff for us to play - of real interest - in symphony orchestras, and I find myself involved in various part-time "freeway philharmonics" more and in quintet, jazz band, and ethnic/European-band work less. About the only consistently gratifying thing (to me) in regards to playing in symphony orchestras is "making really pretty chords" (and having a hand in the making of them). The easiest route (for me) towards this pleasure-seeking pursuit is to acquire instruments are are already quite easy to play in tune, and then (and - you're right - the big Meinl-Weston C thing wasn't worth the trouble, and was the wrong approach) try to figure out the least wonky ways to allow them to be played (beyond "easily") "
exceptionally easily" in-tune. (I'm getting old, tired of "lipping", and tired of working really hard to make "lipped" pitches sound as nice as the rest.)
