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How does one vent valves? Can a competent repair person do it? We have a local garage-type repair guy (tuba player) who will not ruin anything, which from me is a pretty high recommendation for someone who isn't in the full-time business of repair. He put the Joy key on my NStar without messing it up (previous owner had removed the spit valve.) He also fixed a sticky rotor in a French horn whose owner had actually sent the valves to be rebuilt by a well-known custom maker who did NOT fix the problem (for $1200) and the local guy found a burr on the "new" valves and fixed it at no charge. So I'm thinking of having him do some valve venting. He is plenty smart enough to not take it on if he doesn't think he can do it right. Is it just drilling holes in the right place and that's that? Horn players don't vent valves that I know of.

I use an excellent brass repair guy. He is incredibly skilled but has never vented valves before. He told me that he would feel better if I didn't ask him to do it.

Rotors are a pretty simple operation provided the right tools.

Pistons aren’t much harder, but they take a few more minutes of thought to make sure you’re drilling the right spot on the piston.

Um, have to ask: do you hear a noticeable "pop" from one or more valves as you play? Especially if you are playing legato or other slurred passages?

Nope. I don't think I hear anything at all from the valves when I play; the sound from the tuba is pretty loud. Both the NStar and my old 184 had vented valves, and slurring on them was easier. I don't know if that had to do with the vented valves or not. I'm still not giving this the air it needs some of the time. Polka stuff, no problem, but that's not slurring, most of it. Could be the opposite problem, leaky valves, and I hadn't considered that. We don't have an "official" brass repair person here at all; you'd think we would in a city this size.

I can send you some pictures and words, if you send me an email reminding me of what your email address is.