HornsUp Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Find a shop with an air compressor and a blowgun tipped with a rubber nipple. Shoot 90# of shop air thru that Willy, and you might be surprised what pops out. I just gave the same advice to a guy who KNOWS he has a racquetball stuck in his baritone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad T. Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) Will have to try that, I know I heard something rattle while I was working on it. And I highly doubt it was the loose bell thumb screw since I have the bell off. Does anyone know if DEG still has the saddle shaped braces, or would I have to see if someone like Kanstul can fabricate one? Edited April 20, 2010 by Brad T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) Does anyone know if DEG still has the saddle shaped braces, or would I have to see if someone like Kanstul can fabricate one? DEG might know if they have or can get the braces, but they have been notoriously poor on bugle parts service in this millennium. Kanstul will happily sell you THEIR braces. The saddle-type braces are simple enough to fabricate. I might do so myself for a few projects. I'll use 1" flat stock, to get lots of solder adhesion area. Look deep in the DCP archives for pix of the Blue-Devil type bell braces for their old K-90s. Edited April 20, 2010 by HornsUp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDale Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 This horn is the 4/4 size 3 piston contra. It is on the smaller side and compactly wound. I tried both my standard Helleberg and my Loud LM5, and I get far more sound from the horn from the LM5. Of course, using a Loud brand mouthpiece on the Kanstul horn my corps' other contra player just picked up was a bit overkill. I could see the paint peeling off of the walls! His horn is one of the older models described above, with the very narrow bore and the huge bell flare. I likened playing that horn to playing a large contrabass trombone with valves.I've been told in the past by my old tuba professor that a decent way to check port alignment is with a dental mirror. However it just seems those mirrors would be too wide to fit in the valve casings, unless there's a secret trick... You can always play softer, but to get one to play louder, when they are not trained to play that way, is near impossible. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) Find a shop with an air compressor and a blowgun tipped with a rubber nipple. Shoot 90# of shop air thru that Willy, and you might be surprised what pops out.I just gave the same advice to a guy who KNOWS he has a racquetball stuck in his baritone. Wouldn't you have to seal the spit keys better (duct tape?) else you'd loose pressure thru leakage? Can just picture those keys opening on their own. s/ Guy whose old man (retired auto mechanic) has a big ###ed late 1960s compressor in his garage. Edited April 20, 2010 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) Wouldn't you have to seal the spit keys better (duct tape?) else you'd loose pressure thru leakage? Simple. Pull the tuning slide , then shoot air into the wrap after the waterkey. This model badly needs a waterkey on the second loop, but I've never been able to find a way to install one. There just isn't enough clearance. Edited April 20, 2010 by HornsUp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad T. Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 BigDale, this situation isn't one of those "check the nut behind the mouthpiece" issues where the player ie. me, is at fault. I have no problems playing on my Meinl Weston 2145, any crappy Sousaphone, or the Kanstul contra my other section member bought. This horn is just really stuffy in the low end. I think that's why I'm able to play such loud false tones. I tried the same false tones on the Kanstul horn with not much luck. I need to buy a horn snake (though music stores are not easy to come by in this city) as well as give the horn another bath and try blowing it out with the air compressor. I haven't had a chance to play it since I realigned the valves, however it is a pain in the rear to try and trim the pads when instead of felt, they are rubber... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Simple. Pull the tuning slide , then shoot air into the wrap after the waterkey.This model badly needs a waterkey on the second loop, but I've never been able to find a way to install one. There just isn't enough clearance. Maybe try one of those Amato waterkeys? Downside is that the spring inside can rust and become a problem, but it's better than nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) Maybe try one of those Amato waterkeys? As I said, there's no clearance. The offending bow is concentric with the larger branches. No room for ANY setup to drain downwards. Edited April 20, 2010 by HornsUp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Ah, okay, I thought the problem was simpler than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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