Brad T. Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 At the Dayton Open Class show yesterday, I was given a unique opportunity by the director of Les Stentors to play their one and only King K-90 Contra. The horn was coming apart and had almost no plating left, but holy cow do those horns sound amazing! Therefore, I'm looking for either an original 2 valve or converted 3 valve K-90. Any help would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff danchik Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Chops I thought had one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 The Kanstul conversion kit is designed for the Olds BU-20. The cluster is a .656 bore. The K-90 is a .689 bore. The Kanstul kit has been bodged in by a small number of owners, even by the Kanstul factory, but the converted horn plays nothing close to the 2V original. I am converting several K-90s to 3 pistons, a long-term project for a friend. I am using extra cluster components from other K-90s. But the process is very labor-intensive, and I am refining the design as I go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad T. Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 The Kanstul conversion kit is designed for the Olds BU-20. The cluster is a .656 bore. The K-90 is a .689 bore. The Kanstul kit has been bodged in by a small number of owners, even by the Kanstul factory, but the converted horn plays nothing close to the 2V original. I am converting several K-90s to 3 pistons, a long-term project for a friend. I am using extra cluster components from other K-90s. But the process is very labor-intensive, and I am refining the design as I go. Are there any other "free blowing" contras out there? I find that the Olds piston/rotor (which I assume is the BU-20) plays very open, similar to the K-90. But the K-90 basically feels like my CC tuba that I had bored out and overhauled. That small 5 valve German tuba can play just as full as the K-90 with my ability. The Dynasty 3 valve horn I own is just so stuffy. I feel like I'm pouring air into it and the more air I put in, the harder it is to play. I've cleaned the horn out religiously... maybe it's all the dents on the main tubing about a full turn and a quarter from the bell-end of the horn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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