Exciting news! The valves are back! And boy, do they look good. I am very happy and pleased with Mr. Metzler's work. Zero side play, ports line up, he put guides in, all the things. He mentioned that he lapped them a little bit, and they're fit very snug. That is true. They move. That's about it. He ...

Yeah, I think it’s one of those “buy once, cry once” type situations. I do understand the thought of needing a bag to fit that type of horn. I had a heck of a time finding something for that Bohm & Meinl, which is right at 38ish inches with a 20 inch bell. Nothing from any of the “budget” manufa ...

My valves are all done. Way quicker than expected. Total cost was about what I expected as well. If you would really like to know that information, send me a PM. This type of work is something only a few people do, so to me, pay what it costs, right? If you’ve got a valve block that isn’t made any ...

Be careful with the Music & Arts conglomerate. I ordered a bag for that Hb2P I had a while back and they sent me the wrong one twice before they got it right. Eventually I got the right one but it took a good long while.

I use them all the time on my 3v Holton because, well, it’s necessary as it’s the only way to play those pitches, real or not. But with any other tuba I own, I just smash the buttons. To me, the more valves a tuba has seems to make it more challenging to get false tones out well. Huge BBb tubas and s ...

Yeah, the MRP may be as close as you get. It’s the largest readily-available rotor C, apart from maybe the Rudy?

“York-ish” sound? IDK. I sound like me. Maybe a Bb would be more like that type of sound?

That’s actually a great idea. I could get measurements of the 3rd slide crook to see if what I have is what I think it is.

Here’s an update on the 345 valves from Mark. This is going way quicker than I expected. Exciting stuff! I have the first three pistons nickel plated and honed. The first three casings are honed. These three pistons are ready to be lapped in. The fourth piston needed additional copper build up. The r ...

Amazing the amount of subtle differences in these tubas. So different tuba to tuba. I always enjoy seeing more of them and comparing to mine.

Mine had the same issue. Looks great!

Thanks. Yours looks about like what I'm wanting, but here are two good-ish photos of what I'm hoping to achieve: [https://imgur.com/vvtqF5S] This is really what I'm after. I have no idea whose this is, but it's got that very dark color that looks mostly even all around. It reminds me of the Adams ...

My 2165 is almost done. I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to maintain an even, but DARK raw brass finish. I’ve heard recommendations of renaissance wax, leaving it in front of a fireplace to tarnish it quicker, and other random things. Keith is going to get the lacquer stripped and the finish re ...

Interesting. I’ve never had that happen. I’ll keep a closer eye on them.

Also, as far as springs go… I had a 3200 piston F for some time with what I assume are the same springs. Really stiff. Get you some Yamaha springs. I put them in all my piston tubas and they make a world of difference for me. Congratulations on the horn. A rare bird, indeed, and a real winner. Show u ...

Almost reached out to the seller about this. Then realized I still have my 2165 build to pay for. Looks nice-ish, but I wonder about the valves.

arpthark I'm about to get a quart of that Ferree's stuff. Thinking about stripping that old B&M of mine. I assume that worked the best of what you tried? From 5 feet away this tuba looks okay... But, as you run your hands around the tuba, the lacquer is pretty rough feeling, pretty worn on the ...

I heard somebody was “redesigning” them, at some point. I don’t know if that’s still the case. Maybe it was Buckeye?

I don’t understand why they didn’t route the slide in the same way for the piston 3200. Not that it affects how the horn plays at all, but to me, it made pulling 4 for low stuff awkward and annoying. It bothers me that it was DESIGNED that way. These, and the PT-606 do that, and it bothers me. That i ...

re: rotax valves I don’t have an issue with how the horn plays, not at all. The issue is, as bloke said, the weight. They’re just heavier than regular rotors, and that SUCKS for extended periods of playing. The hand gets tired. I’m one of the (few?) who really likes a lot of Willson’s stuff. I just w ...

Yes, unfinished basement. I’d need to do some research on heavy duty concrete fasteners or something, especially considering how heavy the Holtons are.