- Joined
- Jun 6, 2005
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Grandview At Las Vegas
[triennial - points]
Out Of The Shop, Then Back In Again.
Basically, the notes that should have "been there" were not there -- could not be made to sound -- & the valve-fingering combinations that should have worked for the intended notes did not work. I flat-out could not figure why. All the visible parts of the horn were in the right places -- no misplaced tubing or slides or levers, etc.
I described the situation to my non-horn playing son, a smart man who is interested in all things musical & plays clarinet & saxophone skillfully. He asked me to get out the horn so he could look at it. I did -- also demonstrating the problem. He looked carefully all round the various turns and bends of the air circuitry & had me try blowing with certain valves down (others up) & with certain valve-slides removed (to see whether air came out the open slide tube or went all the way through to the bell fiare, producing a nice tone).
He concluded that 2 of the valve rotors were switched -- that the 1st valve rotor was installed where the 3rd valve rotor ought to go & vice versa. I can't quite get my mind around it, but I can't see anything wrong with that diagnosis -- plus I can't come up with any other explanation, so I that's what I told the brass instrument repair technician when I told him about the problem.
He said he'll get to the bottom of the trouble & get it all squared away by Thursday. That's when I'll be substituting on horn in a brass quintet in which he plays tuba. Their regular horn player is away for 2-3 months & I agreed to fill in on horn till he gets back. It will great fun playing in a brass group with the man who has rescued & repaired so many horns for me, & when he brings the squared away Yamaha YHR-567 with him on Thursday, that's the horn I'll play at the rehearsal.
I picked up the newly repaired Craig's List Yamaha YHR-567 Sunday, after morning work-out at the gym. It played great -- on the F side of the double horn. Unfortunately the B-flat side was messed up in a puzzling way that I could not understand & that's hard to explain to the non-French horn crowd out there.1 more horn in the shop (Yamaha YHR-567)
Basically, the notes that should have "been there" were not there -- could not be made to sound -- & the valve-fingering combinations that should have worked for the intended notes did not work. I flat-out could not figure why. All the visible parts of the horn were in the right places -- no misplaced tubing or slides or levers, etc.
I described the situation to my non-horn playing son, a smart man who is interested in all things musical & plays clarinet & saxophone skillfully. He asked me to get out the horn so he could look at it. I did -- also demonstrating the problem. He looked carefully all round the various turns and bends of the air circuitry & had me try blowing with certain valves down (others up) & with certain valve-slides removed (to see whether air came out the open slide tube or went all the way through to the bell fiare, producing a nice tone).
He concluded that 2 of the valve rotors were switched -- that the 1st valve rotor was installed where the 3rd valve rotor ought to go & vice versa. I can't quite get my mind around it, but I can't see anything wrong with that diagnosis -- plus I can't come up with any other explanation, so I that's what I told the brass instrument repair technician when I told him about the problem.
He said he'll get to the bottom of the trouble & get it all squared away by Thursday. That's when I'll be substituting on horn in a brass quintet in which he plays tuba. Their regular horn player is away for 2-3 months & I agreed to fill in on horn till he gets back. It will great fun playing in a brass group with the man who has rescued & repaired so many horns for me, & when he brings the squared away Yamaha YHR-567 with him on Thursday, that's the horn I'll play at the rehearsal.
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.