| Dear Cmcdougall,
Dave has a set of tools which he keeps very close to the vest that he uses to adjust the horns and his use of them is one of those trade secrets that he has been smart not to disclose. The larger issue is that he does this stuff at all. Can you adjust a Bach? I suppose you can say people have been "adjusting" Bachs for years. This or that leadpipe, cut this slide, reverse this tuning slide, what have you. What Dave does is much more subtle and can take hours to get it so that it plays optimally.
Read what I wrote to Ray and it'll explain more of the concept that goes into building the horns, pre-adjustment.
I don't think my answer was all that helpful relative to what I think you really wanted to know but it's the only answer I can give. The real truth? I'm not sure what it is Dave does when he's adjusting his horns. I've just seen, heard, and played the results before and after adjustment.
ML |