Quote:
Originally Posted by Shermy  Hi All,
. . . one of the authorized dealers is a local music shop. I went in there hoping to see if they had any Kanstuls in stock or if they could order any. The owner told me they stopped carrying their horns because they kept having problems with the valves sticking . . .
Thanks,
Shermy |
I currently own four horns with Kanstul valves and have played quite a few more.
I can tell you this, unequivocably . . . that dealer was feeding you a bunch of bull s___ in order to switch you to something they've got in stock, a common thing for sales sluts across the industry.
Here's the scoop on getting great valves . . .
Build 'em with fine, fine tolerances of fit . . . so the valves won't leak in the least, yet so they are super fast.
Yamaha is one maker who does this on their pro horns, Kanstul is another.
Most, if not all, horn makers CAN do this. Some choose NOT to for a couple of logical reasons:
1. If the horn is poorly maintained and allowed to get full of crud, valves will lock up! Since lots of student horns are totally slimed by young students, making the valves have a sloppier fit allows the horn to keep working even when nasty inside. This causes less complaints by parents.
2. Less nasty horns with sticking valves means a happier dealer of student and rental horns!
HOWEVER . . . a serious adult player, including working pros, want precision valves with close tolerances. Again . . . for several reasons:
1. Close tolerances but fast valves means greater compression. Greater compression means faster response and an easier blow . . . especially in the lower register!
2. Closer tolerances mean the horn's valves will not wear out and leak as quickly with proper care . . . meaning a working musician gets more "miles" out of his/her horn before performance dives.
BREAK IN TIME IS VERY FAST . . . WITH THE PROPER BREAK IN REGIMEN.
Explaining this is time consuming, and is best left for a separate thread if you don't know how to properly break in valves during the first month or so.
Of the four horns I have with Kanstul valves, with proper break-in I've NEVER, EVER had a sluggish valve! Ages when the horns were new are: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2003.
Sincerely,
Tom Turner
PS: Tell Kanstul who the dealer is. I'll bet they'd love to have that dealer state that "problem" under oath . . . for it AIN'T TRUE!