asc1969

Question. I'm having trouble with the valves with my newly purchased King 601. I'm not sure if its a problem with the way they're seated in the casings or not but as of right now, I can't get a sound out of the horn. On my Boosey & Hawkes, the valves can only seat one way. On this horn, however, they seat almost any way I place them. The pistons move up and down with ease however I either get a very distorted sound or no sound at all. Any help or advice would be appreciated. I'll keep tinkering with them in the interim.

mike ansberry

It's hard to say without actually seeing the instrument. The old King 601s had metal guides that locked in one position only. I haven't looked at one in a lot of years. It could be that they (like many horns) will lock in two positions, each 180 degrees from the other. Take the 1st valve out and blow through the horn. Will air go through easily and come out the 1st valve casing? If so, the 1st valve wasn't in correctly. If not, take out the 2nd valve and check it. If air still doesn't come out, take out the 3rd and try. If air still doesn't come out you have an obstruction in the part of the horn between the valves and the mouthpiece. This is unlikely. Probably you will find that one of the valves was mis-aligned. Or possibly there is a problem with the valve guides. (broken or inserted improperly) If you find that air will go through when you have the 1st valve out but even when you align the valves correctly no air will go through, you probably have an obstruction in the tubing between the valves and the bell flare. This requires some skill and tools to find and remove.

In all likelyhood your valves aren't aligned properly. If you align the valves and still it doesn't work, take it to the shop.

Mike

asc1969

Thanks Mike. I took the valves out and re-inserted them as you suggested and the horn works properly again. One or more must have been misaligned.

Thanks again.

Anthony