Oh! The thought just hit me what might have happened with your valves. If the horn's old enough, '20s or '30s, the valves are probably numbered backwards from what we would expect today. The #1 valve played with the 3rd finger. There may be numbers on the underside of the finger platters, 321 instead of 123, or maybe something like 36,35,34, or maybe 1, 2 or 3 dots. Under the valve caps, on the side of the casing facing the platters, there may be some hash marks. 3 marks on the "1st" valve (#3), 1 mark on the "3rd" (#1). Those should match up with the number of hash marks on the pressed-in bearings and the number on the rotor. My old Knopf from the 20s has all the rotors marked with the number 2 and then the requisite number of dots to show which hole to put them in. I can't count the number of times I've seen the valves put in backwards on old horns. Usually they're worn out enough that they'll go in there anyway. Sometimes it's kind of funny because the 3rd valve will often turn the opposite direction to the other 2, so if it's in the wrong hole, the horn will stand in C or some other odd key. That makes for some very confused looking horn players! If that's what it turns out to be, I hope your repair person didn't resort to any carpentry to make the thing go into the wrong hole!
- Steve Mumford _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
