Hi William, I cannot visualise your Schmidt and my suggestion is not a panacea, but I have seen a ring (similar to that which pulls out a second valve slide) soldered on to the back of the thumb valve to accommodate a small hand. A quick application of the soldering 'iron' and it removes it for the next user.
Ralph R. Hall On 5 Jun 2011, at 03:06, [email protected] wrote: > > > > I'm one that finds it difficult to give up a challenge, so here's > what I did a few minutes ago... > > 1) I took my thumb and placed it so that it would depress the change > valve precisely > 2) I left my thumb on the valve and naturally arched my fingers > while tilting my hand slightly > 3) I tried to see if there was a natural arc I could use while > keeping the thumb valve useful AND while hitting the spatulas > > Unfortunately, with this method, the fingers in their arc would not > even hit the valve spatulas > > So, it seems to me that even if I had a strap to hold the hand in > the right place, it will be VERY uncomfortable to play, just as it > is now, since playing on the thigh/leg somewhat (cheating) puts > weight off of my left hand enough to position it almost anywhere I > want - it's just not desirable. > > Out of curiosity, I looked at my other non Schmidt horn (which is > very comfortable) and the thumb is no problem at all there. The > range is measurably closer. So, I tried this out: > > 1) I ignored the thumb change valve on the Schmidt > 2) I placed my fingers where they'd naturally land on the valve > spatulas > 3) I moved my thumb to where it was most comfortable > > Where that position is, there's really no way as far as I can see to > attach any mechanism to use the thumb valve without using some > creative mechanisms. Also, I've measured the distance between the > 1st valve spatula and thumb valve compared to my hand, and even with > aquarter inch of improvement either way I'm still stuck up the river > > This leaves me to a few conclusions: > > 1) The modifications I'd have to make could end up being really > creative or really extensive to get it to work > 2) I'd rather not modify a Geyer Schmidt - as there are some horns > in my opinion one shouldn't modify from the original. > 3) It's not so much the size of the hand, but the distance between > the index finger and the tip of the thumb, and what sort of arc one > can make between the two > 4) Maybe I have mutant hands. > > Plus, if someone else ever got the horn, they'd likely have to > reverse engineer it to make it work for them. > > -William > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Howard Sanner <[email protected]> > To: horn <[email protected]> > Sent: Sat, Jun 4, 2011 8:42 pm > Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Schmidt pistons and small hands > > > Sam Ramsay built & affixed a small shelf-like thing to his Schmidt. It > was made of wood and covered with carpet scraps. I don't remember how > it was held on. Maybe it was cable ties. It was completely removable > and reversible, however. > > The shelf supported the heel of the hand so that the thumb was > actually in the right position to operate the change valve. Sam's > Schmidt, with gizmo attached, was as comfortable to play as any horn, > and more comfortable than some. Like you, I have very small hands; > most women have larger hands than I do. > > Eva Heater (?) once emailed me that she had a bean bag-like thing that > she taped to her Schmidt with gaffer's tape or suchlike. She sent me a > JPG, lost in a hard disk crash. The purpose was much the same as Sam > Ramsay's shelf, to support the heel of the hand. She said it worked > well. If she's still on the list, and if I've remembered her name > right, maybe she'll chime in. > > I share your like of Schmidts, everything but the ergonomics. I wish > I'd been more aggressive in trying to persuade Sam to sell me his. I > don't know what happened to it after he died. If I thought I could fix > the disastrous ergonomics I'd have bought a Schmidt long since. > > HTH. > > Howard Sanner > [email protected] > > "Pessimists are surprised as often as optimists, but always > pleasantly"--The Giant Rat of Sumatra, by Richard L. Boyer, p. 61. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/ralph%40brasshausmusic.com Ralph R. Hall [email protected] Ralph R. Hall http://www.brasshausmusic.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
