Posted by Matt on December 28, 1998 at 20:54:26:
In Reply to: Cracking Notes posted by Stefan Kac on December 27, 1998 at 20:40:24:
Hello Stefan,
Let's be logical here. The problem disappears on a new Rotory BBb. Is it with all slurs or just a few? Good grief! Where do we start? It could be caused by a poorly maintained horn. The phrase 'piece-of-crap' comes to mind. Try new corks and felts to align the valves. I assume the valves are coming up freely. Have someone watch while you play. Often, venting the valves would help in valved slurring. Now, Conn used a receiver that creates a large gap between the mouthpiece and the leadpipe. Ask anyone who has tried the Adjustable Gap Receiver, and they will tell you that if you increase the gap, articulation becomes more percussive at the expense of smoothness in the slurs. Typical rotary tubas have small if any, gaps in the receiver. A different receiver may be all that you need. You have got to do alot of experimenting to discover the source to a problem like this. If the slur problem is only on valved notes, it is a valve problem. If it occurs in sluring from one open note to another, it would more likely be a receiver/ leadpipe problem. I would rule out mouthpiece if you use the same one on both horns.
Just some ideas on how to trouble shoot.
Matt