Posted by C(G) on December 19, 2003 at 12:12:41:
In Reply to: Engineered tuba revisited posted by Eric on December 19, 2003 at 04:05:31:
I wonder if your instrument will be playable after 100 or so years of use and abuse. When you think about those ferrofluid seals on the valves, think about saliva and all of the crud associated with it washing into the valves.
Brass for instruments is great stuff--it doesn't crack, UV and ozone don't bother it, it can be easily worked; is fairly inexpensive; is easily bonded using solder and repair parts can be made by a moderately skilled machinist. The weight-to-strength ratio isn't too bad either. And it sounds good.
Rather than radical redesign of the whole instrument, I'd like to see some incremental improvements, particularly in valve design.