Posted by Matt G on January 09, 2001 at 16:03:05:
I was wondering if anyone has thought about or experimented with the Rene Hagmann valves on a tuba. I know that the concept of thayer valves has been dismissed due to their inaccesibility for maintenence and repair, but these newer valves operate much more like a standard rotor. They look even more attractive since they only require a 60o movement for operation as oppossed to a full 90o of a rotor valve. Also it doesn't look to hard to route the pipes since you can use different knuckles on the casing. I know it may not be that much more free blowing than a good piston valve if at all, but it would seem to be more free than a rotor with the same action and feel that some players prefer. I would be interested to know some of you repair guys take on this valve and its potential usefulness.
Matt G