Posted by Joe S. on June 15, 1999 at 20:26:58:
In Reply to: King helicon mouthpiece posted by Jim Raymo on June 15, 1999 at 15:09:16:
Most instruments built back then were lower pitch that today. All the way to D is a bit too low from my experience. My 4-valve King Eb helicon is only a bit flat. Are your pistons, perhaps, very worn and leaking, causing an extra pitch sag? Mine were all worn out when I got it, and my lower mouthpipe crook was totally rotten and leaky, too. Different mouthpieces will only make just a TINY bit of pitch difference. Too long of a neck, bits, assembly will, of course, mess things up badly. On mine, I cannot afford even one tuning bit, and a very short gooseneck has to be used, too. I'm sorry if my comments end up being not the answers to any of your questions.