Posted by Wade on March 01, 2004 at 15:38:21:
In Reply to: Fingerbuttons posted by Banana Fingers on March 01, 2004 at 14:23:00:
Please keep in mind that the finger buttons need to fit your specific valve cap. This means more than the diameter. It also includes the thickness of the button (depth?) as well as how far the button needs to drop down into the cap's gutter. Also, the post of many larger finger buttons would require thicker stems to be made (which is not hard at all, but might not clear the hole size of some smaller caps. Make sure they will fit before making a purchase, as many manufacturers will not buy back spare parts from customers. A xerox of the caps (with measurements) FAXed to a supplier would go a long way in avoiding problems.
I had to do emergency bell work to Chuck Daellenbach's tuba while the CB were here to perform with us. I noticed that his YCB 621 had nice, large finger buttons. I was curious about getting a set for my YFB 621 and swapped one to see, and it fit the stem quite well but DID NOT FIT MY VALVE CAP AT ALL . . . it seems that his tuba had custom caps for those buttons as well.
And I almost purchased a set thinking that the two horns shared the same valve set and that retrofitting a set of these buttons to my tuba would involve my making new stems at worst. I was wrong.
Wade "just some friendly advice" Rackley