Hi Wayne; just an educated guess here - it's not the larger volume of air that matters but the length for causing pitch! (Frequency = velocity divided by wavelength; in this case, pitch = the speed of sound divided by the length of your instrument). I'd guess that you're effectively cutting (or removing) the very end of the slide and using the sleeve to reattach it just that liiittle bit further down.
@@jkelley012 You’re right, of course, about length vs. volume. I knew I was phrasing that wrong when I wrote the comment. Long week at work, man… Thanks!
My baritone horn is about 80 years old. I don't play much anymore. I'm not sure if the problem is my hearing (wear hearing aid and hearing has diminished) or if the horn has just wore out.
Proper fix= send it away to get full repair. Cheap fix= get out the supaglue and silicone RTV and boogie up the cracks in the slides, get the valves replated and lap them in yourself.
I bought a euphonium from craigslist, and I took a balloon and inflated it to the size of a grapefruit and stuck it in the bell, and pressed the valves individually
Are you aware of the friction involved with piston rings? Pistons are a VERY TIGHT fit, with explosive pressures to shift them. If you're going to ease up on the tolerances so the valves are actually useable, then what's the point? A higher viscosity valve oil will buy you more time in the later years of an instrument's usefulness.
@Alex Paulsen You are correct. The payoff would be very small. I need to review the class on diminishing returns. A whole lot of effort for very small returns.
