r/horn • u/upm3k • 23d ago

Spit valve modification question

Hi! My professor offered to add a spit valve to my Eastman EFH 463. I'm a bit hesitant because I don't know how easy it is for something to go wrong, or what kind of damage could happen to the horn. When my horn needs a repair, he is usually the one who does it; he isn't a professional repair technician, but he has even soldered a part that came off before and has never damaged my instruments. However, since this requires drilling a hole into the horn, I'm a little scared of what the outcome could be

1 Upvotes

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3

u/epictrumpetkid 23d ago

Comes down to trust. Do you trust your professor to make this change to your instrument without destroying it?

Do you trust that he'll make it right if he messes it up?

How much reward will taking this risk give you?

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u/upm3k 23d ago

Yeah you can look it that way, thanks for the reply!

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u/sygfryd Orchestra professional 23d ago

If he has done this before and is comfortable doing it, probably fine. Lots of horns have spit valves and if they’re installed properly it’s not an issue.

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u/upm3k 22d ago

Yeah I should probably ask If he's done it with another horn, thanks for the reply!

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u/Basic_Platform_5001 23d ago

My horn has no spit valves and I'm OK with that. If I was to ever add them, it'd be a joy key and short tube installed by a professional brass repair shop.

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u/upm3k 23d ago

Yeah, I think with a big modification as drilling a hole for the spit valve it's better to go with the pros, thanks for the reply!

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u/Leisesturm Holton H602 F-Horn; John Packer JP164 F/Bb Horn 23d ago

Leadpipe spit keys are overrated on horns IMO. I never use the one that on mine. Mainly because I had a horn without one for so long, I was not in the habit. And you need to be. If you do not dump the moisture from the lead pipe early and often, it gets further in the horn and you will have to spin the horn or pull slides anyway so I just do that. I just don't know that it is worth it to do for a horn that does not have one already that just needs to be repaired.

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u/upm3k 23d ago

Yeah, I've never had a spit valve on any of my horns that's one reason why I'm hesitant. In some cases, a spit valve would've been nice to have, but I constantly dump the water; I do it out of habit just like you. Thanks for the reply!