I hope you're preparing with a good technical education. I much prefer
a pure science, like physics, over more specialized engineering
courses. That will prepare you to read meaningful advanced articles
searching for solutions. A basic physics course will introduce you to
Helmholz and resonators. You'll study waves in a tube, and what effects
the properties. Later, studying theory will begin to tie things
together. Studying advanced material that really interests you in
conjunction with the theory will not only be far more meaningful to
you, it will make dull theory much more pleasurable. Before you invest
a lot of yourself in a project, pick something to work on that really
fills a need. Most horn players who would appreciate an advanced mute
already have mutes that have proven to work year after year. If you
study valve linkages, you'll discover synthetic Spectra fishline is so
thin and strong, you need to double it over to get a knot that won't
slip through the hole. With two strings on each rotor, if a string
breaks, the other takes over. Likewise, the ball joint linkage on my
Paxman is as good and quiet as I need, and can be installed on any horn
quite reasonably.
To succeed in design or modifications, theory won't get you very far.
I was trained by an internationally renowned scientist/engineer.
Absolutely phenomenal in pioneering theory and tuning it into
profitable products for GTE Sylvania. One of his favorite comments was,
I'll predict nothing, but I'll explain everything. He taught me to
always share my latest finding rather than keep them secret. Rarely do
they do the competition much good, but if you can trade one ten times,
all the new information you gather might lead you to something
worthwhile. To succeed in design you have to gain control of the design
so modifications are predictable and repeatable. A good exercise to see
if you are really interested is to borrow several horns and very
carefully measure the tapers of the inside of the bells and leadpipes
accurate to 2-3 thousandths of an inch. To help you, assume when you
start that the taper is a smooth, continuous function. Use Excel to
plot your data set. If you get something close to a smooth curve, you
can then go back and check and adjust your measurements. Each time,
you'll learn more subtleties about the job. Plot the taper on a greatly
shortened x axis to exaggerate it. When you're done, you should know
exactly how long each horn really is, where the cylindrical tubing is
located, and probably have found places where dents were very
skillfully removed. Armed with this, you'll be ready to learn from the
design information Walter Lawson generously makes available.
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: horn@music.memphis.edu
Sent: Wed, 1 Nov 2006 10:16 AM
Subject: RE: [Hornlist] Valve question
Dear Matthew, just reading books about that, is not the
right method to get into that stuff. One has to learn first,
how the mechanical functions work with different material,
how the opening closing of the valves work, what influx
the details will have on the sound column if valves go into
action, how different alloy behave in contact each other,
about lubrification, how the action is performed, etc.etc.
All this could be read together, but without practica, it
will remain just a fumjbling around until a result or no
result will surface by chance or not.
Good sources with measurement tables, ankles, material
specifications etc. can be found in the books by Schramm:
Blechblasinstrumente Noedl: Metallblasinstrumentenbau ,
but all in German language.
To understand all the basics, I would recommend you to stay
with a master for several months learn as much as you can
then, to understand the basics of metal-wind-instrument
fabrication. But after that, the real task will begin. And I
promise you, you will not get rich by just two things: valve
design mute design. It is a lousy business can be done
only as a side job.
===
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Mathew James
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:15 PM
To: horn list
Subject: [Hornlist] Valve question
Hey list. I'm looking to pick some of your brains today.
I have begun to develop a interest In horn design (features
more so than entire wraps and such) such as valve
mechanisms, and such. And also mute design, all cool stuff.
I have been digging through the Internet and my library for
books on the ideas and such, have learned a fair amount but
am wondering if anyone can direct me to some concrete
sources.
Many Thanks
--
Mathew James
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