Compensating Slide Moisture on FRONT-Valve Horns

[guidocorona]

Hello Chris, on my Wessex Festivo, water keys on the 4th slide and on the small fixed elbo tubing (sorry, do not know the name of this small part)above the 4th slide to be very useful for draining moisture.... Hope EU5500 will also feature such water keys.

Can all compensating loops be adjusted for tuning, and be removed to drain condensation?

Regards, Guido

[Christopher Lair]

I appreciate the feedback, Guido! Right now on the compensating side only the 3rd slide can be removed. We’ve found there to be no drainage issue with the others. Thanks!

[guidocorona]

Hi Chris, glad to hear that....

Reason for asking was that, my Festivo being of the horizontal pistons persuasion, and its 1st valve compensating loop pointing downwards, this little comp loop is an enthusiastic moisture receptacle, hence it is removable... I drain the little 1st valve comp loop every 30 minutes of practice, lest the eupho starts gargling oh so charmingly.... Just a wee bit, that is

G.

[davewerden]

Hi Chris, glad to hear that....

Reason for asking was that, my Festivo being of the horizontal pistons persuasion, and its 1st valve compensating loop pointing downwards, this little comp loop is an enthusiastic moisture receptacle, hence it is removable... I drain the little 1st valve comp loop every 30 minutes of practice, lest the eupho starts gargling oh so charmingly.... Just a wee bit, that is

G.

FWIW, I have NEVER had to drain my compensating loop slides, going back to college. That covers several Bessons, Sterlings, and now Adams. During those many years I have played in cool, humid situations where water was collecting like it had a direct line to the faucet, but I only had to dump the main slide and 4 primary tuning slides.

[guidocorona]

My Festivo is definitely.... Special

G.

[daruby]

FWIW, I have NEVER had to drain my compensating loop slides, going back to college. That covers several Bessons, Sterlings, and now Adams. During those many years I have played in cool, humid situations where water was collecting like it had a direct line to the faucet, but I only had to dump the main slide and 4 primary tuning slides.

Same here. The 1st and 2nd valve compensating loops will dump their water BACK into the 4th valve loop when using 1-4 and 2-4 combinations. The third valve comp slide may accumulate a little bit of water, but it is larger in diameter and less likely to gurgle. Also, the third valve loop is usually pointed downward when the horn sits at rest cross-wise on your lap. Again dumping water downhill.

All of these observations are justifications for a good water key arrangement on the 4th valve slide (or a quick pull and dump).

Doug

[guidocorona]

Deleted redundant post.

G.

[guidocorona]

Thank you Dave for moving the discussion on comp loop moisture here.

I'd be interested in hearing the experiences of other owners of the Wessex Festivo and similar front valvers with moisture accumulation in the compensating loops.... And in the 1st valve comp loop in particular.

Regards, Guido

[davewerden]

Out of curiosity, is it safe to assume that this only collects water when you do a lot of playing using 1+4 (and possible including 2/3)? I would also assume that you would only hear gurgling when playing with the same valve combinations.

[hyperbolica]

Thank you Dave for moving the discussion on comp loop moisture here.

I'd be interested in hearing the experiences of other owners of the Wessex Festivo and similar front valvers with moisture accumulation in the compensating loops.... And in the 1st valve comp loop in particular.

Regards, Guido

I've never or rarely (once or twice) had to dump anything that wasn't accessible via a water key in the 2 years I've owned my Festivo. I don't play it daily, and I usually play 30-50 minutes at a time, mostly in air conditioned space, but not always. As a trombone player, I struggle with more than one spit valve at a time.

[ann reid]

I’ve always appreciated the 4th “water key” Guidocorona.

Are there still to be 4 water keys on the newest version of the Festivo? I think I recall reading somewhere that there might be a change.

Has there been any indication of when the next Festivo will become available here in the states?

[guidocorona]

Hello friends, thank you for your quick responses since yesterday. Here are some answers back to you:

To Dave…. Yes, fuzziness morphing into subtle spluttering gradually develops when using compensation on 1, optionally in conjunction with 2 and/or 3….. Typically I need to dump water from the comp loop on 1st valve after some 30 minutes of practice. Moisture does also accumulates on slides equipped with water keys, but these sporting larger diameter loops, are less prone to rapid-onset audible misbehavior.

One note of interest… I live in the Low Country of SC, where humidity is unusually high, even inside my home.

To Hyperbolica… Does your Festivo feature a down-pointing 1st valve comp loop? is it removable? Does it perhaps feature a water key?

To Ann Reed… My Festivo is just over three years old. I am not sure if it reflects current design. My unit sports water keys on valves 3, 4, main slide, and the small maccherone-like elbow above 4th slide. Conversely, the down-pointing 1st valve comp loop, and all up-pointing slides, such as 1 and 2, as well as the comp loop on 3, do not feature water keys.

I did not know that a new version of Festivo might be in the works. I will contact Wessex and try to find out about probable changes and projected availability timeframe.

Regards, Guido

[hyperbolica]

Hello friends, thank you for your quick responses since yesterday. Here are some answers back to you:
To Hyperbolica… Does your Festivo feature a down-pointing 1st valve comp loop? is it removable? Does it perhaps feature a water key?

....Regards, Guido

Well, yes, it does have a loop that hangs down, and it is removable. And yes, it did have some water in it. I didn't notice it gurgling, though. I think this loop had been stuck until I had it worked on recently. The slides on these Wessex are not always great.

[guidocorona]

Thank you Hyperbolica…. I admit that the term "gurgling" is refers to a, well... boundary case.

As I explain, as water accumulates during practice, a gradual disturbance of the purity of the tone is introduced, until it becomes a recognizable faint splutter.... And if I do not intervene and dump the loop after some 30 to 40 minutes, it would eventually produce something that progressively resembles a gurgle. I got to this extreme case only in my early euphoniumizing days, before I learned what to do.

How frequently do you Hyperbolica dump water from the 1st valve comp loop?

Regards, G.

[hyperbolica]

I'm not consistent about emptying water. I do it infrequently enough to let the slide freeze. If I can get by without it that's what I do. I've done it just a few times since I've owned it, usually looking for water somewhere. I'm probably not a good example of a euphonium player, I'm sure I do everything wrong. I'm just a slide player who fiddles with valves.