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Will a bad valve make a reed sound out of tune?


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Hi

 

Will a bad valve make a reed sound out of tune? I know I have a valve that needs replacing. I can hear the note have a slight "click" as I play it. I'm pretty sure it is the valve. But that same note seems a bit off compared to the same note while played on a different button in a different direction.

 

Could a bad valve affect the tuneing, as I have heard?

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

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Valves can affect tuning, but that does not sound like this is your problem. Valves can change stiffness over time,  Initially stiff valves with the reed tuned under that condition, may become more flexible with use and the reed pitch will rise, sometimes by quite a bit.  Likewise a flexible valve may grow stiffer with age “drying out “ and lower the pitch a bit because it won’t lift high enough to allow free air flow.  Notes that are played often tend to keep the valves flexible, though aging often causes valves to curl away and need replacing.  
   Reeds can change pitch if they change their “set” (the distance above the plane of the reed frame of the reed tip at rest ).  They can also change in pitch if they are beginning to get loose, (lowers pitch) in which case, making sure the reed frame is snug in it’s dovetail ( for traditional construction ). The opposite condition would be true, except that makers tune the reeds in the snug condition.  I don’t know I’d SF has been as hot and dry as the rest of the state, but that can cause loose reeds.

   Sometimes hybrids can have valves fall off which can raise pitch but cause slow starting of the other reed of the pair.  That is until the loose valve gets stuck somewhere it shouldn’t.

Dana

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Valves can have an extraordinary effect on tuning and playability. They can mute  notes, slow notes and flatten notes. but they tend not to click as much as 'plop' as they close on reversal of bellows. if they click I would probably think more about a loose reed that has not started to rattle yet.

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2 hours ago, d.elliott said:

Valves can have an extraordinary effect on tuning and playability. They can mute  notes, slow notes and flatten notes. but they tend not to click as much as 'plop' as they close on reversal of bellows. if they click I would probably think more about a loose reed that has not started to rattle yet.

 

Dave, I could relate to the "click" description ("the note ... has a click") since in my understanding it was in fact re the abrupt change of tonal quality and loudness when the valve closes (what you call a "plop") - Richard, what did you mean to indicate?

 

Edited by Wolf Molkentin
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Hi

 

I think "click" was the wrong onomatopoeic word to describe the sound that I attribute to a valve problem. What happens is that when I put soft pressure to play the note (on the push), as the pressure gradually increases there is a change and the volume gets just a little bit increased.

 

When playing normally it is probably something no one else notices but I do.

 

Thanks to all for the advice.

 

Richard

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