Posted by Art on September 02, 2000 at 23:47:43:
In Reply to: Information on old Kings. posted by Jason Baker on August 26, 2000 at 19:35:07:
there is a King on ebay now which is similar to the one I had in high school and college. Mine was made in the late '30s, and had the main tuning slide before the valves, as does the one in the picture. It had a perfect open "D", a very nice false pedal Eb, and high F (second line from the top of the staff) was a mile sharp. I found that I could work the double third valve slide with the pinky of my left hand, and the second valve slide with the thumb & index finger. It was very easy for me to get those slides moving freely after at least 20 years of neglect. It was so natural that i felt it must have been planned that way. I could also reach through with my left hand to turn pages while playing. Some time in the '50s they changed the design, putting the main slide after the valves. They also shifted the small bow so the left hand opportunities were lost. Those changes fixed the high F, but sacrificed a bit of the D.