Posted by Rick Denney on August 13, 2001 at 11:24:55:
In Reply to: Vavle Guides posted by Tom B. on August 12, 2001 at 19:21:36:
When I first bought the Yamaha F tuba, the guides seemed to be made of a teflon-type plastic that seemed a bit soft. They wore out quickly--within six months. I called the Yamaha support folks in Grand Rapids, and they told me that they'd switched to a newer, harder plastic on an experimental basis. The fellow sent me two sets for free. I installed the first set, and the second set is still in the case. This was ten years ago, and the horn got played frequently in a tough professional setting (outdoors) for a couple of those ten years. I called the Yamaha folks back, and, sure enough, they had declared the experiment a success and had switched to the new material.
When I took the horn in for a chem clean, Matt changed one or two of those valve guides for me, and the second set is still in my case.
A former owner had the valves on my York Master redone by Wayne Tanabe, including new plating and alignment. At that time (what was that, Chris?), Wayne installed plastic valve guides, and they show no appreciable wear.
But I take good care of them.
Rick "whose tubas with brass guides are too old for comparison" Denney