Instrument Innovations valves

[dukesboneman]

I had a Instrument Innovations Rotary valve put on my Bach 42BO and LOVE it
Has anyone had any experience with their Bass Valves?

[Burgerbob]

I had a 50 with them, but the cores were trashed. When it was awesome it was awesome, but usually leaky. The guy I sold it to just had the cores replaced and he loves it.

[dukesboneman]

I can`t seem to get the POP I used to get with my Yamaha 321 .
I have a Bach 50B3 now

[Burgerbob]

Well, it's going to be a totally different response, sound, and feedback no matter what... But better valves will sure make it more fun to play.

[pedrombon]

I love the sound, response, smooth and quick action of the Instrument Innovations Rotary on my Sonas Eklipso single valve bass. So much so that the Eklipso F/Gb independent valve section is already under construction...

[Matt K]

I have a pair that play really nice. I had trouble finding parts for them but that was before they made bends and ferrules. If I had a Bach 50 I’d be tempted to put their thayers on them because of how nice Bach horns play with thayers for me. But the rotors are probably going to be a big improvement too.

If you do that, you might want to have someone make sure the rest of the beds are assembled okay. I’m of the opinion that the closed wrap bachs sometimes play stuffy on that side not because they are closed wrap but because the assembly of them may be off. I’ve played some killer closed wrap Bachs. You’ll need to have your tech rework the wraps to some degree anyway because the Instrument Innovations rotors are bigger than the Bach ones and have longer arms.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

I had a 50 with them, but the cores were trashed. When it was awesome it was awesome, but usually leaky. The guy I sold it to just had the cores replaced and he loves it.

I have had nothing but great fortune with the (Olsen) Instrument Innovation rotary valves. A couple of people have brought them to me and complained about leaking, but it turned out that the bearing plates were not in all the way. I used my home-made tool (a chunk of an old wooden chair leg with a perfectly flat end that has a circular cut-out in the middle), gave it a few gentle taps on both bearing plates (Instrument Innovations rotors have bearing plates on both sides) and the valves sealed perfectly. In those particularly situations, it was user or technician error and not the valves.

For the money, I think the Instrument Innovations rotors are wonderful. I am wondering if Mike Olsen replaced those cores free of cost. He really does stand by his product.

[Burgerbob]

I had a 50 with them, but the cores were trashed. When it was awesome it was awesome, but usually leaky. The guy I sold it to just had the cores replaced and he loves it.

I have had nothing but great fortune with the (Olsen) Instrument Innovation rotary valves. A couple of people have brought them to me and complained about leaking, but it turned out that the bearing plates were not in all the way. I used my home-made tool (a chunk of an old wooden chair leg with a perfectly flat end that has a circular cut-out in the middle), gave it a few gentle taps on both bearing plates (Instrument Innovations rotors have bearing plates on both sides) and the valves sealed perfectly. In those particularly situations, it was user or technician error and not the valves.

For the money, I think the Instrument Innovations rotors are wonderful. I am wondering in Mike Olsen replaced those cores free of cost. He really does stand by his product.

He did do it for free I think. The tech that installed had overbuffed the cores, so they had amazing action but almost no seal.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

Ahh! That’s why valve cores or pistons should never be taken to a buffing wheel.

There is something called a scratch brush that is used on a buffing wheel for cores and pistons. It uses no buffing compound. However, even a scratch brush should be used very sparingly on the internal valve parts.

[Thrawn22]

They're bloody awesome!

[Kbiggs]

Yes. I really like them on my Bach 50. They retain the “Bach” character, but are more consistent from register to register, and are not air hogs like Thayers.

[LIBrassCo]

You'll be happier with Meinlschmidt open flows, best bang for the buck for a rotary valve.