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« Last post by kehammel on January 07, 2021, 05:26:08 PM »
On many Alberts with two rings on the top joint, there is an open key between the rings that brings up the pitch of the throat F sharp. I gather the purpose of the rings and attached vent is to allow this note to be played with the thumb only, which is easier than the thumb + side F key fingering that works best on Alberts with no top joint rings. The rings close this vent key for most other notes, but the vent stays open for the other throat tones G through B flat.
What I'm wondering about is an alternate arrangement I've seen pictures of, in which the vent is above the top ring, and is covered with a small plate that is attached to this ring. It looks like the rings close this vent as usual but operating the throat A key also closes it. I guess this is supposed to keep the throat A from being sharp? But is the open G then in tune with this vent moved higher up the joint as it is?
On one of my Alberts, which has the vent between the top joint rings, I don't notice much difference in the pitch correctness of throat G vs throat A. And on the other, which has no top joint rings and no F# vent besides the side F key, the problem seems to be the reverse: the throat A is flat and the G# key needs to be opened to bring it up to pitch. So I'm wondering what problem they were trying to solve on horns that have the throat A key close the F# vent. Was moving the vent up and having the A key close it regarded as an improvement? I've been told Oehlers have this arrangement, by the way.