Instrument Innovations valves

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dukesboneman
Posts: 935
Joined: Apr 02, 2018

by 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?
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by 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.
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dukesboneman
Posts: 935
Joined: Apr 02, 2018

by dukesboneman »

I can`t seem to get the POP I used to get with my Yamaha 321 .

I have a Bach 50B3 now
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by 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.
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pedrombon
Posts: 417
Joined: Apr 11, 2018

by 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... <EMOJI seq="1f60a" tseq="1f60a">😊</EMOJI>
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Matt_K
Posts: 4809
Joined: Mar 21, 2018

by 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.
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Crazy4Tbone86
Posts: 1654
Joined: Jan 14, 2020

by Crazy4Tbone86 » (edited 2022-05-11 1:41 p.m.)

[quote="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.[/quote]

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.
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by Burgerbob »

[quote="Crazy4Tbone86"]<QUOTE author="Burgerbob" post_id="178271" time="1652225385" user_id="3131">
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.[/quote]

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.
</QUOTE>

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.
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Crazy4Tbone86
Posts: 1654
Joined: Jan 14, 2020

by 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.
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Thrawn22
Posts: 1436
Joined: Sep 06, 2018

by Thrawn22 »

They're bloody awesome!
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Kbiggs
Posts: 1768
Joined: Mar 24, 2018

by 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.
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LIBrassCo
Posts: 585
Joined: Feb 24, 2019

by LIBrassCo »

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