Some Quirks

[1stchair]

Ok, I recently purchased my Antigua Power bell alto(black nickel)..It was hand picked and its just great! But, there is a small problem im facing. The Middle E and D are kind of stuffy for some reason..The F natural is Extremely strong then the E feels like its just choked a little and same with the D..and they both play sharp about on the same level..I have to lip down a pretty good bit to get them close enough in tune. Im thinking its a really minor leak somewhere on the horn but I'm not sure because every other plays plays just fine below them and down from them. I also noticed that the F# key is harder to press down than all my others, enough to make me notice it. I dont know if that may be a factor in it or not..Im thinking something is leaking so minor that it's just making them 2 notes go 2 cents sharp and thin sounding..

Most technicians around my area just adjust all the keys then play to see if it plays..They don't do a 100% check(minor leaks etc..) like im expierencing..Any suggetions ?

[TenTenTooter]

If you have to press the F# key down a little harder, then chances are that that is your problem. When you push down the F# key it also pushes down another key (called F helper I think). If its improperly adjusted then the F helper would close before the F# thus causing a leak and causing you to have to push the key down harder. Easy adjustment to fix for any tech.