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Super 20 Octave Mechanism

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  WalterConn 
#1 ·
I have (if I remember correctly) a Series II S20. The octave mechanism, when activating the body pip, is VERY touchy. The slightest amount of pressure will open the body pip. This happens at all the wrong times... Anyone else have this issue? Is that "normal" for these? Is there a way to adjust this?
 
#2 ·
Your horn has a relatively complicated octave mechanism, and it's doing what it's designed to do: open when the key is pressed. Is the octave key in the way of your thumb and maybe needs to be adjusted down a bit? Introducing some lost motion could give it a little "play" but then the whole thing will feel sloppy.
 
#4 ·
What you do in this case is adjust the contact point on the neck octave rocker for just a little clearance so you can inadvertently touch the octave key without opening the neck vent. This also prevents the body vent from opening too soon but you should check it anyway. You might have to sand a cork just a little bit to give you some clearance. Bending the octave key at the thumb rest is pretty routine but any time you're bending keys just keep in mind that they only bend so many times before they break. So typically you will adjust the key height/angle once and be done with it. It sounds like someone went to a lot of trouble to 'blueprint' the octave mech. on your horn. I'm not crazy about working on King octaves myself but I like to do Selmers. On the Selmer it involves gluing on tiny pieces of cork and sanding them down just right to eliminate all play. But you always need a little play at the neck rocker for several reasons; clearance from the vertical rod when turning the neck to lay the horn down and of course the needed play.
 
#5 ·
This works great on most other horns but unfortunately not on the King in question. On this horn the body octave key will lift regardless of the neck position as long as the G key is depressed. Even with the neck completely off, when the G key is closed then the slightest bump into the thumb octave lever will open the body octave.

If the thumb lever is in the way you can adjust it somewhat to avoid the accidental bumps, but the best solution is to spend time getting used to the horn until your thumb is retrained to stay away from it. I figure if Bird & Cannonball could do it, how hard can it be? ;)
 
#6 ·
I have 2 Cleveland S20's, about 20,000 serial numbers apart (early 60's). The only difference between the two is the octave key and linkage. It's not the greatest design on either one, but the newer of the two is certainly improved. The key itself is larger and more ergonomic, and the linkage is in a straight line. Neither one of them have (that I can tell) the problem you describe, but I suspect they fiddled with the octave mechanism through the entire S20 line. My earlier model pinches my thumb a bit, and the body pip had a big problem with sticking until I put in a roo pad there. I'm pretty happy with the way the most recent one functions, but it's still weird. It's like they hired Dr Suess, to come up with the concept...
 
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