band director types: please don't torture us repair types via recent-vintage R.O.C. low brass instrument purchases.

[bloke]

You know... The instrument company that seems to believe they're a major brand and charge like they are (yet Jinbao surpassed their quality years ago).

The low brass has gone over to stainless steel pistons in the last few years.
Yes they no longer sport that weird phenomenon with the pistons turning black and sticking, but I could buff the black $h!t off of those valves, and they would work just fine again.

The problem with the newer stainless steel pistons is that they've tightened up the tolerances WITHOUT ALSO tightening up the build quality. They come into the shop sticking or mushy, and people like me have to screw around with them for inordinate amounts of time in order to get them working reliably... often, sort of taking manufacturing on to the finish line.

The thing is this, I know a bunch of you are yamabots and spend triple or quadruple for school band instruments - because it's not your money... and those valves are weird too. They quit working when they're not broken... but I can get those working again reasonably quickly (scrape off the dried spit and replace the guides) and don't have to finish manufacturing them... though the fact that the currently manufactured yama pistons are lead soldered together and nickel plated sort of means that they are disposable, but whatever on that.

...but these "improved" stainless steel piston R.O.C. instruments...
I've learned what they are, and now - when a euphonium or tuba comes in with all the valves stuck - I know to charge $450 and not $150, because I'm going to be screwing around with that sumbitch all day.

You know damn well that when I have to go pick them up, type up a formal quote on a letterhead (not really knowing for sure how long it's going to take to fix something), wait for a purchase order - while at the same time the band director is pushing me, due to a deadline, writing up an invoice, delivering them back, and then waiting 45 days to get paid... You know I'm going to charge a lot for all that mess, because all that stuff makes everything take twice as long (not to mention the burned $3.xx/gal gas). If you saved any money buying R.O.C. (which is hard to do, because JP is twice as good at half the price) you're going to pay the difference anyway high repair charges.

[tubaing]

I have not benn able to get them working well with my school euphoniums. Not sure what to do.

[bloke]

I have not benn able to get them working well with my school euphoniums. Not sure what to do.

They've got some newer four valve front action 3/4 model with these four hex wrench #5 thread screws that do most of the supporting of the valve section to the body (with hollow brass tubes over them that control how much you can tighten them)
.
Valves three and four were a mess, but acting like they were just needing cleaning. I knew better from experience, and I quoted 400 bucks to fix this thing, it took me 4 hours (not including any little breaks in my work) to get this thing working reliably, but of course that's not the only labor. Again, I had to go fetch it back, bring it back here, I'll have to take it back and come back home, I had to type up a quote, and I'll have to wait a month and a half to get paid.

Another common occurrence is that - with a valve blocks not being particularly sturdy, the work required to get one valve working properly ends up causing one next door to start sticking. Sure: You can blame me for being a klutz, but it only happens with this maker.