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I am borrowing a 12J at the moment, and the horn just came out of the shop. Both of the water keys aren't in the best of shape; the main slide just doesn't have enough torque to hold the cork down tight enough, and the 3rd slide one doesn't stay straight. I don't have any income right now until the schools start up again, so I'm trying to save my money. Is there an easy fix for these?

Nick

If it just came out of the shop, was it something they should have fixed?

Not a fix, but a very easy workaround is to use a rubber band or string to keep it closed, and just pull slides/spin to get the water out. It'll be far better to stop the air leaks and just deal with that minor inconvenience until you get it fixed.

Yeah, that's what I decided to do.

I'm borrowing the horn from a local high school. The tag on the horn said "make playable." Looks like fresh corks, but not a good key alignment. I wonder if there was just a small budget for the repairs. I will be happy to fix the keys when the concert season and the school year starts, but until then, I have to worry about where my money is coming from for the upcoming bills.

Nick

Haha, well, if the bill collectors come, you can just tie them shut too until you get the money.

Yes!

Bob.... send me those slides and I'll fix them for you... properly. You can just buy me a beer if I ever get back around Orlando!

I have a feeling that the postage to here and back will be more than the repair is worth, though.

Yeah.... the term 'make playable' means different things to different folks.

The loose water keys should have been fixed by your tech. Part of his job is to check for stuff like that. Take it back and complain. It should have been part of the job.

I'm sort of curious about that. It was fixed for the school, so I wonder if they would do it for my account.

Either way, the next time I'm back by that particular shop anyway, I would be heading to or from a gig. So I think I could afford it.

Nick

Thanks for the info. Yeah, it's a lacquered horn with old, worn lacquer, so I don't need to worry about that. I'm enjoying shedding on the tuba; I feel very close to being almost as proficient as I am on euphonium already. There are just a few notes to get a hold of, and they are notes I would never have expected to be the trouble spots. The interesting thing is, I have been shedding this horn for about a week, haven't picked up my euphonium since I played on Mars with an orchestra back in June, and I decided to see how I would sound after playing the tuba. My chops are in better shape than they were when I played that gig two months ago!

iiipopes wrote:The loose water keys should have been fixed by your tech. Part of his job is to check for stuff like that. Take it back and complain. It should have been part of the job.

I agree...that is our job...a loose water key is the easiest and most mundane thing I see every day...and takes about a minute to throw a new 50 cent spring on....to answer your question though you can try to bend the spring with a pair of small pliers. Your going to bend the part of the spring that is running under the lever arm of the water key, making it into a "V" instead of laying flat on the arm. It will give a little more pressure until you can get it back to the shop to have it properly fixed.

BlueGrassBrass wrote:...a loose water key is the easiest and most mundane thing I see every day...and takes about a minute to through a new 50 cent spring on....

I swung by the local music store to get some supplies, and asked what the charge would be...I was told $37.50. I knew that to be a crock, they lost business from me. Period.

BopEuph wrote:

BlueGrassBrass wrote:...a loose water key is the easiest and most mundane thing I see every day...and takes about a minute to through a new 50 cent spring on....

I swung by the local music store to get some supplies, and asked what the charge would be...I was told $37.50. I knew that to be a crock, they lost business from me. Period.

What a shame.

If you have the orginal Conn water keys that have the tiny spring completely internal of the water key, it will never feel strong. A new spring and adjusted to give extra tension will get it up to a used King water key. I also find them a pain in the fingers to install.
Long term, consider offering Tuba Tinker some extra money to have a new King water key assembly or two installed. At least on the main.