Water Keys?

[Radar]

I want to add a water key to my Miraphone 186 CC tuba on the loop of tubing behind the main tuning slide and behind the factory water key, so I don't have to spin the horn to get water out of there. I talked to my service tech about putting and Amado water key there, his response surprised me, he said he didn't like the Amado water keys for Tuba because they couldn't handle the volume of water. He suggested a standard type water key instead. I was just wondering what the general consensus on here is about the type of water key to use for this application.

Thanks!!

[ppalan]

I want to do the same with my 186 CC. I asked Matt at Dillon's and he suggested the Pollard water key. ( http://www.pollardwaterkey.com/ I've ordered one so will see how this plays out when I get it and have the opportunity to get it installed. If it does the job I'm going to order one for my F (Wessex "Berg") because the factory installed standard spit valve just doesn't drain very well at all.
Pete

[Three Valves]

Do you really have to pull a dime out of your pocket during a gig in order to relieve the water then screw it back in again??

[T. J. Ricer]

Do you really have to pull a dime out of your pocket during a gig in order to relieve the water then screw it back in again??

Nope, just push the button on the other side. It is a larger and, because of the triangle shape, less leaky/unstick-able version of the Amado. It has a screw on the back, rather than a clip, like the Jupiter version of the Amado.

I like 'em,
-T. J.

[bisontuba]

Pollard water keys-2 thumbs up!

[bort]

I used to have a MW 30 with the same MTS setup. I had BBC add a standard style water key, and it was a huge help.

I like the regular cork water keys. If nothing else, if the cork fails, it's a good reminder to get my lazy self to the shop and get my tuba serviced and cleaned.

[Tabor]

I had a 4/4 York-King BBb set up with Saturn water keys. It played great before and after. After trying them, I just prefer big traditional water keys. The Saturn keys usually got my finger a little wet.

[iiipopes]

I have played everything from trumpets to tubas with all the usual suspects for water keys. I find no inherent advantage to any of them. And as another forumite pointed out, if a cork starts to compress or wear or leak, then that is a reminder to have the horn periodically and properly serviced.

Yes, for the general appearance of the horn, I would have a regular water key installed to match. I'm actually thinking about doing this to my Bessophone as well, maybe after all the holiday concerts are over.

Caveat: make sure the water key is installed where there is NOT an anti-node in the circuit. That would cause intonation issues. To get an idea of what I mean, play long tones chromatically up from open BBb. On each note, play it with and without the main water key open. On some notes, there won't be any significant difference. On others, they may get fuzzy, and on even others there may be intonation changes as much as a full half tone, and on a few the note just may stop speaking altogether.

[Lee Stofer]

I like traditional water keys, and have added them to various places in customers' instruments to eliminate awkward water situations.

The Amado water keys were designed for use on trumpets, and do not have a large-enough bore to effectively drain any tuba. I have drilled-out the passage to a slightly larger size, and installed them upon request on small-bore trombones and smaller euphoniums. It would be nice if someone would make some water keys about double the size of the Amado, or preferably a larger version of the Scodwell water keys for tuba. Instead of the c-clip, the Scodwell water keys for trumpet have a small screw-on cap on the end opposite the push-button end, and are infinitely easier to service than the Amado keys.

Many tubas come from the factory with the water key drain hole not properly finished, as Mr. Bloke alluded to. Before you change water keys, you might want to have the drain hole cleaned out, making sure that the hole is full-sized and that there are no sharp burrs lurking inside, which would also prevent efficient drainage. The early St. Pete BBb's and a number of old Miraphones had a very inadequate drain hole, and I've had a new Bach Stradivarius trombone come across my bench where they had forgotten to drill the hole at all - the water key assembly was all soldered in place, looked fine, but there was no hole in the tubing where the nipple was. Fortunately, these matters are easily remedied.