Joy Key - Water Key

Andrew’s claims about these things sound way too good to be true. But he’s right. They change things in ways I didn’t expect. Compared to conventional water keys, the Joy Key definitely makes the horn play differently. There’s no little well or disturbance in the tubing, and the wick sits fairly flush with the inside of the tubing wall. To my ears and my chops, this means the horn plays more akin to one that *doesn’t* have a water key at all. That might be foreign to a lot of players, but if you’ve played a horn before and after water key installation, you’ll recognize the differences in sound and response for what they are. It’s a very positive change. Yes, of course a leak-down or vacuum tester is going to show that there’s a leak. But the horn is an open tube. The actual volume of air flowing while we play is minimal, and so is the air pressure in the horn. I will also say that these work spectacularly well on a CF Schmidt horn. My unscientific hunch is that the long leadpipe and main slide offers so much surface area for water to condense, that most of the water winds up draining from there and not making it into the rest of the horn. With only one more joy key on the B-flat 3rd valve slide, I don’t seem to have to empty the horn for at least 20 minutes of solid playing.

Let's face it, horn players deal with condensation. Sometimes during an exposed solo, the dreaded 'flap flap' of condensation in the air tube, destroying your finest moment! The way I play, I get condensation. LOTS of condensation! Frequently. I had to do lots of machinations to deal with getting water out of my horn. It got to be a big production. I would receive hate mail from subscribers from the 'show' I put on getting water out of my instrument's recesses. Not long thereafter, I came across a post by Andrew Joy regarding his Joy Key. Long story short, I have multiple keys on all of my instruments, including my Vienna Horns. Doubters cite loss of compression in the tube. While there is some, it doesn't affect tone, stability of pitch, and accuracy. I have 6 on my main horn and 3-4 on my Vienna Horns (including the crook). You can clean Joy Keys by using a jewelry cleaner with a dash of Lime Away or other de-scaler solution. They last for a very long time with regular care and cleaning. I have several that are about 10 years old. I highly recommend this product, especially for people that seem to create lots of condensation as they play.

I am a repair person in the Baltimore/DC/NOVA area. I have had several customers request these, and have subsequently installed them on my own horns. I find them to be highly effective. There are no moving parts and they will work as advertised providing you clean the filter element regularly. One Joy Key on the leadpipe has allowed me to play entire movements of quintet literature without once stopping to empty the water.

I soldered the Joykey onto my cornet using the existing water key hole in the leadpipe. I am extremely happy with how this thing works! It has not effected the sound or playability at all. I honestly don't know how I tolerated the traditional water key emptying process, since it used to break my concentration during practice. I no longer have to use the third slide water key. The only con is that the water drips every minute or so, but It's slow enough that it evaporates before it has a chance to form a wet spot or puddle (the air is dry at present). I might eventually fashion a bit of sponge or cloth under a leather wrap or something. I highly recommend this gadget!