What is the difference between piston valves and rotary valves

The flexibility of the valves is another thing that differentiates pistons and rotaries. The piston valve is more flexible in its technical passages as opposed to the rotary, which is less flexible.

Also, the rotary has a darker and more resonant timbre which is why it is sometimes preferred for Bruckner and Strauss. Rotary valves have a cylindrical bore that is smaller compared to that of their piston counterpart, but their lead pipe and bell are larger than those of the piston.

In addition, trumpets with rotary valves have a wider pattern that is intended to avoid curves in the tubing while those with piston have a narrower pattern. If you buy a product through an affiliate link, we will get a small commission without extra cost to you. This helps us earn an income off the free content we provide to you.

Thank you for your support! Rotary valves. Table of Contents. Looking for a teacher? Want to get lessons at the comfort of your own home? See video courses! Sale C. Conn Selmer Rotary Oil, 1. Post by tbonesullivan » Thu Apr 06, pm. Post by PaulMaybery » Thu Apr 06, pm. Post by MaryAnn » Fri Apr 07, pm. Post by tbonesullivan » Fri Apr 07, pm. Post by Uncle Markie » Sat Apr 08, am. Privacy Terms. Quick links.

Rotary vs piston The bulk of the musical talk. Rotary vs piston Post by proam » Thu Apr 06, am I am curious about what the tuba world thinks about rotary vs piston valves.

As a background, I am coming to tuba from the trumpet. US orchestral trumpeters many European trumpeters use rotary instruments almost exclusively tend to use rotary trumpets only on certain works where it is deemed that the different rotary sound is more appropriate.

Do tubists ever pick an instrument based on a sound characteristic of the rotary or piston valves? Do you all perceive a difference in sound attributable to rotary vs piston valves? I have a Conn 5J and I am ashamed to admit that those valves take a lot of effort to depress! I am a weakling As I look and lust over other tubas, perhaps a C, I read about highly-respected piston valve models but find myself thinking I might prefer rotary valves.

Do you all ever think piston vs rotary or just consider the horn as a whole and the valves are just there? Re: Rotary vs piston Post by roweenie » Thu Apr 06, am Maybe you simply need lighter springs Re: Rotary vs piston Post by proam » Thu Apr 06, am roweenie wrote: Maybe you simply need lighter springs Re: Rotary vs piston Post by swillafew » Thu Apr 06, am I played heavy, noisy pistons in high school, and haven't played them since.

Re: Rotary vs piston Post by Three Valves » Thu Apr 06, pm I just discovered that the condensation in my rotary tuba all runs thru the valves and to one water key. No slide removal, no tuba spinning. In a ball valve, rotation of the ball is commonly limited to one axis to turn the flow on and off. In fact, there could be a second bore within the ball that would align once another particular orientation was achieved on a second axis of rotation.

By cleverly designing the ports on the ball, several control options can be accomplished in a single valve with multiple axes of rotation. Simple Challenge — Most of you have seen valves of both of the compound types described above many, many times and may use them daily. Advanced Challenge — What musical instruments use valves of this family? Which instruments use which type of valve? This whole family of valves has almost unlimited possibilities in the world of both liquid and gas flow.

Variations abound. Besides the obvious structural difference we just looked at, there are some internal differences that aren't so obvious. The bore size on a rotary trumpet is much smaller than on a regular piston trumpet.

It is narrower all the way through. A smaller bore size results in a mellow, softer, controlled tone. A larger bore size, by contrast, results in a brighter, aggressive, more pronounced tone. When you get to the end, rotary trumpets have bigger, broader-flared bells than piston trumpet.

A rotary valve C-trumpet in comparison is about a quarter inch more than a piston valve C-trumpet. Again, this has a huge effect on how the instrument plays, how it feels to the player and what it sounds like.

A larger bell size creates darker tones, while providing a softer, mellow feel. A smaller bell size, by contrast, produces sharper, brighter, brilliant sounds.

I've always made the comparison that a rotary trumpet feels like a small sports car and a piston trumpet feels like a heavy-duty truck. These two have significantly different feels.

A rotary trumpet is capable of a lot more subtelty, and color than a piston trumpet. The tonal spectrum of the piston trumpet remains the same throughout it's range whether it's soft or loud.

The rotary trumpet changes color quite rapidly, from mellow in piano volume to white-hot molten in fortissimo. So the color change, which is something we don't necessarily want on a piston trumpet, is something that prized on the rotary. One of the most important things is how you use your air, especially in the lower register. It is important to not press the rotary trumpet with too much air.

The way to counteract overblowing a rotary valve trumpet is to think of blowing warm, hot air, like you're fogging a mirror, as opposed to blowing fast cold air. This difference is very important to getting a good response in the lower register.

One of the great things about a rotary trumpet is that you can actually push it and play it significantly louder than a piston trumpet.