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I got curious as to the difference between the Yamaha full-size tuba valve springs and the Yamaha euphonium/small-tuba valve springs.

I believe that I determined that the smaller-instrument springs are made of 1mm thick wire (18 gauge), whereas the larger-tuba springs are made of 1.15mm thick wire (17 gauge)...

...at least, that's what I got, when I measured them.

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WHY...!?!?

...because I decided to pull the larger springs out of my Holton creation, and put the smaller ones in it.
They offer a softer touch, and their slightly smaller diameter fits down into the (Reynolds, actually) bottom caps' spring depressions, better (ie. no clicks).

I use the euphonium ones in my Miraphone 1291 and the tuba ones in my Gronitz F. The repair tech I use around here told me that the Gronitz needed the longer springs.

These are the best springs on the market IMO.

I bought Yamaha springs from Joe for my 1291 BBb on his recommendation. HUGE difference for the better.

So, would the Yamaha springs be a good upgrade for my new King 2341? If so, which would work best, the tuba ones or the baritone ones?

DonO. wrote: ↑Thu Oct 14, 2021 8:56 am So, would the Yamaha springs be a good upgrade for my new King 2341? If so, which would work best, the tuba ones or the baritone ones?

The valveset on my Holton is an extremely customized 1990's King 2341 valveset...
As the threading is the same (and the top caps are lower profile, which allowed for chopping 1/8" off the valve stems) I replaced the King top/bottom valve caps with Olds.

I have not compared KING bottom caps to OLDS bottom caps, but the spring cut-outs in the OLDS bottom caps are only large enough to accommodate the Yamaha "euphonium/small tuba" springs. Using the Yamaha "large tuba" springs, they would not quite fit into the OLDS bottom cap insets, so they made annoying noises.
(*I'm extremely intolerant of extraneous mechanical noises on musical instruments... When customers are here and they say, "That's good enough", I ignore them, continue to work, and strive to get rid of ALL the noise - if I possibly can...and then customers' eyes light up.)
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*In the past, I was a (nylon string) guitarist, and "tuba" was "a class at school". Buzzes and squeaks in guitars - whether instrument-caused or player-left-hand-caused - are intolerable...particularly as nylon string guitars don't put out that many decibels anyway, and putting a microphone in front of one of them amplifies buzzes and squeaks way more than it does the music.