TromboneChat

Happy New Year Everyone,

I am a bit old fashioned and prefer a bass trombone with more resistance than is popular today. What should i be looking for if I decide to seek to replace the lead pipe. The horn is a Yamaha YBL 613.

Any input would be appreciated.

PhillyG

Another Yamaha 613 leadpipe

Why do you want to change? What is it you hope to achieve by changing just the pipe?

The Brass Ark MV50 is an excellent pipe fitting that description.

R Partch, legend brass repairman in Toronto, told me recently that his best selling lead pipe was an M/K Roberts. A Toronto bass trombonist who had a nice collection of pipes preferred the M/K (in a Yamaha bass) as well. B Hanson spoke very highly of it when it was first out.

Brass Ark has a bunch of pipes. Noah has an impressive list of endorsements on his lead pipe page. I have one in a Bach 16 slide that is excellent. You might send him an email.

I don’t recall many Yamaha players being dissatisfied with the leadpipes in their horns.

While the MK GR pipe is a great pipe, it would not meet your described requirements- it is very open.

Any of the Bach 50 pipe copies should do.

I agree with Gabe and Paul, based on my personal experience with the 613H (a very fine bass inspired by the Bach 50B3O) -- a Bach MV50 leadpipe copy will help you to achieve the sound and/or feel you seek.

Interestingly - or not - I just had a look at the lead pipe in my current model Yam 620G. It’s long: 11”. It looks to me like a very open venturi, quite close to the proximal end, with a long, slow, barely perceptible taper. I bet the pipe in your 613 is similar. Yam might be able to tell you.

I keep my various lead pipes in a box. I’ve had a bunch over the years. This is the first pipe that doesn’t fit. Too long. Very much an outlier based on my experience.

I recall a thread on the OTJ or maybe even the Trombone-L that discussed S Shires and G Greenhoe experimenting with lead pipes and concluding that ~ 9” was an optimal length. This would have been in the late 80s/early 90s when both were involved in designing the early Edwards modular horns. (I’m going from memory of a post from the mid-90s - I may not be entirely accurate). Of course, there are a lot of parameters other than length.

I wonder: were the vintage pipes the pipes players had Herrick and Minick replace? A Minick pipe was a noticeable improvement over stock in an Elkhart 62H I used to have.

GabrielRice wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:16 am The Brass Ark MV50 is an excellent pipe fitting that description.

I've been looking for one of these.