TromboneChat

I received my Minick "Legit" bass pipe from O'Malley recently and want to write about it a bit. I have until then been playing on Kanstul's version of a replica "Minick L" and there are some differences worth noting.

First, the Kanstul pipe is about 1/4" longer than O'Malley's take. Kanstul claims a venturi of .493" while O'Malley quotes .487". Both differences are explainable by different source pipes for copying, and possibly some tweaking of playing properties by the respective manufacturers also. In any case both play well, with some differences. Articulations are more crisp with the O'Malley pipe, and the sound color in general is more consistent up and down the range of the instrument (Getzen 1062 with dual bore slide, Schilke Symphony M6.0D mouthpiece). The Kanstul pipe has a slightly diffuse sound with some bloom in the middle and upper range, and adds a bit of punch to the low range and pedals. Overall, the sound of the O'Malley pipe sounds lighter and more focused than the Kanstul. Some of the difference in sound might be due to different alloys, as the Kanstul copy is yellow brass with a brass collar, and the O'Malley copy is nickel silver with a nickel collar. In one of their postings, O'Malley recommended a nickel collar specifically to address a customer's concerns over a particular alloy pipe's qualities.

The O'Malley pipe (Getzen/Edwards threads) is very nicely crafted, and slipped into the slide with no trouble and no looseness. The Kanstul pipe I purchased (Shires threads - I use an Instrument Innovations bi-thread adaptor) required 15-minutes or so of sanding before it would fit the Getzen bass slide. Both pipes have good concentricity of the pipe and collar threads, requiring no bending or coercion to get the threads to mesh.

In sum, both pipes play well, but for my instrument and playing situations (brass banding and Salvation Army service playing), I prefer the O'Malley pipe for its consistency, ease of articulation, and beautiful "trombone only bigger" sound. The Kanstul pipe leans more in direction of blending with the tuba and euphonium, although still far from being a "tuba on a stick."

I sent in the original Minick Legit pipe to O’Malley for copying! I’ve since sold to another forum member. I’d describe the pipe as a being a good “#2”ish style pipe.

I also highly recommend people check out Brad Close’s Schatz pipe if you’re looking for a “#2”ish Minick style pipe. Brad’s Schatz pipe is the reason I sold the original Minick pipe!

I have a #2L SS that plays somewhat similarly, but the sound is very clean and "restrained" and the pedal range has less relative presence. It and the O'Malley pipe both assist me with good intonation, without feeling stiff.

Glad to hear you like it!

Indeed, I do like it.

OMalleyBrassInstruments wrote: Tue Sep 02, 2025 8:08 am Glad to hear you like it!

Are these on your website?

WGWTR180 wrote: Fri Sep 05, 2025 3:23 pm

OMalleyBrassInstruments wrote: Tue Sep 02, 2025 8:08 am Glad to hear you like it!

Are these on your website?

Yes

https://www.omalleyhorns.com/products/b ... e-assembly

FWIW We had a customer play on this same leadpipe earlier this week. His normal setup is a Shires axial bass, but he tried it with our Minick leadpipe and our NY50 bell and the change in tone and ease of playing was significant. We fully believe that most modern bass trombones tend to be too large, wide, and muddy, and that they lose a lot of what makes a trombone sound like a trombone. This setup made the horn much more locked in, helped the high register gain back a lot of higher overtones, and made the articulations much cleaner. The bell shape, French bead, one piece construction, and thin gauge contributes a lot to this (our bell making process is similar to Mt. Vernon and earlier Bach).