TromboneChat

Hello,

I inherited a 60's vintage 3B Silversonic from a deceased relative back in high school. It has what appears to be a hole/holes rotted out of the leadpipe, which explains some of the strange intonation tendencies the horn has. So, the first question is, does anyone have any recommendations for replacement leadpipes, the Brass Ark 32H pipe looks interesting, as do some of the O'Malley .508 pipes, or should I just get a new 3B leadpipe?

Second question is does anybody know of any techs in Michigan that would be good for this kind of work?

Third question is related to my Trubore valve, I'm in the process of switching from Hetman's to Ultrapure oils and would like to know which of the Ultra Pure valve oils would work best in this valve?

Regards

King 3B pipes are typically two-piece, so the cheapest option is to have someone get you the venturi portion and replace it... Assuming the mouthpiece receiver is in decent shape. I've put 32H pipes into 3Bs before with good success, but the stock pipe is also good. Shires and Edwards #2 is also a good baseline. I have a few O'Malley pipes, which are also great, but I haven't tried any 508 ones. The tech will have to do more work to accommodate them, though. The main issue you might run into is even getting the part from King these days, though... I've been waiting on a tenon from King for almost four years.

You could also consider ordering cork barrel parts from a place like Shires, which has a threaded collar if you want to make them interchangeable. You'd be looking at probably ~$400-600 for that even before the leadpipe, though. I did that mod on a 2B+/3B slide... it was fantastic, still kick myself for selling that slide almost 10 years later...

Talk to Jacob Hoskins at West Michigan Band. He’s done good custom work for me and will be up front with you on a project. He’s also done work for several trumpet and trombone pros in Michigan.

The stock 2 piece 3B pipe is very tight in the venturi. If you want a more open blowing leadpipe, the 32H Brad Close/ Brassark pipe that I make is a good replacement. I can make them to fit .508 bore.