What are Leadpipes For?

[MaevenDeadcloud]

Basically the title of the post. I've never used a leadpipe in the three trombones I've played on (Yamaha student peashooter for 5.5 years, old Bach bass for 9 or so months, and my current Kühnl & Hoyer for 3 or so months), so I have no idea what they do.

[harrisonreed]

Those all have leadpipes in them, they're just fixed in place. The leadpipe is what the mouthpiece goes into, it has a chokepoint or venturi in it, and it helps focus the input from the mouthpiece into the trombone.

[TexHipp]

I'm still trying to learn about leadpipes myself. Here are a couple of comments on TC I've found. From what I can gather so far (somebody please correct me), is that the mouthpiece backbore and leadpipe venturi work together to simulate a hemi-closed (i.e., closed on one end) tube. A closed-end tube makes prettier sounds.

TC boneagain's comment
boneagain, again
Doug Elliott's comment
a website on music acoustics by USNW (the top-level source of the two links in the paragraph)

[tbonesullivan]

For the most part, I would wager the majority of trombones out there have the original fixed leadpipes installed in them, and for the majority of players changing them out has never been issue, or even a thought. Some pro players into getting their horns perfect for them would work with techs who would draw leadpipes for them, which would alter how the instrument played and felt.

At some point, I'm not sure when, some makers started to offer slides which had several different leadpipes, which could be changed to make the horn play / feel different. As more of these became available, there became a larger market for aftermarket leadpipes, some of which were original designs. Others of these were copies of leadpipes pulled from older horns that were thought to play particularly well.

I have two horns that can use removable leadpipes, and they definitely do make a difference. I have a Brass Ark / Brad Close Elkhart 8H replica pipe that has really made my Kanstul 1588 have a better feel than the "Minick Legit" pipe I was using. I'm probably going to get a seamed copper MV Bach 42 replica to see if I can get a bit more richness in sound to my Kanstul 1570.

[MaevenDeadcloud]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I thought a leadpipe was only a leadpipe if it was removable, so thank you for correcting that misconception. Out of curiosity, is it possible to alter a slide in order to accept removable leadpipes? If so, how much does it cost? If not, then is the only way to get a slide that is already able to do so? Thanks.

[tbonesullivan]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I thought a leadpipe was only a leadpipe if it was removable, so thank you for correcting that misconception. Out of curiosity, is it possible to alter a slide in order to accept removable leadpipes? If so, how much does it cost? If not, then is the only way to get a slide that is already able to do so? Thanks.

Most slides can be adapted for using a press fit leadpipe, which just has a collar around the top and does not thread in. I seem to recall that there can be issues with slides not originally set up for removable leadpipes, as the solder in the cork barrel can slightly compress the inner slide tube, though I may be mis-remembering things.

You also can get the trombone fitted with a threaded adapter for the leadpipe, however that would be a more involved procedure.

Both of these would involve pulling the original leadpipe, which can be an issue depending on age and how well the horn was taken care of over the years. This may mean that both the inner slide tube and original leadpipe may be destroyed while trying to pull the leadpipe.

[brassmedic]

For the first few centuries of their existence, trombones did not have leadpipes. Then leadpipes started to become standard. I don't know who was the first to put a leadpipe in a trombone. They became prevalent in the U.S., but didn't catch on with German makers for awhile. In fact, some German makers still build trombones without leadpipes. If you compare a vintage German trombone with a modern trombone that has a leadpipe, it's easier to get a focused sound with the leadpipe, but maybe harder to make the sound interesting. I think the idea of swapping leadpipes started with custom builders like Burt Herrick and Larry Minick. They would remove the soldered-in leadpipe and provide custom made pipes that could be used instead. Then custom manufacturers started building trombones with threaded receivers to have a more solid connection. And then finally the big manufacturers started doing this as well.