drac

Hello all....again....

I was thinking of getting a new leadpipe for my bach strad because I hate the piece of crap. Anyway, I absolutely love how the WB 1600 plays and I attribute it mostly to the leadpipe design. I know blackburn sells leadpipes but I have no clue which one might be similar to the WB and how it blows. Can anyone elighten me on what type I should look for?? Also, I have no idea if Kanstul sells their own leadpipes for other horns but I will check into that. Any help would be appreciated....

Jon

MUSICandCHARACTER

Most people don't change leadpipes on a horn the do not like. Rarely does it make enough difference. Leadpipes are often matched to the horn. These are merely my humble thoughts.

Save your shekels, and when you have enough, sell the Bach and buy a WB. If you want to go the leadpipe route, consider a Bach leadpipe. A 25LR or a 43 LR might make a big different (see: http://www.ibowtie.com/tmptleadpipes.html ). I am a big believer in the reverse leadpipe design.

The Bach leadpipes would be fairly easy to get, would make the design concept of your horn and might be a bigger help. Have a good tech install it who knows about mouthpiece gap and will get it in correctly.

But if you don't like your horn, save the money to buy a WB!

Jim

Heavens2kadonka

I completely agree with Mr. Character, why just buy one part when you can just go for the whole enchilada?

I tried two Blackburn leadpipes for my P.O.C. strad, the 19-348 and the 20. The 19 is much easier to play on, but seemed to sacrifice tone slightly, while the 20 improved tone greatly, but took some getting used to. Both improved intonation and slotting (slightly), and really changed the properties of the strad. Of course, I'm wanting a non-jazz horn. Just explain to them what you want and they'll try and explain what each leadpipe does. You could also check out blackburn.com and see each leadpipe description.

If you call them and ask about their leadpipes, they do offer a free two week trial of any leadpipes you want to try (Need a credit card, and you have to pay for shipping both ways). The pipes also come in polished brass, so if you do decide to use it as the replacement part, it will look a bit strange (some people like that, though. Brings attention to the fact its a different part on the horn).

As I said earlier though, you may just decide to go on ahead and get a new horn. However, if you only have a couple of hundred dollars on hand, and you don't foresee winning the lottery any time soon , a new leadpipe from Blackburn is $175, their tuning slide is $300, and their bells are $900 (The thing Blackburn promotes the most about their horn is their bells, which contains tin in the normal brass mixture. They say it produces a sparkle in the sound, but I haven't tried them.....Yet. I just have to get up to patience to endure the three hour drive through hills and valleys and Deliverence-esque scenery to their workshop!)

drac

Thanks for the replies, I have a WB which is why I am so disappointed with my Bach. I want one for jazz and concert band playing and one for classical/orchestral work. I will give Blackburn a call and see what they can do for me. I appreciate the input.....