.508 and .491 (3B and Conn alto) leadpipes barely exist...why?

[harrisonreed]

Hi gang. I'll keep it short. I think there is a market for the following things:

.508 pipes that work on a king 3B
.491 pipes that work in Conn altos
An adapter for either of these instruments, but especially the 3B to take threaded pipes.

I believe you can get 508 pipes from Shires and and Edwards, but they won't work well on a 3B because they are not press fit. Brass ark has just one 508 pipe that is pressfit, or threaded. Considering the sheer number of 3Bs out there and people who love playing them, I'd think there'd more options than that.

For the Conn altos, lots of people have them and play them and complain about quirks that probably could be made better with a different leadpipe design. As far as I know, there are NO 491 pipe options designed for altos available. Even the Jinbao has leadpipes available that work with it.

So, please anwser the poll and give your thoughts. You can pick as many options as you like.

I for one would buy adapters for both if available, but at the very least would LOVE to get pipes for each horn where there is some sort of consensus that it's an improvement on the stock pipe.

Maybe I'm the only one who wants this? If you've already swapped pipes on these instruments, let us know what you did.

[BGuttman]

Given my level, a leadpipe adapter for my Conn 36H and swapping leadpipes won''t make me play any better. I can get more bang for the buck just spending some time honking.

I don't own a 3B. And again, given my status, just spending some more time honking will make me play one better.

Maybe I'll get to a point where it matters. Not now.

[Burgerbob]

There used to be the Kanstul H8, as well as some other makers.

[harrisonreed]

There used to be the Kanstul H8, as well as some other makers.

Yeah I heard great things about the kanstul pipes but... You know how that story goes.

[Burgerbob]

FWIW... I have the 32H pipe in one of my slides, and a stock slide. They both do things well. The 32H pipe seems to work better with my 3B/F, the openness it adds makes the horn overall a little better. On my straight 3BSS it's a little too open and feels a bit woofy, articulations just don't pop. Low range is definitely better on the 32H pipe on both horns, the 3BSS has ridiculous pedals.

[TheBoneRanger]

The lack of .508 pipes surprised me when I had my 70’s Bach 16m rebuilt. Shires hooked me up with a couple of pipes, the 2.5 being what I settled on. I ordered them with no collars, and my local tech added his own collars for me.

Andrew

[harrisonreed]

The lack of .508 pipes surprised me when I had my 70’s Bach 16m rebuilt. Shires hooked me up with a couple of pipes, the 2.5 being what I settled on. I ordered them with no collars, and my local tech added his own collars for me.

Andrew

I didn't know that was an option! Was the Shires 2 about the same as the stock 3B pipe, or apples and oranges?

I bet I would dig the 2.5 as well

[Burgerbob]

You cna always have the screw collar torched off anyway.

[bimmerman]

I have an H8 pipe in one of my 16Ms, and I do like it a lot. For whatever reason, that horn has a 3rd position Bb. The horn is set up so I can swap out for the original pipe (tech soldered a collar onto it), and it fits fine with a smidge of electrical tape as a tolerance-fixer.

Horn blows WAY more stably with the H8. I'd like to try the .508-ified 32H pipe from Brassark (or a Shires/Edwards) but my playing abilities...have kinda disappeared in quarantine, so there are copious lower hanging fruit to address first.

[TheBoneRanger]

I didn't know that was an option! Was the Shires 2 about the same as the stock 3B pipe, or apples and oranges?

I'm no small bore expert, so I have no idea. I'd gathered some recommendations from people that suggested the 2.5 would be a good match this axe, so I pulled the metaphorical trigger.

Andrew

[dukesboneman]

I have the H* on my 16MG. , The horn plays way better than with the stock pipe.
The Brass Lab offers leadpipes in any and all sizes
I`ve also had good luck with Edwards pipes. I have an Edwards in my Bach 36.
I just had a Repair tech cut the threads off.