Minick Leadpipes

[Elow]

Looking for some information about Minick made leadpipes, specifically his .562 pipes, but any information is appreciated. I love reading about Larry Minick’s work

[sferg]

I recall he made...

C commercial
L legit
OL open legit
O open

Most of his pipes were spun on a lathe but later pipes were made on a hydraulic press so the outside diameter stayed relatively constant as the wall thickness increased. Kanstul made replicas of some of his pipes but theirs are also out of production.

[Posaunus]

I recall he made...
C commercial
L legit
OL open legit
O open

Apparently there is a significant difference between a "commercial" and a "legitimate" (i.e., orchestral?) trombone sound - that requires different equipment (trombone, leadpipe, mouthpiece, ...).

Other than "commercial" often involves playing into a microphone rather than filling a concert hall, can anyone please elaborate on the differences? And what kind of equipment is best for each?

Hope I haven't opened a hornet's nest!

[Burgerbob]

Apparently there is a significant difference between a "commercial" and a "legitimate" (i.e., orchestral?) trombone sound - that requires different equipment (trombone, leadpipe, mouthpiece, ...).

Other than "commercial" often involves playing into a microphone rather than filling a concert hall, can anyone please elaborate on the differences? And what kind of equipment is best for each?

Hope I haven't opened a hornet's nest!

Well, that's a pretty massive question!

I think the generalization is smaller/more tight for commercial, more open for legit. But I don't think that's necessarily always true.

[RJMason]

Generally, yes, smaller bore/“tighter” gear for studio work, larger bore/“open” for orchestral work. But this is not really a given, as a lot of Studio work for film and tv soundtracks is symphonic and orchestral in nature. It all depends on the scope of the work: the music you are recording and the best tool to get the sound desired by the producer and/or composer.

I believe we need to bury the terms “commerical” and “legit”. They no longer adequately describe the settings trombonists work within and are archaic, at best, in today’s musical landscape.

“Commerical” is often used interchangeably with “Jazz” and Orchestral music is referred to as “Legit” in the 20th century. This is a fallacy as 1.) there are trombonists who are phenomenal studio musicians but cannot improvise well and don’t actively engage in the jazz scene. And 2.) this terminology has racist connotations as the language suggests that Black American Music is not as legitimate as Western European composed music.

Words have power and I encourage the trombonists and manufacturers who are still with us to be mindful of this in the 21st century.

Back to leadpipes: though I don’t agree with the archaic terminology, the types of leadpipes offered reflected the needs of professional players with all types of equipment. In that way it was forward thinking.

[deanmccarty]

I believe we need to bury the terms “commerical” and “legit”. They no longer adequately describe the settings trombonists work within and are archaic, at best, in today’s musical landscape.

“Commerical” is often used interchangeably with “Jazz” and Orchestral music is referred to as “Legit” in the 20th century.

I have to disagree with the term “Commercial”… Commercial music IS a proper term… it is any music in the commercial scene (ie: pop music, country music, ska, rock, etc.). I don’t consider Jazz to be part of Commercial Music. The big bands in the 1930s-1940s would have been considered Commercial Music at the time, but that time passed a LONG time ago. My undergraduate degree actually has those terms separated (Bachelor of Music - Jazz and Commercial Music).

I have ALWAYS thought the term “legit” was condescending towards ANY other music… not just Jazz. As if Classical music was the only legitimate form of music. I call it what it is… Classical Music (not the time period of course).

And… I don’t want to hijack this thread… back to leadpipes… I’ve never used Larry’s leadpipes, although I’ve wanted to… I use a replica of one of his bass trombone mouthpieces and LOVE it. I would assume the commercial pipe is tighter and the classical pipe is very open…