TromboneChat

Recently acquired a getzen custom series bass and don’t know which leadpipe to use. Any owners out there who can provide input?

2 is usually the best.

Ok, thanks

I agree that the #2 leadpipe is a good place to start. I had a couple of students (several years ago) that thought that the #3 was the best, but I thought they both sounded dull with the #3. Fortunately, both of them were also told by conductors that their sound was not keeping up with their tenor colleagues in ensembles. They were wise enough to listen to our combined criticisms and switched to the #2.

Some equipment combinations can give the player great feedback, but the sound does not project to conductor’s podium or audience. I have sometimes thought that Getzen/Edwards #3 leadpipe could be in that category.

I could see some resistance at the front of the 3062 being very helpful to get great results. It's a big feeling horn. Maybe I would feel differently about the model if I had tried it the one time with the #1 pipe. (I recall when I tried this model it had the #2 in it. Too woofy for me.)

Your mouthpiece choice can also help you determine which leadpipe will work best for you and the horn in the situations you're performing in.

[Sidebar, semi-related and edited 12/11]

I recently tried (and have since traded in my Besson for) a Getzen 1052FD (independent rotor Eterna, yellow bell) and an currently playing on the #2 pipe. It's strange; this was the one pipe that didn't feel right in the little practice room I test played it in. The #1 was pretty fun, a light, snappy sound in the staff and above; the #3 pipe felt really good on this horn. In this case, because the resistance point is farther back (at the rotors) in the instrument, openness up front could help. (I use mouthpieces no larger or deeper than a Schilke 58, and this impression was how I felt after playing it with the stock 1½G.)

But playing with the #2 pipe in an actual performance situation (a sanctuary at a Lutheran church) was an eye (ear?) opening experience. It can project, maybe not as well as the #1 could, but my experience could be in line with what Brian said about feedback vs projection amongst the 3 pipes.

[/Sidebar]

On that type of bass, I like something between a 1 and 2. I think I ended up using a stock Bach 42 pipe for the short time I had a Getzen 1052. But the #2 is a really good place to start.

Thanks for all the input. I have started with the 2 leadpipe

Silly me was playing with the 3 leadpipe this whole time!

Actually maybe I was on 2(they aren't labeled). Anyway, I'm on whichever one feels the best with my new mouthpiece

They are indicated by the number of rings on the knurled section. 1 ring is #1, &c.

Huh, that's weird. I have leadpipes with 2,3, and 4 rings

BassBoneWaluigi wrote: ↑Sun Sep 17, 2023 6:35 pm Huh, that's weird. I have leadpipes with 2,3, and 4 rings

Are you counting the number of knurled rings, or the number of rings cut into the knurling? The 1 has two knurled rings with a single cut between them. The 2 has three knurled rings with two cuts between them.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh

On those horns, the back end is so large, I like to tune things in to the #1 leadpipe. That is, with the mouthpiece and leadpipe let that give you a little constriction, because nothing else is going to push back on you from the horn.

My 0.02,
Andy