Mack 410 Leadpipe Swap

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MKTuba
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Mack 410 Leadpipe Swap

Post by MKTuba »

Hello all. I am writing to see the general consensus as to whether or not a leadpipe change could make my mack 410 play a little better. I have had a dented leadpipe repaired on the horn, but ever since then I just don't think that the horn plays as well as it did when I bought it. In addition to this, the leadpipe is starting to lose all of its lacquer, and I suspect that it is starting to develop some brass/ red rot. Do you all think that changing the leadpipe (whether for an actual miraphone one, or even just a new one from tom mcgrady directly) will make a big difference in the way the horn plays?

I plan on buying a new CC within the next 6 months or so, so this is not something I am super concerned about. Until then however, I would like to make my cc play as well as it can. Thanks everyone!
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royjohn
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Re: Mack 410 Leadpipe Swap

Post by royjohn »

It might help to know what your tech did to the leadpipe besides take out the dent(s). I don't suppose he unsoldered any of the braces and did not resolder them, but is it possible that he altered the gap if he unsoldered the receiver and then resoldered it. This could definitely change how the tuba plays. If there are some marks that show where it was soldered before, maybe it could be put back where it was before. If not, you could research mpc gaps on tuba and have it set at some optimum gap. I notice that the gap on my 410 is very large and should probably be made smaller, but I haven't done anything about it yet.
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MKTuba
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Re: Mack 410 Leadpipe Swap

Post by MKTuba »

Thanks for the reply! It looks like my tech just gave the leadpipe the good old dent ball treatment, as there is no evidence of the leadpipe being taken off at any point. I will look to see what the receiver gap looks like tomorrow, and potentially report back here.

Thanks for the comment, there is a lot to work with!
B&S 3198 (PT6P)
Wilson 3200s

BM Tuba Performance @ Michigan State
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