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OK, I have a potential situation and need a few questions answered...

My beloved Rudy is starting to exhibit some of the telltale little red spots on her leadpipe, and I'm thinking a replacement will be due in the pretty near future. Here are my questions:

For those who have had this done, and/or repair techs willing to comment: will I need a replacement sent from the factory in Germany? If so, what will the approximate cost be? Can a tech create a 'pipe that will closely match the original?

Other things I'm thinking:
-Can I get a leadpipe in a rot-resistant material (nickel silver, for example)? Will this drastically change the characteristics of the instrument?
-Would there be any benefit to altering the leadpipe specs at all? A smaller diameter one, for example?

FWIW, I clean my instruments regularly but got this horn used two years ago and cannot comment on the prior owner(s) maintenance practices.

Thanks,
Josh

You're close to Lee Stofer, who works with Rudy Meinl a ton, and will do a great job. I wouldn't hesitate going anywhere else other than him if I was in your area.

JCalkin wrote:Can I get a leadpipe in a rot-resistant material (nickel silver, for example)? Will this drastically change the characteristics of the instrument?

Gold brass is also rot-resistant and will actually enhance the way the tuba plays - slightly warming the tone. No doubt Rudolf Meinl would supply if specified as it is an option on their tubas.

JCalkin wrote:Would there be any benefit to altering the leadpipe specs at all?

You could go for exchangeable leadpipes of two different bores to vary the tone. Nice to have, but would add to the cost.

Send your horn to Dan Oberloh. Might take some time but man does he do good work. He made a Nickel silver pipe for my Nirschl (had the same red rot problem) and the new pipe was way better than the original. He will make different pipes till he finds one that rocks. Cant say enough good things about his work.

bububassboner wrote:Send your horn to Dan Oberloh. Might take some time but man does he do good work. He made a Nickel silver pipe for my Nirschl (had the same red rot problem) and the new pipe was way better than the original. He will make different pipes till he finds one that rocks. Cant say enough good things about his work.

There are pictures of Dan making a lead pipe somewhere on TubeNet if you look around.

Dan is also a really good tuba player as is his tech, Paul. If they say is plays well, you will find that it does play well when you unpack it and play it.

LJV wrote:If it were me, I'd contact R. Meinl. They will sell you a new leadpipe and you can have it fitted by you favorite repair technician. I've done this with a couple of tubas I've bought from previous owners.

+2

Thanks everyone for the tips, both here and through PM. I have contacted both Lee Stofer and R. Meinl and hope to have this rectified shortly.

FYI,
Rudolf Meinl has been equipping his tubas with rose brass leadpipes as standard since sometime in the 1990's, as well as rose brass rotor casing knuckles and main tuning slide crooks. The result is an instrument that has as sweet response as an all-rose brass instrument, but will project into the hall like a yellow brass instrument. Also, the instrument so-equipped is much more corrosion-resistant.

And yes, I did have a new 5/4 rose brass leadpipe in stock. They come straight and unfinished. I prepare and lead-fill the pipe as Herr Meinl taught me to at the factory, bend it to fit the instrument, melt out the lead, fit it and play-test it, then remove it, clean and buff it, do the final installation, hand-polish it, and lacquer the leadpipe.

The only modifications I might make would depend upon the experiences of the player. If the instrument as-is had played flat or sharp, I would correspondingly make the leadpipe slightly shorter or longer for them.