TubeNet

Has anyone experimented with the placement of small ( 1"x1" ) pieces of lead tape near the outside edge of their bells ?
Anecdotally, a grad student lessoning at a near by University ,had his lesson interupted when a FAMOUS , jazz trumpetter entered the practice room....friends with the teacher , he said , " dont mind me son, lets try this..." and placed 4 small pieces of lead tape symetrically around the bell, 12, 3, 6 ,9 oclock positions , I am told that the change in sound quality was instantaneous, a noticeble change in projection and deeper , darker , core sound ....no , I do not have stock in a lead tape manufacturing facility but was curious if anyone had experimented with this or might have insight into what this might be about ?

I remember reading about adding lead tape to places on your horn to change intonation, but not to help with projection. Makes sense though as heavier metal bells tend to project a bit more... albeit maybe not respond as easily.

I found this interesting discussion on improving intonation with lead tape:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14859&p=121474&hili ... RT#p121474

Yes. I have. I found it didn't really do any more to help focus the tone than a length of clear 5/16" plastic tubing slit lengthwise and fitted over the rim.

The whole idea here is attempting to improve the sound of the instrument by eliminating certain undesirable frequencies. I have seen just about everything in the book, and there is very little out there that will do more real good and be as easily-reversible as the vinyl tubing bell rim ring. Take this from someone who has spent time doing miserable tasks, trying to un-do all sorts of things done to tuba bells, including removing crude soldered-in brass tone rings, trying to remove a ton of old tape adhesive from the interior of the bell while saving the lacquer, etc.

I used lead tape on a sousaphone bell that had a nasty ringing to it. The tape worked well at dampening the ring but was probably more trouble than necessary, as the others have said. Plus, lead is toxic so why mess with it if you don't have to. I didn't learn about the tubing trick until later, or I would've done that. Go with the tubing.

Dave

Absolutely right.

bloke wrote:11, 2, 5, and 8 would have been disastrous.

haha, you are ALWAYS good for a laugh, Sir Bloker.
My Alex has a ring all around. No gaps. Scary. Is it
hiding the position of lead pieces at 12, 4 and 8 ?

Steve Mead uses lead tape on his euphonium. Says he got the notion from Shoichiro Hokazano. He swears it makes a difference in certain dynamics, particularly in the louder end.