The leadpipe on my older King 2341 doesn't come very far around the horn, so I play it in a rotated position. It works well for me, especially using the Johnson Tubassist, but is pretty odd in a section, since the valves end up very much to the right, and the tuba is more perpendicular than parallel to my body. Is this typical of the older Kings? There seems to be more than enough tubing to move the mouthpiece receiver quite a bit further around the horn. Has anyone else encountered this? Did you change it?
Sally "and I don't know what a 'York-Style' leadpipe is, either" Larsen
Oddly placed leadpipe on old King
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Sally Larsen
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Rick Denney
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Re: Oddly placed leadpipe on old King
In this picture of a King 1241 (just a still-older version of your instrument) and a York Master (not to be confused with a U.S.-made York)...Sally Larsen wrote:The leadpipe on my older King 2341 doesn't come very far around the horn... Is this typical of the older Kings?...and I don't know what a 'York-Style' leadpipe is, either
...you can see that the leadpipe on the King does not wrap around the bell as far. The York Master is more like a German instrument in that it wraps around to a nearly 90-degree angle. But I prefer the King approach here. See the valve extender on the fourth valve of the York Master? One reason it's there is because of the holding position necessitated by the leadpipe. It's certainly not there because my hands are small--I can palm a basketball.
In this picture, the King has more of a "York-style" leadpipe than the York Master. I think most people think of it as a leadpipe that arcs down from the bell to the first valve, approaching the first valve from above rather than at a 45-degree angle.
But 4/4 Yorks made in Grand Rapids all used to have straight-in leadpipes, unlike the 6/4 CSO York. Here's a picture of one owned by Mike Johnson.
So, I don't think the phrase "york-style leadpipe" is very accurate unless it refers to a specific instrument.
Notice also that the leadpipe on Mike's true York also doesn't wrap all the way around the bell.
Rick "who has thought about having the YM leadpipe unwrapped just a bit" Denney