Posted by jeff miller on July 07, 2001 at 04:43:44:
In Reply to: HB21-leadpipe rotting, help posted by Tony on July 06, 2001 at 15:48:29:
You've got red rot in your leadpipe. (search the archives for it - it was a popular topic a few years ago.)
You can see it more easily on unplated, laquered horns - little red dots popping up, esp around the leadpipe. It's caused by acids, particularily from your saliva and/or that grilled cheese and Coke you had for lunch.
1) brush your teeth (if possible) & rinse your mouth with water (definitly!) before playing
2) squirt a bit of valve oil down the leadpipe everyday before playing
3) buy a trombone slide snake & give the leadpipe a good wipe out every week or two.
I've had this on my 4/4 Hirsbrunner for years, because I never did any of the things stated above. In fact, for ages I was afraid to clean out the gunge for fear of unplugging the leaks!
A word of warning - changing your leadpipe can make major changes to the way your horn plays. I've known several people who have ordered new leadpipes from Hirsbrunner, and been unhappy with the results when the pipes were installed.
One person believed that perhaps Hirsbrunner have some inconsistency within their leadpipe output - a changed design, or perhaps just the variations inherent with hand-made leadpipes.
Two other people I spoke to believed that Hirsbrunner had two designs of leadpipe which can go on an HB321(HB2P in the US). I don't know if this is true, but if you do order one from the factory, make sure it's for the correct tuba.
Also, measure the length of your current leadpipe and make sure the new one is cut to the same length (unless you want to sharpen/flatten your horn).
Steve Johns in NYC had metal strips soldered onto his lead pipe to patch the holes. He had the most abused looking Hirsbrunner I've ever seen, with patches all over the place. It looked like an entry in the Battlebots finals. I think it was about 20 years old at the time, and he still sounded great on it.
Hope that's helpful.