TromboneChat

... a Yamaha bass, specifically a 620G or a 421? How did it turn out?

I have a 421 but the thought never crossed my mind. It certainly falls in the category of "if it's' not broke don't fix it."

With a soldered in leadpipe it certainly would be something you'd need to consult a tech for.

What are you hoping to accomplish with the leadpipe swap? The leadpipe in the 620 is the BL421G pipe, which is the same one that was in all of the 612 series horns, as used by many professionals. It's a good pipe and designed for the Yamaha horns. The only difference between the 612 and the 620 is the wrap on the valves.

I have. Matt Walker pulled the leadpipe on my YBL 613H and set it up for screw in leadpipes, and he did a great job thank you! I played it for a time with a Shires #2, but lately I find I like MK50 even better. I also have a YBL with a rebuilt slide that uses press in leadpipes. It plays well with a Bach 50 pipe, a little more open with a Shires #2. But I have a Edwards slide that has a MK 50 pipe, and when I put that on the 421G bell it plays really great! I don't have a large collection of leadpipes, and I think there's a point of diminishing returns in trying to find the ultimate one. So there may be other pipes that will also work great. But the stock pipes in most horns are pretty middle of the road, in a good way so that they will work for a broad range of players, most of whom are students. Like trying mouthpieces theres a point when you should try out a few different leadpipes. But I don't change leadpipes very often, once I find a pipe that makes it easier to do what I want to do, I just leave it in the horn and forget about and go play!

I have done a removable leadpipe conversion for a YBL-421. The original upper slide has a two piece leadpipe (mouthpiece receiver + leadpipe). Thus, you cannot just pull out the leadpipe like other brands. I had to buy a lower inner slide and cut it down to size to make a new upper inner slide.

This particular customization also included a change of the crook to a wider (Bach style) size. That was actually the more complicated part of the conversion because Yamaha permanently fuses the lower side of the inside slide brace. Let’s just say I had to get very creative to make the inside slide brace look and function beautifully.

I don’t need to comment of whether or not the conversion was a success. Before = choice of one leadpipe. After = hundreds of choices in leadpipes.

Crazy4Tbone86 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:53 pm I don’t need to comment of whether or not the conversion was a success. Before = choice of one leadpipe. After = hundreds of choices in leadpipes.

At a (customer's) cost of ... ?

As previously noted, the factory leadpipe of the YBL-421G is pretty darn good (even if "middle-of-the road"). And its cost is ... $zero$ !

Any customization is done because the owner wants to upgrade something on the instrument that he/she finds to be a deficiency. Some might say that any change is a risk, but many customizations are rather dependable improvements. I would consider a conversion to a removable leadpipe system a no-brainer.....it is always an improvement for two reasons: 1. Player has the choice of any leadpipe. 2. Much easier to maintain the slide and leadpipes and keep them corrosion-free.

That particular YBL-421 project also had the problem of a cracked upper inner slide......the inner slide had to be replaced. The original two-piece leadpipe was saved. The mouthpiece receiver was turned on a lathe and fitted with a collar. The two pieces were soldered back together and became one of the owners removable .562 bore leadpipes. It should be noted that the player did not choose to use the original leadpipe on the horn.