Leadpipes

Kanstul Vintage Trombone Leadpipes Most trombones have a leadpipe soldered inside the upper slide tube.  The leadpipe is simply a brass tube with a double taper that affects tone and response.  One end of the leadpipe fits the shank of the mouthpiece, and the other end expands into the inside diameter of the upper slide tube. The venturi is the throat, or the smallest part of the leadpipe, just beyond the end of the mouthpiece.  For many years, removable leadpipes were only seen on a few custom horns, and they usually pressed in, with a small amount of tape placed under an end ring to keep the fit tight.  In the past decade, several makers have offered sets of 3 removable leadpipes with their trombones, including Kanstul, Shires, Conn, and Getzen.  These pipes usually thread in, though most makers use their own thread size, preventing easy insertion in other instruments. These new trombone leadpipes from Kanstul are threaded to fit into Kanstul 1500 and 1600 series trombones, and most Shires trombones.  As an alternative, they are available unthreaded, with a brass end ring.  If you have a different brand of trombone that requires another leadpipe, we recommend the unthreaded version of the pipe.  These unthreaded pipes will press into Bach, Conn, Getzen, and other horns made for threaded or unthreaded pipes.  Use a small amount of tape around the top of the pipe, just  under the ring, for a tight fit. The .547" unthreaded pipes have been problematic, and fit best in other slides designed for a threaded leadpipe, as there's a little more space at the top to press it in.  Your local repair shop may need to adjust it for a perfect fit.  Other sizes of pipes in both styles have fit all horns without problem.  We apologize for not being able to answer your queries about absolute dimensions of these and other pipes.  We only know the bore size and a little about how it may affect the sound, compared to the other pipes.  We find we can like a design without knowing the throat size. Note the two new .500" pipes now available, and the new .508" and .547" pipes coming soon.
Model	Bore	Specs & Vintage	Price
S	.500"	Standard tenor trombone pipe, Benge/Nova style, Les Benedict's favorite, small throat, similar to Bach LT16M pipe	$85 each
W6	.500"	Williams 6 style, large throat
H6	.500"	Burt Herrick style, originally made for Williams 6, medium throat - NEW
H16	.500"	Burt Herrick style, originally made for Bach 16, medium throat - NEW
H8	.508"	Burt Herrick style, should fit Shires .508", King 3B, Bach LT16M - COMING SOON
ML	.547"	Minick Legit, Conn style
MO	.547"	Minick Open Legit, Conn style
BB	.547"	Mt. Vernon Bach 42, original owned by Byron Peebles, Los Angeles Philharmonic
8	.547"	Vintage Conn 8HSP - COMING SOON
C	.562"	Minick Commercial
L	.562"	Minick Legit
OL	.562"	Minick Open Legit
H	.562"	Burt Herrick Commercial
GR	.562"	George Roberts, like 70H pipe, tighter throat, fast expansion, shorter length - this pipe works well with the Kanstul GR mouthpiece, which fits in further, so the end of the shank is close to the venturi of the leadpipe.
GR2	.562"	What George currently uses, Burt Herrick design, tighter but more stable than the GR pipe
62	.562"	Elkhart Conn 62H bass
B	.562"	Bach 50