One more ? on Joe’S helibomb leadpipe


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Posted by Klaus on April 20, 2001 at 19:36:37:

I have several times returned to the on-board picture of Joe’S helicon.

The fine craftsmanship and the lucky matching of bell and body aside the most fascinating detail for me is the neck/leadpipe.

Even the well done pic does not allow for measurements of the outer progression of diameter. Which by the way would not tell anything exact of the progression of the inner diameter unles the leadpipe was cut from sheet brass and then bent and soldered over a mandrel.

Leadpipes made from tubing and then blocked out over a mandrel will have a thinning strenght of wall material as the inner diameter increases.

Disclaimers aside I find that this leadpipe mostly reminds me of that of a French horn with its rather slow progression in diameter

Remembering Joe’S lack of love for huge or even large mouthpieces this makes sense to me (the rim of the mouthpiece has some similarity to that of my Conn Helleberg, which I do not use). The gain of the "horny" proportionated leadpipe would be more edge and projection, even a better ability to carry a melodic line, in casu a walking bass line. Needing less volume of air, but demanding a consequent and quite high air pressure.

It is more or less known, that I tend more to the darker, fundamentallish, hallfilling foundation providing tuba style using a modified PT50 on my not too small Besson/York/Conns (I am not even close to be a virtuoso anyway).

But despite our differents levels and approaches Joe: Am I even moderately close in my analysis of the Helibomb leadpipe?

Klaus


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