Red rot- Replacement leadpipe

[cpoet89]

So while polishing my horn the other week, I noticed some pitting on the leadpipe. I took it to my repairman to have him check it out, and I heard those two dreaded words: "Red rot!" While this was certainly not the news I was hoping for, the bright side is that I seem to have caught it pretty early, and so far it appears to be isolated to the leadpipe.

At the moment, the damage is not severe enough to warrant replacing the leadpipe right away, but it is something I'll probably end up doing in the near future. However, I am having difficulty finding replacement leadpipes for a Besson Sovereign. I have found replacements for the Prestige, but not sure if that would work, since Sovereign leadpipes are not soldered directly to the bell. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

Also, just out of curiosity, would there be any benefit in replacing it with something other than a silver plated leadpipe? I've been noticing a lot more euphoniums lately made with a wide combination of different platings, and was wondering if there is a practical reason for this, or if it's purely cosmetic? My first euphonium was a lacquer Yamaha 321 with a rose brass leadpipe, and I remember getting a lot of compliments on my tone with that horn, but that may not have been related to the finish.

[davewerden]

The very term "red rot" is pretty upsetting, isn't it? However, from talking to manufacturers I gather that it would usually take many years before any pinholes would develop. If you watch eBay for horns you often seen older instruments that are spotted all over the place with red rot, and it looks like they have been that way for years.

It almost certainly starts from the inside. The question of plating is just a matter of which surface will hide it the longest, but I don't think it matters to longevity.

Certainly you want to replace the pipe when convenient, but there is no reason to panic about getting it done.

In the reference section of the site we have Dawkes listed as a source of parts. There are in the UK and might be able to help locate a pipe for you. Now and then such pipes show up on eBay, so keep an eye open there, too.

[bbocaner]

Rose/Gold/Red brass isn't a plating, it's brass made with a higher copper content than regular yellow brass. Yellow brass is most susceptible to red rot, which is why some manufacturers like to make leadpipes and tuning slide crooks out of gold brass or nickel silver. You can have red/rose/gold brass or nickel silver parts silver plated so from the outside it looks just like the rest of the instrument.

You say you've seen euphoniums with a combination of platings... Trim pieces like tuning slides, valve caps, etc. which are removable are easy to plate. This gives you the Prestige or Yamaha 842 look with gold bling. Or the York look with black nickel plated trim. Then you also often have *lacquered* brass instruments where the tuning slide legs are made from nickel silver or the leadpipe is made from gold brass, where you can see the different colored alloys that the instrument is actually made from. All these same colors are still there on the silver-plated versions of the same instruments, underneath the silver. There are also euphoniums with bells made from copper, sterling silver, bronze, and other relatively exotic things. These are usually made as lacquered instruments where the bell is made from the alloy, or can also be made as modular instruments with removable bells which are finished separately from the rest of the instrument and then installed.

Does the leadpipe alloy affect the sound? Probably yes, a bit, in the same way that different alloys affect the bell. Warmer sound from a redder alloy, at the expense of clarity. The effects are easy to distinguish on trombone where it's easy to swap out leadpipes, I would imagine they are probably less pronounced on a less direct instrument like euphonium, but I personally haven't directly compared.

You don't say what kind of instrument you have. It's likely the parts are only available in the original alloy, unless you have a new piece custom made for you. While yellow brass is more susceptible, you still would need to not keep the part sufficiently clean for years in order to develop a problem.

You don't often see silver-plated instruments with lacquered brass parts or vice versa because then the instrument can't be finished as one piece, and when you put the two separately-finished pieces together you tend to mar the finish of one or the other at the point at which they are put together. Since you're having repair work done, your finish isn't going to be absolutely perfect anyway, so experiment away!