r/trumpet•
rhombecka

Thinking about replacing leadpipe on my Bach Philly C — looking for recommendations

Equipment ⚙️

It’s a tale as old as time — years ago, I tried several of the ol’ reliable C trumpet models and went home with the one that I felt most comfortable on. Now, I’m a much better player and feel like it is holding me back at times.

In particular, it doesn’t feel like it can accept nearly as much air as my Schilke Bb can. I figured it was a problem with my technique, but I’ve swapped with my friend’s Strad that has a 25H leadpipe, and it felt so much more free and the things that were giving me a hard time felt easy again. Whatever resistance that was present was helping me slot notes but wasn’t getting in my way while slurring. They also felt that my Philly C was stuffy.

I'm thinking about getting a new leadpipe for the Philly and am wondering if anyone has advice for finding the best fit. The 25H was pretty nice, but I am consider getting the #20 blackburn pipe (and maybe a rounded tuning slide) so it's more free blowing. Does anyone have any advice/experience with this?

Posted Mar 6, 2026, 4:06 AM UTC

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