Stuffy Bach slide

bassbone1993 · by **bassbone1993** » 2025-03-04 4:09 p.m.

Hey all,

I have a Bach 42 that seems to have a pretty stuffy slide (swapped with another 42 slide at a brass shop and it was much better). Any ideas what I can do to make it play less stuffy? I'm thinking having the leadpipe pulled and putting in one of the M/K leadpipes, but I'd appreciate other ideas.

Thanks!

Burgerbob · by **Burgerbob** » 2025-03-04 4:16 p.m.

Leadpipe is usually the culprit.

brassmedic · by **brassmedic** » 2025-03-04 4:25 p.m.

[quote="bassbone1993"]Hey all,

I have a Bach 42 that seems to have a pretty stuffy slide (swapped with another 42 slide at a brass shop and it was much better). Any ideas what I can do to make it play less stuffy? I'm thinking having the leadpipe pulled and putting in one of the M/K leadpipes, but I'd appreciate other ideas.

Thanks![/quote]
Send it to me and I'll pull your leadpipe and make you a really nice Brad Close custom pipe.

hornbuilder · by **hornbuilder** » 2025-03-04 5:08 p.m.

Sometimes things just suck. I had a LT50 slide many years ago that was nothing more than "ordinary". I (at that time) couldn't find anything wrong with it. All the solder joints were good, no leaks, it just didn't play. Pulled the leadpipe, still sucked. I sold it off and replaced it with another one that did play well.

Bonearzt · by **Bonearzt** » 2025-03-04 10:29 p.m.

Best idea IMHO would be to have someone competent, completely rebuild it.

Including pulling the leadpipe.

Bach makes great parts, just can't assemble them well.

And yes it COULD be the original lead pipe, among the dozen other parts...

Again, just my opinion! About the initial assembly....

Blabberbucket · by **Blabberbucket** » 2025-03-04 11:20 p.m.

Before you do anything else, have it leak tested. A broken or poorly filled solder joint at the crook or a poorly soldered waterkey pip can make an otherwise-fine instrument play horribly. I would not be surprised to find either of those on a modern Bach

Bonearzt · by **Bonearzt** » 2025-03-05 12:46 p.m.

[quote="Blabberbucket"]Before you do anything else, have it leak tested. A broken or poorly filled solder joint at the crook or a poorly soldered waterkey pip can make an otherwise-fine instrument play horribly. I would not be surprised to find either of those on a modern Bach[/quote]

One overlooked leak possibility is the end of the threaded taper going into the bell side receiver.

Crazy4Tbone86 · by **Crazy4Tbone86** » 2025-03-25 10:55 a.m.

I “third” the possibility of a lead in the slide. I have dealt with a lot of Bach outer slides with leaks in the ferrules that connect to the crook.

It is very easy diagnose. Just fill a sink with about 4 or 5 inches deep of water. Place the crook end (outer slide alone) in the water, place your thumb firmly over one open end of the slide and blow air in the other. If there is a leak in a ferrule (or your water key area) you will see air bubbles rising from the leaking area.

biggiesmalls · by **biggiesmalls** » 2025-03-25 1:20 p.m.

Push and pull a snake brush past the crook a few times to make sure there are no foreign objects lodged in the crook. I once dislodged a paper lollipop stick from the crook of a very stuffy playing 88H slide.

bassbone1993 · by **bassbone1993** » 2025-03-25 1:46 p.m.

Can confirm that there were no leaks around the crook

CharlieB · by **CharlieB** » 2025-03-25 7:39 p.m.

Low cost thing to think about.........

Make a tight swab and polish the insides of the inner slide tubes with Brasso polish.

It's amazing how much even a thin layer of schmutz or corrosion deadens the sound.

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Stuffy Bach slide