French Horn Mouthpiece

[Joe]

Hey my horn teacher is selling a Conn 28D?? Im not positive what it was. But it has a custom lead pipe and a detachable bell from Lawson. Um.... the price is 2,000 dollars since I'm one of her students. Should I go for it??? Need help!!!

Sorry kind off the topic.

It is a steal (even if it needs a valve job), BUT it all depends on what you want to sound like. If you're looking for a big, dark Cleveland or old school New York sound, I would definitely recommend it. However, if you prefer the more compact sounds of Chicago and Boston, then you should keep looking.

You also have to realize that Lawson makes the biggest bell throats around. Coupled with one of their leadpipes, it will have a very open and free-blowing feel, which means it will take a lot of air (and hard work) to play. Again, if this is what you're looking for, this horn should be perfect for you.

I, on the other hand, wouldn't buy it. Not even for $500. To me, Lawsons create a very homogeneous sound (especially if it's Ambronze, you might want to ask), meaning that you're not going to have much chance to manipulate the tone color at all. It also tends to be a little more difficult to get really clear articulations with Ambronze. I tried out my old teacher's nickel bronze Lawson that he used in Philadelphia for a couple weeks last year. The intonation was great, the best I'd ever played and it sounded great up close. However, it was killing me to play it full time (just takes too much effort for what you get out of it, also because they weigh a ton). In the hall, especially when it's a full section like in Atlanta, they just sound "woofy" (a very technical term, and just my personal opinion).

Geyer vs. Kruspe wrap is another issue altogether, but in the end it doesn't really matter that much.

If you do want a horn that is more Chicagoesque, my girlfriend is selling her yellow brass Yamaha 667 (with detachable bell), also with a Lawson leadpipe. She used it during her undergrad studies at Peabody and I actually used it on my master's recital last year (in favor of the aforementioned Lawson). It definitely does not need a valve job and is ready to play. That's something you should really check on if you do decide to get your teacher's 28D. It'll cost at least $600 to get something like that done by a competent repairperson (which means probably not at your local music store) and often costs more than that. The 28D is an older model that Conn doesn't make anymore, so the likelihood of it needing a valve job if it hasn't ever had one is high.

Anyway if you're interested in the Yamaha, PM me.

Well, I'm sure that's more information than you ever wanted, and I hope I just didn't confuse you or give you sensory overload.

In case you're interested (okay, probably not but I just have to say it), my personal choice is an Engelbert Schmid triple. I'm going to Germany to get it in two months. I get to go to the shop and try all the bells and everything. It's going to be AWESOME.

[BMBob]

I wish I could even think about a Schmid. And sorry, I did mean to mention that liking the 28D would be affected by your preference in sound. I was more thinking along the lines of the horn being a quality instrument, and one that is not likely to be a "lemon."

[tran]

Thanx everyone for the help. I let everyone know what I chose soon!!!

Tran

[Shadow_7]

I got the Bach 10S while I was away. I am surprised how much it's cup looks exactly like the Schilke 30. Aside from the smaller inner rim diameter and larger throat, it could be a schilke 30.

[Joe]

Hey, I'm just curious where you're getting your mouthpieces from? A place that I have used is www.dillonmusic.com.

They let you order up to three at a time and you get a 7 day trial. You only get charged a minor re-stocking fee (or maybe it's just the shipping?). They also have the specs and descriptions for all of them listed.

[Shadow_7]

Hey, I'm just curious where you're getting your mouthpieces from?

I've been ordering through wwbw.com and their 800 number. I don't do financial transactions online, and they let you do eChecks via telephone. Only doing that, adds 5 business days to the transaction, and their service is generally slow to start with(several months in some cases). At least when it comes to mouthpieces. But their prices are fair(at least when you factor in shipping) and you can get free shipping depending on how much you order and when you order.

For specs, I generally go to mouthpieceexpress.com but they don't do eChecks, or have an 800 number, or have free shipping. For any oddball ones(odder than usual anyway), I'll generally go straight to the manufacturer. Unless the local music store(50 miles round trip) happens to have one(not likely) and I'm heading that direction for something anyway(also, not likely).

I generally hang on to mouthpieces. It might be a POS on horn X, but sometimes they end up being gods gift on horn Y. Or I read something about a certain embochure set and the POS piece ends up being less of a POS with embochure Z. And it's nice having extra pieces around just in case.

[Shadow_7]

I like the Bach 10S. It is the closest to the sound I was looking for. However it doesn't play as well as some of the others I've explored in this thread. Below is a ranking of sorts.

*1 - Playability - 1 to 5 - 1 being the best slotting, easiest playing piece.

*2 - Sound - 1 to 5 - 1 being the closest to my desired sound.

*3 - Comfort - 1 to 5 - 1 being the most comfortable, and less adjustment time to play on.

*4 - Flexibility - 1 to 5 - 1 being the most flexible.

*5 - Range - 1 to 5 - 1 being the best high range.

-------------- *1- *2 - *3- *4- *5- ------- Total

Schilke 30 - 3 -- 2 -- 1 -- 2 -- 1 ------- 9

Bach 10S -- 4 -- 1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 2 ------- 12

Myers M1 -- 1 -- 5 -- 5 -- 1 -- 3 ------- 15

Schilke 32 - 2 -- 4 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 ------- 18

Schilke 31 - 5 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 -- 4 ------- 21

For me, the sound of the instrument is the most important. In that regard the 10S is great. And the 30 is #### good too. If you don't like how it sounds, you're not likely to practice as much as you could/should. The 30 took the least amount of adjustment time. But I prefer the sound of the 10S to the 30.

Not included in the stats is the marchable rim. The M1 has the least marchable rim. All of the others are fairly marchable. The 10S has a nice thick rim, but it's not a flat rim and is not as accurate as the 30's rim. If I were to do I&E tomorrow, I'd do it on the 30. If six months from now, on the 10S. Not that I intend to do I&E on frenchie this season.