I need opinions on different horns. I'm hopefully going to get one and I need as much info as possible. Thanks.

P.s. I was recommended the Hoyer heritage model, And that seems my favorite so far.

I haven't seen very many different horns, but I've asked around myself and most of the people I've asked have said that the Conn 8D is a good horn. A guy I know at the college near where I live has a really nice french horn, I'll try to remember to ask him what he has the next time I see him.

Many different horns are out here.
And "Best Horn" might not be the correct horn for you.

The 8D mentioned earlier is a large horn and requires lots of air. IT used to be "The standard" for professionals (in the USA anyway). To get the correct horn for you mor einformation is needded.

Age.
Small hands or large hands.
Where are you planning on playing? (High School Band,Orchestra,Church,community band etc )
Do you want a horn to last through high school, college?
Do you plan on playing professionally?
Are you going to be playing with anyone specific?
West coast or East coast?

John

Well I'm 16. But I consider myself to have way more than sufficient air supply and lip control. I've been playing since I was 11 and have recently accomplished a 5 octave scale. I have a med hand size. I'm going to play professional one day so I want this horn to be something that I'll be more than satisfied later in my years. Tone is my biggest concern
if it's hard to play I'll learn so that's why I want a real good horn. I want it to last a real long time. And I would like to play in an orchestra.
I'm East coast but I'm curious of different sounds. thanks john

-Alexander

Alexander,

Great answers. Based on your answers if you are not taking private lessons you should. If you are playing on the East coast the Hoyer would be great, the Berg is good also, and consider Paxman.

Listen to the orchestras in your area and see what sound you like. For example Cincinati Horns are playing with a brighter more assertive sound than they used to many years ago. A Conn 8D will not fit into their sound. You would need a Paxman or Berg Descant.

Go here and look up the orchestras you like the sound of.

http://www.hornplayer.net/sections.asp?country=USA

At 16 with theintent of going to college and going on professionaly there is no reason for you not to get into a professional level quality horn.

Conn's and Alexanders will give you the big dark tone.
Paxman's, Bergs, Hoyer, etc will give you more of the higher harmonics and make it sound a little brighter.

John

Wow, thank you. Yeah I've never taken lessons, I guess I need to save money for that too. Hopefully things will start moving when I get my job. I'll start researching orchestras and find what I'm looking for. Dark tones are so far my favorites, but it would do me any good if my college requires something else. That was the differences in horns I was wondering about. But yeah I have only the rest of this year and next year of high school, so college is right around the corner. Tank you so much John.

-Alexander

Alexander,

I would not worry so much about the sound the college may want but more where you want to go after college. This is an investment for a long time and college goes by quickly. I love the large bore and large sound of the Conn 8D. And I play a B series which in my opinion is even more rosonant that the K, M, or any other series. I also use a very unique mouthpiece. Of course I play in Southern California and I can get away with this set-up.

A freind of mine playing in a Major Symphony in the East was a Conn 8D person also. But he is playing a Paxman descant now because that is what the conductor and section want. The reason I bring this up is you should play what you like while you can, but in the real work world of music you need to play what "they" want you to. Of course at that level you can afford to buy a second horn.

When buying your horn I recommend seeking out a good professional to evaluate your horn. There are many things a seasoned player can notice that you would never think of. It is worth the investment to pay an unbiased person to do this. I would not rely on a freind, or local college student. There are just lots of nuances experienced players with years of experience are aware of. An example of this is a freind of mine who years ago bought a Conn 8D. It was nice but everytime he plays a high Bb it cracks. You have got to put the horn through it's paces so it will be able to do what you want it to now and what you will want it to do in the future.

You will want a double horn of course. There a lot of changes going on in the music world right now. A lot of 1st and 3rd chairs are playing on double descants, but the 2nd and 4ths are playing on regular doubles. There are some who say you can play everything on a descant (with creative fingerings) that you can play on a double. Technically true but I don't like the tone and intonation. And a double horn WILL play everything the descant can and with good intonation. Stay away from the Compensating horns, they just don't fit in the orchestra world but are good in solo work. And don't get tied up in the 'name or brand' of a horn. Play a number of them and get a feel for the valve levers and hand fit. Pick one that YOU like the sound of.

John

John,
I plan on convincing my parents to take me to the music store so I can possibly demo all that they have available. So I'll need to observe the following:
Chromatic performance,
any note cracking,
TONE,
Any dents, dings, or misaligned
tubes/ Valves,
And if it plays in tune.
I think thats all right?
-Alexander

Those are good things to listen for.
Demo - don't plan on buying the day you go. You want to make sure that is the horn for you. Leave, try some others and see if the horn "haunts you". Try demoing at different stores. different stores have different brands. AND, if you pick one out you want that one, not anotherone of the same model.

Unless you truly know how to tune a horn this is where a professional is good. You want to tune the hron to itself and then see how intune the partials are. If you plan on doign it your self let me know and I will give you a quick lesson on how to tune a horn. But unless your embouchre is rock solid you can't truly do it right.
DO check Chromatic performance,and any note cracking, tone in all ranges, small dents and dings don't concern me so much. For your first horn they might. All my horns have been used and everyone loves the way they play.
You want to check for valve tighness (and actually you might want yours to leak a just a little bit).

You will want to play it with your main moutpiece and a couple of others. You will need to know if it is a morse taper or a european taper lead pipe - it will matter what mouthpiece you use in the future. You will want to know what harmonics are resonating. you will want to check all solder joints. thickness of bell, roundness of bell. alignment of rotary valves, alignment of the levers, seating of the rotor bearings, how does the metal respond to your type of articulation?
I will see if I can't put a list together in a word document for you next week when I get back from vacation.

john

Thanks john,

Well everyone in my section knows me as
the insanely in-tune freak. No one can tell if two horns are playing or not, when I hit the same note as someone. But I could always use tips. I'm just good with my ears, and I think my embouchures
good. I'll let this message be a short one.

Alexander

On single or double horns? Personally I think Yamaha is pretty good, but a bit pricey.. Try a Holton, Conn, or Selman. Good quality, much better price!

so far the conn 8d seems the most reasonable, especially concerning the cost differences. My choice so far if I can get the money would be the Alex 103
double horn. :D thanks guys.

-Alex

I am also looking for a new french horn. I sold my perfect condition Holton double some months ago for monetary reasons but am sick over it. I would like to purchase the same thing but for the same reason, can not. I played heavily in high school and college then got married, had kids and have played minimally since. I would like to get back into community and church orchestra. Do you have any recommendations for me? I have seen Vournelli, Selman, Imperial and Integrity horns for sale on e-bay and was wondering if these are any good at all. Or, should I just wait and save up for the Conn or Holton? Thanks for the info.

Hello from Germany!

I don't know that much about the US Horns (Conn etc.), because nearly no one plays them here. I can say one thing though: The most important thing is that the horn fits to you and you feel comfortable with it.

We hornists here in Germany all play German instruments, which are generally excellent, but pretty damn expensive. The Hoyer 801 (student horn for semi-pros) costs 3700€ or 5500$ here. That's the one I play and after a custom valve mechanic change I'm very satisfied with it. If I go studying horn in 2 years however I'd buy a better one. Considering that you want to go pro as well, I'd say you should buy the best there is. The Hoyer pro horns are quite good (at least the 4801 I played was), but Alexander and Engelbert-Schmid are in another league (mostly because of the price).

Alexander: The 103 is the classic with very sonourous and deep, classic sound, there are however some newer ones like the 403S, which is very easy to play. They cost 7000€ and 8000€, respectively. Note that the 103 is played by 80% of German pro hornists.

The Engelbert-Schmid horns are quite unknown outside Germany, but for example the New York Philharmonics Horns (Phil Myers etc.) play them. They are even more expensive than the Alexander, costing 9000€+, but are about the best crafted horns you can get. Every single horn is made completely by hand. They are considered very easy to play, yet have a noble and very good sound, for orchestra and especially for chamber music. On their website (www.http://www.corno.de/schmid/deu-eng/english.htm) there are some cool videos by Phil Myers and very much info about the horn.

The horns mentioned above are all double horns. If you want to go to a pro orchestra, you should consider buying a triple horn. They are far more expensive (12000€ for the Alexander 301, even more for the Engelbert-Schmid), but a large number of pro hornists (especially 1st and 3rd hornists) play them already. A triple has the advantage that you've always got a high-f horn just a click away for safe playing of very high passages.

Conclusion: Test and play as much different horns as you can and take some time for the decision!

The Hoyer 801 is sold for 2390 € by Musik Thomann (germany).
(http://www.thomann.de/de/hans_hoyer_801_double_horn.htm). I tried this horn and like it very much (may be sometime in the future I will buy it). I have never played a professional horn like Alexander or Conn, so I have no comparison.