Does anyone know the difference in the Holton Farkas H279 and the H277? I know they are both silver/nickle with detachable bell. After that I am stumped. Thanks.

Um yes I play a double french horn and I have a Holton H279. But, my french horn is not detacheble. sorry for my spelling i speak another language.

I'm pretty sure the H279 is the detachable bell version of the silver/nickle H179. Just like the H277 is the detachable bell version of the H177. I'm still stumped as to how the H277 is different than the H279...???

Well yeah they do have detachable bells on mine but just not mine. and if it has a detachable bell than there is really no difference . i haven't seen any differences at music stores in them. It could be by like sound the H279 could be better sounding or vice versa.

Thanks. Maybe there is no physical difference, I don't know. Maybe it's in the materials or something, but I think both the H279 and H277 are nickle/silver. Still a mystery to me. I was going to purchase a H279, but I had a good chance to get the H277. Neither one are available to play.

The H279 has a large throated bell (Similar to an 8D), just like its fixed bell counterpart: the H179. The H177 has a medium throated bell (Similar to a Conn 6D), just like its fixed bell counterpart: the H177. Other than that, they are the same.

Thank you!

No problem!

John Barrows, an outstading horn player of the 20th century played on a H177. Rumor has it that he didn't care for the larger bell throat horns. I have a H179 and a H276, which is the Merker Matic w/ the rose bronze bell. I love both these horns, but my favorite is my Merker. When I was at the IHS symposium in Denver this summer, I tried lots & lots of horns, but I didn't find a single one that I could play any better than my H276. However, I did find quite a few that were much, much more expensive!

Valerie in TAcoma, Balanced Embouchure dealer