I play a Paxman 25L, which I love the sound of, but I'm finding the need to blend with 8ds/hoyers. I recently sold my old 176, and I'm thinking about using the funds to buy an Elkhart 8d as a backup and to use in orchestra. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about old 8ds. Are there any series that are much better than others? Anything that I should keep in mind when buying one?

If you're playing a Paxman and want to get a good 8D to fit into your !*****!nal here is my suggestion(s).

1st choice K Series
2nd choice 900,000 series
3rd choice C series

If you have the lungs and support and want to blow the walls of your house down get a good N series. The N series is the largest pipe and bell tapers they came out with. I think the K series is the most accurate of the Elkhart Conns and you can get some good volume out of it. A dear friend has a K series and I swear i can't miss notes even if I try to. I play a 900 series with a 300 series mouthpipe. The 900 is a 1959 horn, the 300 mouthpipe is from 1952. I know a couple very good players on C series, however I hear they play a little sharp in the higher notes. That said, one of the C series players uses an extra long tuning slide on his horn.

I think the K series with feel closer to your Paxman than the others, although you might be very happy with an H series as well. The C series have a wonderful gorgeous tone but to truly play them well in tune you have to make constant right hand adjustments; something many people can never get used to.

Unless your conductor or principal has said something, I tend to go with not buying anything you don't like playing, whatever it is. I have heard it time and again said (and with my ears) that an experienced player tends to sound like himself no matter what he plays. I was in a community orchestra where I played a Holton 181, principal had a Paxman triple, 2nd played a Conn 8D and 4 played a Yamaha Geyer model. We tried one night switching horns with each piece. We all decided that we loved playing the paxman, but that we all thought we sounded essentially the same on each instrument. There was a great page (I can't find it now) that had all the horns the SF Symphony plays. They all played very different horns. Any "symphonic" horn that you like to play really should do.

phred mentions something proper about your way of playing will definitely make a horn sound a certain way. I sometimes play with a guy who has a Paxman 25. We blend well enough. If you like the horn you might try a mouthpiece change for blending.

I have several horns that I use for different reasons. I use a different mouthpiece for each horn although the rims are all the same (for the most part). So what mouthpiece are you using now, how do you describe your sound, and what sound would you like to have?

My sound is pretty bright and I have a lot of "zing" when I play loud. I wouldn't describe it as "nasal" or too bright, but I really stick out, especially when I'm not playing first horn. Not exactly a New York sound. I recently changed from a laskey mouthpiece to a houser JL-12 because of it's mellower sound, but I'm still pretty bright. I've tried bigger/deeper mouthpieces than the julie landsman cup, but anything much bigger and I feel like I'm just fighting against the mouthpiece.

I like my Paxman, but I've also liked most of the Elkhart 8ds I've played. I actually like the idea of the N series, since I do indeed enjoy blowing the walls of my house down.

Well then, if you have the air and support and are already an accurate player find an N series. Free blowing, takes lots of air but you can play almost as loud as me.

After looking around for a new horn, dropping my 8D (Texas) I got a Paxman 25ay with a Kranz. If your 25L is anything like this one, mine is 21 years old, it blows the lid off any 8D I've played. More accurate, louder, and I can color the tone much more with just slight embouchure changes. When pushed, it sounds majestic, but with just the slightest touch of air, it sounds like a light horn. Of course, it is a light horn, I weighed it. It is actually 4 ounces lighter than my custom Holton 181 which has fewer braces and a lighter bell than normal. If you have a 25L I'd think, rather than an 8D, I'd go for something more appropriate for classical period playing, especially if the orchestra is reduced in size when performing early classical stuff. My Giardinelli C15 offers plenty of flexibility, though I'm probably going to mess with a few other mouthpieces. Tried everything I have, and the best response is actually from the smaller bores.