I have a student that has a jupiter horn. i am concerned because i know virtually nothing about that brand and have already noticed severe intonation issues. Please fill me in on this brand.

The problem with intonation I noticed with a quick C scale was that the F side 1st finger is severely sharp. It is so sharp in fact that the slide has to be pulled out all the way to slightly resemble the correct note.

You need to be sure the horn is tuned to itself correctly first.
To do this the horn should be tuned by a horn player who has some experience first.
A newbie player won't have the ability to hold pitch consistently to tune the horn or be sure all notes are being palyed with the correct and same technique.

For now, on the F horn I would pull the first slide out a good 1 1/1 inches. second valve out 1/2 -3/4, and 3rd slide out 3/4. On the Bb side I would pull #1 out 1/2 inch, #2 1/4, adn #3 3/4 inch. I do not remember the exact set up on the main tuning slides. But if you can wait until Saturday a dear freind of mine has Jupiters for his High School band. I will be seeing him for a rehearsal. I will have him bring me one and I'll look at it and give you better information.

Regardless how well the instrument is tuned you will have intonation issues, especially with student models, and that is what the right hand is for. If the 1st valve is out on many many notes, then you might have a valve that is not aligned properly. You can have a shop align the valve using a mirror or boroscope and align the valve by looking up the tube and not rely on the valve cap markings.

Play the horn's C scale all on the F horn and listen for the D, F, A, and Bb. Are they all funky? Be sure the student is pushing the levers all the way down also.

Again, I can have more information for you Saterday afternoon (PST).

Thanks for your help. I'll get the make and model of the horn at todays lesson if that would help i really am worried about this horn.

Try those slide settings.
I just heard from my freind he will not be at our Hornswoggle rehearsal until next weekend, so I won't be able to play his schools instrument until next week. But get me the info you can and I will see what I can find out.

Con_Atist,
I got hold of a Jupiter Horn last night.
Try these new settings,

On the F horn: 1st slide 1/2 inch, 2nd 1/4 inch, 3rd slide all the way in.

On the Bb horn: 1/4 inch for each valve slide.

Start there and then make adjustment as needed.

The horn does not have even intonation through out the range(s). Why so many schools are buying them I can only assume is because of the cost. They do seem to be made sturdily, so I am sure repair costs will be low. But for learning to play in tune, to match tone quality throughout the players range I don't think so.

If your student just wants to play in band and learn the notes keep him or her on the Jupiter. If your student is advancing and wants to get better and become a really good player, keep your eye out for a used Holton, or Conn 6d type horn.Holton student models are quite acceptable, they are designed to help the student hit the notes more easily. So any Holton I think will be better than the Jupiter.

Con_Artist - more info.

Here is more information on the jupiter horn. The school my freind (who is a horn player)is at is using them because of two reasons (actually three)
1- they are sturdy and won't be damaged as easily
2- they are designed to help the student get the note so they are sacrificing tone for overall accuracy.
3- they are better than the Olds they have been using since 1976.

So, it's good for getting the student to learn the note and build up confidence. If they want to continue with the horn then go to my previous post above.

I can only confirm what John has written. I've tried some Jupiter Horns last fall, including a b-single and a double, and both had severe intonation problems. It's ok for beginners, but after a year or two you should get a proper horn.
Here in Germany, the stadart horn for students from about 15 is the Hans Hoyer 801. I play one myself, and it has a nice sound without any intonation problems. Of course, the Hoyer 6801 is a lot better still, and if you've once played a good Alexander or Schmid, you don't want to go back.

Anyway, a 801 would be a good horn for students, but I think it is quite expensive in America, compared to US horns. I can't say something about Holtons, as the only one I ever played was a 378 with leaky valves, and it was of course terrible.

Yeah I do not like jupiters. My parents bought me one without asking me and within 6 months the trigger started freezing up. So I long-term borowed my college's Conn 8D.