Is anyone familiar with Sternberg horns? I've looked online but haven't found much. There is one for sale, a double, and I want to know if Sternbergs have a good reputation.

I am thinking about buying another horn in a year or so and I want to be fully informed about the horns that might suit me.

In case someone could suggest makes and models for me to consider- I am on the small side, 5'2", with small hands. I play a Holton H179 right now, which has a good bit of resistance ( so I've been told). I like the resistance in the upper register, but it requires much more air in the lower.

I plan to play in a band after this summer, and perhaps an amateur orchestra a year or two after that. Depends on how competent I become.

Thanks for your input.

Alice

I have never played one. I probably know about as much as you do. Now might be a good time to try one out. They are a relativly new company.The advantages to this is they can build what they want with the materials they want to build with. The disadvantage is the craftsmen are less experienced than what you might like. Then again, a gifted craftsman will learn his skill quickly. Generally the Czech horns have been good, so I imagine these Hungarian Horns may be also.

The best thing for you to do is try, try, and try. Whenever you can. Make a notebook or folder that has certain scales, arpeggios, excerpts from music, and phrases from pieces you like. Keep this folder with you and whenever you find yourself near a music store go in and try out some horns. Make a check list of the music in your folder and then some other things like hand brace, finger hook, horn weight, valve lever height, resistence, etc. All the things you can think about when looking at horns.

Then you play them and give a rating of 1 thru 10. You can also give descriptive terms. Everything needs to be based on your HOlton you have been playing and that rating is automatically a 5. Here is an example: Play your horn as loud as you can until you hear the tone go bad. That is a 5. When you play another horn if the tone breaks up sooner you score it a 3 or 4. If the tone gets louder than your Holton before breaking up then it is a 6 or 7. Compare everything to what you have and what you know. After awhile you will have acquird a bunch of horn reviews for yourself and you can get a better idea of what is important to you. Including size of the horn or how well your fingers fit. Ask your freinds or people you meet if you can play their horn after a rehearsal. This is a lot less expensive than paying for shipping to try out a horn and paying to ship it back. You want to play a lot of horns over a period of time.

Thank you for your advice- you have set out a great way to rate horns according to my experience and to keep track of the information.