 Suggested Horns, Mouthpieces, and
Mutes
My favorites within in the price range of
students and amateurs
John Ericson
One attitude
and approach to equipment that may be taken is that “my horn is what it is and
I just need to learn to play it.” There is an element of truth to this
attitude but is your horn basically hard to articulate on? Does your sound just
not project well compared to others around you? Maybe a different mouthpiece or
leadpipe would help; maybe a whole new horn would open up a new level of playing
to you that you have never experienced previously. You still have to put in the
practice hours, of course, but equipment still is a very important element. You
will want to keep your eyes open to see what might make things better.
Every horn
player is (or at least should be) interested in finding better equipment. But
what equipment is better? Any answer to this question is colored because every
horn teacher is biased (including me!) by both their individual sense of what
sounds best and by their sense of "what works" both professionally for
them right now and for their current students. There are many different models
of horns and mouthpieces on the market and any number of them will do well. As a
teacher I am very comfortable teaching students who have different tonal ideals
and would not insist that a student use any particular brand or model of horn; I
just want to feel that it is, in fact, a good instrument, no matter what their
tonal ideal is.
The choice of a
horn is obviously a very important one. Good and bad horns can be made from
brass or nickel silver, can be large or small bore, can have a screw bell or
fixed bell, etc. Different types of horns will be preferred in different places
and it is to your advantage to aspire to fit into the musical situation that you
have the closest affinity for. Rather than give specific recommendations as to
horns [but see the end of this article...], I would
suggest if at all possible speaking to several full time professional players of
the horn in your area. What you want to obtain is a horn that is of the quality
level that a professional would play it or at least consider playing and you
also want a horn that should retain some resale value in your area.
On mouthpieces,
I would first suggest in general that hornists don't use the mouthpiece that
"came with the horn." A change of mouthpiece can make an incredible
difference. If possible, try several mouthpieces of the same model; if they are
all significantly different, there are probably quality control problems with
that brand and you should think about performing on a different brand. Look for
a mouthpiece that is neither very large nor very small that plays easily with a
good, resonant sound; they are available! As an additional suggestion on
mouthpieces, in general don't use one with too wide or too rounded a rim. I feel
that both of these design areas tend to make the horn harder to play and play
accurately. Finally, do be sure that any mouthpiece you use is properly sized
for your horn leadpipe inlet. There is a distance that a mouthpiece should fit
into the receiver; if it goes in too little or too far things will not work as
well as they should.
There are a lot of mutes on the market, each with a unique
shade of tonal color and slightly different playing qualities. If you can, try
the mute before you buy it--especially try the low range, which on some mutes is
quite poor. In general many professional players in the USA prefer "Rittich"
style mutes, the ones that look like a tall cone. I would by choice recommend a
tunable version of this type of mute. While it may make sense to purchase a
cheap mute for a school program, for personal use always look for something up
the ladder in terms of quality. As to stop mutes, try several if possible and
pick the one with the best projection, as this does vary considerably.
Copyright John Ericson.
All rights reserved.
OK, if you really press me
for suggestions, I of course have a few suggestions. UPDATED May 2008.
One way I often answer the question of what horn
do I recommend is this--if
I had to buy a new double horn right now, what would I purchase? I am not really sure, honestly, but the reason why is good--there really are quite a few good double horns out there on the market. When you get over into the price range of professional quality instruments (roughly over $6,000) I have tried a lot of instruments I have liked.
To give a slightly more concrete answer, I made both of my solo CDs on the Paxman 25A
at the top of this page. The 25A is a larger bore horn generally similar to a Conn 8D but
with some of the qualities I associate with a Geyer style horn. At this point in time I still own the horn but if I had to replace it I would replace it with something a bit smaller. I have played Geyer style horns in the past and would be very tempted to look in that direction again. I won my job in Nashville playing a Yamaha 667 but during my time there switched to an 8D with a Lawson flare to better match the mostly Lawson section. In short, I have played it all.
The horn I actually play
right now is a triple horn, a Paxman model 83L compensating triple. This horn I
describe further in an article in the February, 2006 issue of The Horn Call, the journal of the International Horn Society. It uses the same tapers as the Paxman 23L double, an instrument that feels good to me if you want another suggestion. I find that the 23L is sized somewhere in the middle between large and small bore instruments.
I do have several
specific, less expensive suggestions for students and for amateurs looking for
new horns, mouthpieces, and mutes.
New horns that I like generally:
The Conn 8DR is a
larger bell horn in rose brass and the Yamaha 667 is a smaller bell brass horn.
They both give a good "professional" sound when coupled with a good mouthpiece.
On mouthpieces, as noted above, I would first suggest
in general that hornists don't use the mouthpiece that "came with the
horn." A change of mouthpiece can make an incredible difference. New mouthpieces that I recommend in order of price from low to high:
- Laskey 75G or 75J
- Moosewood A-11 or
B-12
The Laskey 75G is a really excellent mouthpiece and is very popular in the ASU studio (and surprisingly affordable). Also very popular among my current
students is the Moosewood B-12. I also recommend the Laskey 75J and the Moosewood A-11; they are similar to the others except that they produce a bit brighter (75J) or darker (A-11) tone colors and are a better match for the emboucure and articulation style of some players. Some other suggestions may be found in my Horn Notes Blog, search or look in the category "Equipment."
My current main mouthpiece is a Laskey 80J. These past two years I have done a lot of testing of Laskey products. I am very impressed with these mouthpieces. The 80 series has a bit wider inner diamater than the 75G/J mentioned above,18 MM compared to 17.5 MM. Another mouthpiece I have tried a lot lately is a Lawson F660 with a B705 rim. This was a "homecoming," as I used this rim as a Doctoral student, and it is similar enough to the Laskey that I can switch back and forth. I should note that both of my CDs were recorded playing, believe it or not, an old Conn 5BN mouthpiece (long out of production). I have swithed mouthpiece many times; always keep your eyes open as to what is out there.
I should also mention that I don't use the same mouthpiece on every horn. I regularly use a Stork CMB-12 on natural horn, a Moosewood BD cup on descant, and a Laskey 80F on Wagner tuba (and sometimes on natural horn).
Be sure, as also noted in the above article, that any mouthpiece you use is properly sized for
your horn leadpipe inlet. There is a distance that a mouthpiece should fit into
the receiver; if it goes in too little or too far things really will not work as well
as they should. The reason I emphasize this point is because I found a stock
B-12 very good on my big Paxman horn but the smaller shanked B-12Y to be even better. It fits
maybe 1/16 of an inch further into the leadpipe than the stock B-12.
For a student with braces I would
suggest trying to locate this mouthpiece:
This model has an unusually wide,
reverse peak rim design which spreads the pressure well. I found this
mouthpiece to be useful during a period when I had a lip injury, and
some teachers also find this mouthpiece useful in working on
embouchure changes. Unfortunately, this mouthpiece has been out of
production for a number of years but Moosewood can supply you with a copy
of the rim to fit one of their models. The comfort is worth the expense compared
to other options with braces.
As noted above, in general I prefer "Rittich" style
mutes, the ones that look like a tall cone. In my opinion one of the
best mute values out there is the tunable "Rittich" style mute made
by Stonelined (Humes and Berg), which runs under $50. I also like the
TrumCor #45, also a Rittich style mute, and other good mutes are out
there. Avoid mutes made of aluminum or plastic. For a stop mute I have been happy with Tom
Crown but the TrumCor and Alexander stop mutes are excellent.
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