- - Please visit: Legacy Horn Experience - -
I have been playing some on a vintage Hoyer (East German era) that is owned by ASU. The ergonomics of this double horn are a bit different, and while the thumb valve action is great, in short I could not get the valve levers high enough to suit my big hands. To solve this problem it occurred to me to try a set of finger pads.
I had seen these on several horns recently and basically they are exactly as described in the listing I found at Osmun:
Rubber pads add height and provide a positive contact point for rotary valve levers. They slip right on and offer a choice of two heights.
This photo is of the set I purchased from them, and I am sure there are other sources for these out there. Basically you could use these for several reasons as they not only change the height of the end of the valve lever (one side of the pad being thicker than the other) but also extend it a bit. So for example for players with small hands they could use these to reach the ends of the valve levers easier. In my case they allowed me to make the lever contact point higher to meet the natural place I felt my fingers needed to go. The extra “bump” on the set I have is a nice touch.
These are a great alternate to the traditional “dimes” seen soldered onto valve levers and are certainly a product some Horn Matters readers should consider.
As a final note I should also mention that I also added a strap on “Fhrap” as well to the Hoyer, also visible in the photo, which combined with the pads has helped make it quite comfortable to hold. I may decide to just keep on playing this horn for a while.
