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The topic of Kruspe or Geyer was a prior “From the Mailbag” question, but what if a horn is not a Kruspe or a Geyer type horn?
There are a lot of ways to bend and arrange the tubing of a French horn that will produce good acoustic results. The question that came in specifically asked about Schmidt and Lawson wrap horns. These are both seen in use in the professional world in the USA, and having tried pretty much everything I have tried both a number of times.
To begin, the first note is that Schmidt horns in terms of tone and such are similar to Geyers but are to a point ergonomically challenged due to the piston valve used as the change valve. A section of Geyer horns with a Schmidt or two in the mix was/is not uncommon and the perception again would be that they are from a similar tonal and design world. And don’t confuse Schmidt with Schmid! A Schmid horn in overall look is a Geyer type horn, but very light in weight, where a Schmidt horn is simply a classic design, C. F. Schmidt being an active maker of brass instruments producing one of the best double horns available before WWII. For a gallery of photos of classic Schmidt horns this article in the Dick Martz website is a great place to start, and the Schmidt horn image above is linked from that site.
Lawson horns come from a bit different place and are also fine professional horns. The biography of Walter Lawson in the IHS Online has a good overview of the development of his horn over years, with the production of the first Lawson horn in 1981. Right or wrong, the perception is they have a somewhat unique sound and are for sure among the heaviest double horns ever produced, so they feel pretty different in the hands. Some professionals love them, and they tend to be played in full sections. In Nashville I played in an almost all Lawson section, feeling my blend was the best when I switched back to my pre-letter 8D but with a Lawson flare and leadpipe. These are custom horns and they have made many variations on the basic design over the years in terms of materials, tapers, and weight. So while the perception I have is a Schmidt is sort of like a Geyer, a Lawson horn is unique but also Kruspe inspired to a point. This perception in the field is reinforced by their use of one unique alloy. From a FAQ that used to be in their website,
A search for the alloy that the famous Kruspe nickel silver horn was made from yielded another new alloy to the musical instrument world: Nickel-Bronze. This is the closest alloy available now to the pre-WWII German nickel silver used by Kruspe.
Sadly, these horns are no longer produced. They were beautifully made, but heavy and generally large horns, unique sounding, of a type not likely to catch on with many professional players again any time soon.
Turning back to the Schmidt horn part of the question, I have always felt the Schmidt was a beautiful looking and playing design (potentially very smooth) except for the challenged ergonomics. I considered purchasing one at one point, which leads me to a final note for this article, there are makers still working with the Schmidt design today. While I always think of him playing a Geyer style horn (by Lewis), Chicago Symphony Principal Horn Dale Clevenger at one point endorsed the new Schmidt model horn made by Lewis & Duerk. I don’t know that I tried the final version of this design, but I did try a similar Duerk horn on a table at an event, and the thumb valve modification they have done is an excellent redesign on that first impression. Instead of the thumb directly moving the piston they have a system of levers connecting to a much more easily moved paddle for the thumb. So maybe at some point they will make a comeback, only time will tell.
